City of London Police achieves highest award of any force in employers inclusion standard
City of London Police has increased its ranking to Silver on the Inclusive Employers Standard, the highest award achieved by any police force in the country.
The Inclusive Employers Standard is an inclusion accreditation, gained by organisations able to demonstrate inclusion activities in line with the six pillars of inclusion framework, which is then assessed against evidence-based criteria.
City of London Police was judged to have excelled in engaging with staff about inclusion. The square mile force also scored well above the national average under the equip, empower and engage pillars.
The force is using training, policies and guidance to support its employees, including managers and leaders, to build equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) into their everyday work.
T/Commissioner Pete O’Doherty said: “This is a huge achievement for City policing and places us as one of the most inclusive forces in the country.
“When we launched ‘Our People – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy’ earlier this year we set out how committed we are to delivering a service that achieves the very highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and compassion.
“That means confronting any behaviours that compromise the confidence and trust of both our public and our staff.
“This is a welcome result, reflecting the hard work of teams across the force, but I am determined we reach Gold standard.”
City of London Police launched the ‘Our People – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion strategy 2024 to 2027’ in last year. One of the key aims was to gain accreditation from Inclusive Employers and build on its recommendations.
In its strategy, City of London Police also committed to demonstrate increased levels of trust and confidence among the public through a “proactive commitment to action” and welcoming “increased and robust challenge from communities and independent advisory and scrutiny groups”.
Better use of data and internal cultural review audits are also being introduced to further understand the conduct and the culture of teams.
The force says there will be more focus on staff wellbeing and it is to invest in the retention and progression of staff from a diversity of backgrounds to improve low levels of representation in senior roles.
Emily Pattinson, senior Inclusive Employers Standard programme lead, inclusive employers, said: “We’re incredibly proud that City of London Police has shown a clear commitment to building and inclusive culture and has achieved a Silver accreditation.
“In what can feel like an overwhelming time for inclusion and diversity work, organisations like City of London Police are part of driving meaningful change. By seeking to understand their inclusion development the force is demonstrating to others in their sector that they are prioritising their people and creating a culture of impactful inclusion.”
Chair of the City of London Police Authority, Tijs Broeke, said: “This is a huge milestone for the City of London Police, but we know more needs to be done.
“One of my priorities since my election as chair of the Police Authority Board has been to work closely with the City Police on our joint ambition to ensure that it is one of the most inclusive and trusted police services in the city.
“Police officers enforce the law and it is exercised through policing by consent.
“Policing in this manner is even more important, especially in a city that is so diverse.
“Policing must demonstrate that it has a truly diverse mix of employees within its ranks, the message it sends to the public is clear – the police are there to serve everyone.”