Tomorrow (Saturday, 8 March) marks International Women’s Day – a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Recognised across the world, International Women’s Day also brings attention issues such as gender, equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.
From Firearms Officers to Dog Handlers, Response Officers to Detectives, Custody Nurses to the Corporate Communications Teams, Force Control Rooms to PCSO’s – it has never been a better time to consider a career with the police service.
North Wales Police Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman and President of the British Association for Women in Policing said: “We are proud to support International Women’s Day and celebrate all the fabulous women we have working in a variety of roles across policing in the UK.
“Every year for more than a century, 8 March has been recognised as International Women’s Day and for us as a police service, this is a great opportunity for us all to celebrate the achievements of women in policing and how far they’ve come over the years.
“Across the country we’ve seen some fantastic results with progression and recruitment around women over the last few years and I want to keep that up as we go forward, because a balanced, equitable workplace is a better workplace, a nicer workplace, and a kinder workplace for all.”
CC Blakeman has written in her capacity as BAWP President to the Home Secretary and Policing Minister in support of Sir Mark Rowley’s request for an urgent review of the legislation around the vetting of police officers.
On Tuesday this week the High Court released its judgment in the case of Sergeant Lino Di Maria v Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. The judgment found that it was unlawful to terminate the claimant police officer’s service with the Metropolitan Police, following withdrawal of his vetting, and quashed the relevant decisions taken internally.
Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, President of BAWP said: “We represent the voices of women in policing across the UK and as such we felt it was important to support the Commissioner. There is an entire network of women in particular who feel vulnerable both internally and externally and have lost confidence because of this decision.
“We agree with the Commissioner that there is an urgent need for Government to update police regulations to address the ruling and to give forces the legal powers and confidence to dismiss officers. This is vital to ensure that only those who meet the highest standards are able to serve as an officer.
“It is for this reason I have written to both the Home Secretary and the Policing Minister supporting Sir Mark Rowley in his request for an urgent review of the current legislation.”
In her letter Chief Constable Blakeman said: “Since the horrific events that saw Wayne Couzens convicted of the murder of Sarah Everard and the subsequent Casey review we have seen a change of pace and emphasis on identifying and removing those individuals who should not serve the public in the role of constable. This is welcomed by us all, as in order to attract the right talent for future leadership and to ensure we retain the many skilled and dedicated officers we have we must create an environment that is fair, supportive, respectful and free of discrimination. Leaders across policing have worked hard with the framework that is available and have increased the confidence of victims , both as members of the public and police officers and staff, to raise instances of sexual abuse and abuse of position of trust that is all important in our fight to eradicate violence against women and girls.
“Vetting is a critical opportunity to look at persons background and behaviour to predict future behaviour and in doing so take a risk-based approach to suitability to serve. This is not only critical at point of entry but as an ongoing review during service. As the national lead for Police National Database I have worked closely with Chief Constable Serena Kennedy to carry out the data wash across policing to ensure we had an accurate picture. I know how critical this work has been to raising confidence.
“The judgement that we have recently seen in the Metropolitan police force now places policing in an impossible situation of identifying those who should not have a career in policing but being unable to have a mechanism for removing them. We are at a critical point in terms of public and staff confidence and if we are to continue to ask the public and our staff to raise their concerns about inappropriate behaviours, and for those around them to be an upstander, there must be a mechanism for the cessation of employment within the vetting regime. We are in complete support of the request of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley in his request for an urgent review of the current legislation with an effective and efficient process that does not see officers sat on paid vetting leave and victims without an outcome and without the confidence in us to deal with their concerns.
“As an association we would welcome an opportunity to support this issue further.”
Fabulous 2024 BAWP Awards and CPD Event over for another year!
The 2024 Awards and CPD event took place on 3 and 4 June 2024 at the beautiful Carden Park Hotel, Cheshire.
It was a great a opportunity to celebrate the winners and highly commended across the categories. There was a full agenda for the CPD and is a wonderful chance to meet colleagues from across UK policing and wider.
The inspirational Figan Murray OBE was the after dinner speaker and she was outstanding and so humble.
Agenda for the event:
Day One
11:00 – Registration and Networking Lunch
13:00 – Event Opening | Assistant Chief Officer Alexis Poole, Devon and Cornwall Police
13:50 – Misogyny and Terrorism | Dr Sajjan M Gohel
14:30 – Refreshments
15:00 – Leading Behind the Fence: The Female Perspective | Kate Heard, HMPS
15:30 – HeForShe Update | Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes, Metropolitan Police Service
16:00 – Reflections and Close of Day One | Assistant Chief Officer Alexis Poole, Devon and Cornwall Police
Awards Evening Event
18:00 – Networking Pre-Event Dinner
19:00 – Awards Dinner
20:30 – After Dinner Speaker | Figen Murray OBE
21:00 – Awards Presentations
22:30 – Dancing and Music
Day Two
08:45 – Networking, Refreshments, and Sponsor Stands
09:15 – Day Two Opening | Assistant Chief Officer Alexis Poole, Devon and Cornwall Police
09:20 – Elizabeth Emblem, Medals for Heros supported by Niche | Bryn Hughes OBE
09:30 – Crisis to Comeback – learning the hard way how to optimise personal resilience in leadership to thrive | Chief Superintendent Maria Fox, Derbyshire Police
10:00 – Those who Paved the Way for Us | Retired Chief Superintendent Kate Halpin QPM
10:30 – Sponsor Slot | Mark Gleeson, Vice President of Auror
10:45 – Refreshments
11:15 – Gender Pay Gap | Assistant Chief Officer Rachel Hartland Lane and the College of Policing
11:45 – Angiolini Enquiry and BAWP Next Steps | Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, BAWP President
12:00 – Angiolini: An Examination of Culture | Elizabeth Huskinson
12:30 – Lunch
13:30 – Perinatal Mental Health to Change HR Practice and Policy | Dr Krystal Wilkinson, MCIPD, FHEA
14:15 – The Power of Data and the value of Police Staff in tackling Organised Crime and Extremism | Ruth O’Malley, Head of Data Science for Counter Terrorism Policing
14:45 – Reflections and Event Close | Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, BAWP President
Work is already underway on planning the 2025 event.
Click on the image to view the Spring 2023 edition of Grapevine
