Hear ACC Debbie Tedds, ACC Kerrin Wilson and Head of Tasking and Coordination Gillian Routledge share their experiences of applying for and undertaking the Strategic Command Course.

If you are looking to progress as a senior leader, our Senior leaders hub provides access to information and training to help support, develop and prepare you. Visit the hub: college.police.uk/Senior-Leaders-Hub or get in touch: hub@college.pnn.police.uk

Surrey Police came together with all UK police forces this week for a national summit, supported by UN Women, on promoting gender equality.

The inaugural UK Policing Gender Equality Summit on 20 November was hosted by Sussex Police, which was the first police force globally to become a thematic champion for the United Nations’ gender equality initiative, HeForShe.

The UK’s police forces have all made HeForShe commitments to improve gender imbalances at senior levels within policing, and to continue to work to combat domestic abuse and sexual abuse in society.

Senior officers and other representatives gathered at the summit to launch the Gender Equality in UK Policing: First Annual Report and share the achievements they have made so far in meeting their HeForShe commitments.

The HeForShe movement is supported by more than two million people, including world leaders, heads of state and global CEOs and celebrities.

At the event, attendees worked to:

1. Explore the links between gender inequality and serious crime and violence – tackling gender inequality is a real policing issue.
2. Address gender equality in the workplace, and share approaches to improving the representation of women at senior levels in policing– women make up 26% of senior leaders in UK forces.
3. Present best practice – forces shared interesting examples of how they are working to fulfil their HeForShe commitments and the progress they have made.

HeForShe seeks to engage men and people of all genders to join women to work together to achieve true gender equality. All UK forces recognise the role of the police service in addressing domestic abuse and sexual violence and the link between this type of crime and gender inequality within our communities.

Surrey Police's former Chief Constable Nick Ephgrave and Sussex Police Chief Constable Giles York signed a commitment to gender equality on International Women's Day on 8 March 2017. The Forces were the first law enforcement agencies in the UK to make the HeForShe pledge. Both Surrey and Sussex Police were also named HeForShe UN Thematic Champions for Law Enforcement.

In order to close the gender gap in senior leadership by 2020 as part of the pledge, both forces have committed to ensuring that there is a representation of women in senior police officer and staff roles which matches the overall proportion of women in the workforce.

You can find out more about HeForShe and make your own pledge, joining the thousands of officers and staff working together to drive forward change which benefits us all.

Source: Surry Police - News

You can find the First Annual Report on Gender Equality in UK Policing here. 

For the first time in a decade police forces in England and Wales are handling more complaints through local resolution rather than using lengthy and complex investigations, data released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) today shows.

The most common type of allegation made in a complaint remains ‘other neglect or failure in duty’ category, such as how officers responded to or investigated incidents. These allegations accounted for 41% of all the allegations recorded in 2018/19; continuing a rise seen in the two previous reports. This year the number of allegations per 1,000 employees fell from 274 to 264.

Director General Michael Lockwood said the IOPC provides independent oversight of the police complaints system so the public can be confident complaints will be addressed in a timely, reasonable and proportionate manner.

“The police hold significant powers that enable them to enforce the law. A fair, transparent and timely complaints process is important for ensuring the public can have faith in how police officers exercise these powers.

“This increased use of local resolution appears to accord with the refocusing of the complaints system on resolving and addressing systemic issues – forces are using a more timely, reasonable and proportionate way to address complaints that do not require a full investigative process.

“The system is not perfect though, and there are differences in how well forces handle complaints. This data is an important resource for the public and for helping police forces consider how they can improve their complaints handling. When viewed in isolation, each indicator gives only limited insight, but together they provide a picture of how the police complaints system as a whole is performing.

“To help forces use the complaints system to identify which areas of policing are generating complaints, we’ve overhauled how complaints are categorised and recorded. These changes will make it easier to identify learning and trends from 2020/21.”

The statistics show:

• Recorded complaints have gone down by 2% nationally since 2017/18, from 31,671 to 31,097. The overall number of complaints being recorded nationally has reduced by 16% since 2014/15
• Local resolution is now the most frequent way forces handle allegations. Local resolution is used in 48% of allegations, compared to 42% in 2017/18 and 2016/17
• The time taken by forces when using this method is 72 days, compared to 158 days to complete a local investigation
• The proportion of local resolution appeals handled by police forces that are upheld has stayed stable at 16%. Although the IOPC is upholding more local resolution appeals, these only account for 70 of the 2,486 local resolution appeals completed in 2018/19
• The total number of appeals concerning the non-recording of a complaint has reduced by 9%, while the percentage of upheld non-recording appeals has stayed constant at 36%
• The proportion of complaint investigations where an officer is formally investigated for alleged misconduct or criminal activity has reduced from 13% to 10%
• The number of appeals received by the IOPC following a local investigation dropped by 22%, while the proportion of those upheld has remained constant at 38%.

