APCC Leads on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Meet Young Review Chair
On Friday 27th April 2018, David Munro, the APCC Lead on Equality, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) and Hardyal Dhindsa, the Deputy Lead on EDHR, met with Baroness Young of Hornsey and Dale Simon CBE, to discuss the Young Review Race Equality Audit of Police and Crime Plans.
Amongst its findings, the Audit highlighted that the majority of Police and Crime Plans currently do not make in-depth references to issues affecting local BAME communities, and recommended that PCCs should set out in their plans how they meet their statutory duties under the Equalities Act.
In the meeting, David and Hardyal discussed with Baroness Young the work that is going on in their areas and beyond to drive forward equality and diversity, and also highlighted that a key aim of the APCC and NPCC Policing Vision 2025 is to create a culture within policing that “values difference and diversity”.
Following the meeting, David said:
“I am delighted to have begun such a constructive dialogue with Baroness Young.
“The content of Police and Crime Plans will always be the responsibility of individual PCCs, in consultation with their Chief Constables, reflecting the needs of their local areas.
“However, this Audit has provided us with an opportunity to think about how through our Plans, we can assure members of all the communities we represent that equality and diversity are at the heart of what we do.
“I thank Baroness Young for opening this dialogue, and look forward to working with her on this further.”
Hardyal said:
“As with so much of what we do as PCCs, what is key here is sharing good practice, so we can learn from each other on what is effective, and make decisions based on evidence.
“I was interested to see the examples of good practice which the Young Review had cited; as PCC for Derbyshire I was particularly glad to read that the Equality Impact statement contained within the Derbyshire Police and Crime Plan was cited as ‘one of the best’ equality statements amongst the plans reviewed.
“I encourage PCCs to consider the Audit’s findings, as we look ahead to either refreshing our plans in the near future, and/or authoring new plans following the 2020 election.”
Meanwhile, Baroness Young said:
“The leadership of Police and Crime Commissioners is pivotal in ensuring that effective action is taken at a local level, by our police and criminal justice agencies, to reduce the racial disparities that exist in criminal justice outcomes. Therefore the Young Review looks forward to working with the APCC on this important agenda.”