Equality Champions

Equality Champions are here to work towards:

Equality Champions are there to provide staff with tactical guidance and support to frontline staff on the following ‘protected groups’:

Age – this applies for those aged 18 and over
Disability – this includes sensory, mobility, mental health, learning disabilities, long term health conditions e.g. cancer and HIV
Gender reassignment – Under the Act ‘gender reassignment’ is a personal process (that is, moving away from one’s birth sex to the preferred gender), this is not just a medical process
Race – this includes ethnic or national origins (Gypsies), colour (Black and Minority Ethnic) or nationality (Polish)
Religion or belief – this also includes lack of belief
Sex – man or woman
Sexual orientation – this includes people who are heterosexual, lesbian, gay or bisexual

Continuing to build trust and confidence with minority communities
Providing specialist support in the investigation of hate crimes and incidents
Providing guidance and support to SNT officers
Identifying and supporting SNTs in regular contact with minority and hard to reach individuals and groups
Supporting the existing staff support networks in retaining a diverse workforce.

They will do this by:

Identifying new engagement opportunities
Supporting staff in initial engagement with new communities, either by advice, signposting or in some occasions facilitating or attending with operational staff to provide support in the first instance
Providing guidance on language, terminology, culture and accessibility
Sharing knowledge and experience on engaging with diverse communities to increase the knowledge and understanding of operational staff
Working with staff to identify and develop good practice to share with the force and our partners
Providing feedback to Corporate Development in areas where improvements can be made