FITTING THE BILL
Essex Police have developed a unique police officer recruitment drive, #FitTheBill, which has been a huge success in bringing a wide range of people into policing, from increasingly diverse backgrounds. To further those ends, in 2020 they created a new #FitTheBill campaign entitled ‘We Value Difference’.
Nationally, policing struggles to attract people who are black, Asian, minority ethnic, LGBTQ+, female or who declare other protected characteristics. This is an issue which many organisations have addressed, however very few diversity campaigns tackle the whole breadth of protected characteristics head-on, with a clear and explicit statement of intent welcoming everyone to the profession on the basis of shared values first and foremost.
‘We Value Difference’ tackles diversity and inclusion in its entirety. It reflects the values which define us and the values policing is most interested in. It articulates some of the fundamental tenets of British policing with consent, and communicates them in a way which is relevant to modern society. Put simply, it’s your public service ethos and commitment that matter, not your religion or your height or your gender or sexuality.
Within the first two months of campaign launch, the number of applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic men and women doubled compared to previous recruitment campaigns. Over the same period, applications from non-British white men and women (for example those of central European or Irish backgrounds), and women in general, also increased..
Within the first four months of campaign launch, the ‘We Value Difference’ Campaign had attracted 1295 men and women to apply for a job as a Police Officer, 16% from black, Asian or minority ethnic individuals, compared with 9% of applications in the same period the previous year – an unprecedented outcome for a police diversity recruitment campaign.
POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION
The ‘We Value Difference’ Campaign is changing the make-up of one the UK’s larger police forces and is making it more representative of the communities it serves. The campaign also won support from completely new audiences and from people across all sections of society. Essex Police has already seen a 4.35% increase in black, Asian and minority ethnic officers serving in the county and a 1.13% increase in female officers in a force of over 3300 regular Officers and over 500 Special Constables.
The methodology, impact and insights from ‘We Value Difference’ have also been recognised as best practice and have been shared with 30 other UK police forces, the Home Office, the national College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council. In addition, other forces have expressed interest in collaborating on future diversity recruitment campaigns and we plan to continue sharing insight for the benefit of the entire sector.
Chief Constable of Essex Police, Ben-Julian Harrington said: “It’s been amazing to see the reaction – not just from across Essex, but across the UK and beyond.
“Our aim is to make our police force as diverse as the county we serve, and we are committed to doing that. We genuinely value differences between different people and communities at Essex Police – whether that’s your age, your ethnicity or your life experience. As long as you share our commitment to protect and serve the people of Essex, we want to hear from you.
“Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing, said: “the public are the police and the police are the public” – it’s as simple as that.
“We also know that different personalities and viewpoints can make a great team – that’s why difference is so important. We support officers from all sorts of backgrounds, those of different sexual orientations and gender identities, of different levels of neurodiversity and ability or speak different languages. I think the police should be more straight-talking and acknowledge we need to do more to attract people from all walks of life to join the great people that are already part of our team. We need to get on and deal with it and that is what we are doing.
“I know we can do better. And we will. I want to make sure that our officers are the best that they can be so that they can continue to detect crime in our county and keep you safe.”
REFLECTING THE COMMUNITY
Essex Police know the importance of showing the public the people behind the uniform, humanising them and breaking down some of the barriers that exist with communities. This is a must to challenge common misconceptions and stereotypes of the police and encourage those from all backgrounds to consider policing as an excellent career for all. This is now of particular importance as the death of George Floyd in the USA and the reaction of the Black Lives Matters movement shone a light on perceived racism and a lack of trust in policing across the world.
We have sought advice from diverse community groups, charities, members of the public and existing officers and staff from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and they have highlighted some of the barriers that potentially exist between them and the police and what can be done to encourage people from these communities to join the police.
As a career, policing was generally not recognised as credible within certain groups. Asian communities felt the police offered a lack of status and prospects, the black community felt there were minimal opportunities for black women in a predominantly white male organisation and those from different faiths and those who had English as a second language thought they were ineligible to work for a British police force. All of which were negative assumptions or misconceptions.
PC Anokhi Chouhan, who serves on the Community Policing Team in Loughton, has already used her connections to make a difference. Having joined in Summer 2019, she noticed that “[my team] had little to no contact with members of our religious communities. [I] worked with a local Reverend to identify and contact religious leaders from all faiths in our districts and come up with ways we could better engage with those communities.”
Alongside Anokhi, over 50 officers and staff from all walks of life have also provided case studies, appeared in selfie-campaigns or have spoken about their experiences in interview-style videos. Differences in ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds and life experiences have shown how the force celebrates diversity and values difference.
Case studies included officers with dyslexia and autism, women who had joined later in life, single parents, people in same-sex relationships and those from ethnically diverse communities. Each person spoke about the barriers they faced, how they overcame challenges with the help and support of the force, and the importance of difference in the workplace. These were not only used in our usual channels, but selected stories were also used to support the multi-million-pound Home Office national ‘Make Your Difference’ recruitment campaign and officers have featured across a range of regional and national platforms.
Recent figures show an additional 6620 officers have joined forces across England and Wales, putting the Government on track to attract 20,000 more officers by 2023.
NEXT STEPS
The ‘We Value Difference’ campaign is designed to increase trust, connect to new audiences and open doors that were previously shut for many people who just didn’t think policing was an option for them. Not only has this seen more people from diverse backgrounds join the force at Constable level, it has seen the force recruit a new top ranking senior female black officer, a Chief Superintendent, which is two ranks above the previously highest-ranking black officer.
An independent survey has shown the campaign has helped change public perception of the force, with public confidence and trust hitting an all-time high.
‘We Value Difference’ has now been extended to include Independent Advisory Groups, to not only encourage recruitment but also to encourage wider engagement with District Commanders and members of the community. Essex Police are showing they really do value difference, and the different opinions on how policing with consent should work in Essex.
The ambition is to not only deliver regional improvements, or even to work hand in hand with multiple other forces, but for Essex to help to transform the whole policing sector.
Despite the fact the timing of this project could not have proven any more challenging, with the country has been gripped in the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘We Value Difference’ has exceeded all expectations. Essex Police are committed to continuing activity to further increase the diversity within the force, with a second recruitment campaign being developed for Summer 2021.