 

The report also highlights initiatives by forces to deliver a good service in the initial handling of a complaint. For example:

• At Cheshire Constabulary, dedicated complaints managers make recording   decisions within ten working days in 97% of complaint cases. In 2018/19, we upheld only two appeals against complaints not being recorded by this force.
• Having missed a target of 80% in four of the previous five years to record complaints within 10 working days, the Metropolitan Police Service reviewed its processes and introduced a new database, resulting in 90% of complaints being recorded within 10 days. The force has also seen a decrease year on year in the number of non-recording appeals received – from 424 in 2013/14 to 208 in 2018/19, while the proportion of these appeals upheld by us reduced from 40% (168) in 2013/14 to 28% (58) in 2018/19.
• In October 2018 Greater Manchester Police set up a new Assessment Team to record complaints and decide on initial actions. Their timeliness for recording complaints within ten days increased from 55% in 2017/18 to 98% in the final quarter of 2018/19.

 

For a full breakdown of the national and force complaints statistics please see the full report here

 

Additional information

Police forces deal with the majority of complaints themselves, with the IOPC handling only the most serious and sensitive cases. The first stage of complaint handling is for the relevant police force to decide whether to record the complaint. When a complaint is recorded, it must be dealt with according to certain rules and guidance. If the force does not record a complaint, the complainant can appeal against this decision to the IOPC.

People can also appeal at the end of their complaint if they are not happy with how the police have handled it. In some instances, this appeal right is to the IOPC. Other appeals are handled by police forces.

 

Source: Independent Office for Police Conduct - News

 

New figures from work-life balance charity Working Families [1] show that both parents/carers and best-practice employers alike are overwhelmingly in favour of greater transparency around companies’ flexible working and family-related leave and pay policies.

Over 700 parents and carers [2] and 74 Working Families employer members [3] were surveyed. The charity found that:

• Over 97% of parents and carers surveyed agreed that requiring employers to publish their flexible working and family-related leave and pay policies would be helpful. Over 97% of parents and carers also agreed that this increased transparency would make an employer more attractive to work for.
• Over 97% of employers surveyed agreed that large companies (over 250 employees) should publish their flexible working and family-related leave and pay policies on their websites. Over 93% of employers agreed that doing so would be simple and inexpensive.
• Over 89% of parents and carers surveyed agreed that employers should be required to advertise vacancies with part-time and/or flexible options.  Over 84% of employed parents and carers and over 95% of unemployed parents and carers agreed that a lack of quality, permanent part-time job opportunities had been a barrier to applying for a new job.
• Over 97% of employers surveyed agreed that advertising jobs with part-time and flexible options is helpful for recruiting and retaining staff. 89% of employers believed a requirement on companies to recruit flexibly would be effective, compared to just 33% who believed a voluntary approach would be effective.

The announcement of the survey results coincides with the closing date of the Government’s consultation on these proposals, as well as the last day of National Work Life Week [4]. In its consultation response, Working Families is calling for a requirement on employers to publish their flexible working and family-related leave and pay policies, and to advertise jobs part-time and/or flexibly by default.

Jane van Zyl, Chief Executive of Working Families, said:

The UK’s labour market is not working for the UK’s 13 million working parents [5]. Our research shows that while 86% of working parents would like to work flexibly, only just under half (49%) actually do [6]; and that all too often, when they have accessed flexibility, they feel trapped in the ‘flexible’ role [7].

Large employers publishing their flexible and family-friendly policies will empower parents to make informed choices about where they work, igniting a ‘race to the top’ around flexible and family-friendly policies amongst employers that want to recruit and retain the best talent.

Action to turn the labour market on its head around flexible working is long overdue. Requiring employers to advertise jobs flexibly—and ensuring that better job design is an integral part of the process—will help create more part-time and/or flexible jobs for everyone, and a more level playing field for parents.

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Notes

[1] Working Families is the UK’s work-life balance charity. We help working parents and carers—and their employers—find a better balance between responsibilities at home and in the workplace.

We provide free legal advice to parents and carers on their rights at work. We give employers the tools they need to support their employees while creating a flexible, high-performing workforce. And we advocate on behalf of the UK’s 13 million working parents, influencing policy through campaigns informed by ground-breaking research.

[2] Working Families carried out an online survey of parents and carers in September and October 2019, using our channels and networks to promote it.

[3] Working Families has over 130 employer members committed to creating flexible and family-friendly workplaces. See a full list of our members.

[4] National Work Life Week (7-11 October 2019) is an annual campaign to get both employers and employees talking about wellbeing at work and work-life fit. It’s an opportunity for employers to show their staff, and potential candidates, how their organisation is striving for a family-friendly and flexible working culture. The campaign is run by Working Families, the UK’s work-life balance charity.

[5] Parents and non-parents by sex and age of youngest dependent child and different working arrangements, UK and regions, ONS 2018

[6] 2019 Modern Families Index, Working Families & Bright Horizons

[7] According to the 2019 Modern Families Index,  nearly two-thirds (65%) of mothers and half of fathers agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: ‘I will stay in my job because I won’t be able to get the flexibility I have now elsewhere’.

Source: Working Families - News