Annex A
"Breaking Through"
Progression Target 5: Appointment of Chief
Officers
INTRODUCTION
In 1999, the Government, with the support of
the Association of Police Authorities (APA) and the Association
of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) launched "Dismantling Barriers"—10
year employment targets for the recruitment, retention and progression
of minority ethnic staff.
Subsequently, the Race Relations (Amendment)
Act 2000 placed a statutory duty on all police authorities and
forces to:
— eliminate unlawful discrimination;
— promote equality of opportunity;
and
— promote good race relations between
people of different racial groups.
"BREAKING THROUGH":
PROMOTING MINORITY
ETHNIC EMPLOYMENT
IN THE
POLICE SERVICE
The revised and updated Dismantling Barriers
Action Plan—now called "Breaking Through"—is
designed to focus on outcomes to help authorities' and forces'
efforts to meet the Home Secretary's race equality employment
targets.
It has been produced as a practitioner's manual
to improve recruitment, retention and progression. A series of
measurable actions will enable forces to track performance towards
the outcomes described in the plan.
In addition, guidance on adopting a problem-solving
approach to setting up or reviewing and evaluating initiatives
with an aim to identifying good practice is being provided for
forces to follow to support and help them achieve the targets.
Whilst "Breaking Through" focuses
on visible minority ethnic officers and staff, the approach is
equally applicable to the recruitment, retention and progression
of other groups currently under-represented within the service,
such as women, gay/lesbians and disabled people.
PROGRESSION TARGET
5—APPOINTMENT OF
CHIEF OFFICERS
A key element of the race equality targets for
police authorities relates to the appointment of ACPO officers.
Police authorities have specific responsibilities for achieving
Dismantling Barriers Progression Target 5:
"From 2009 the percentage of ethnic minority
officers with 15 years to under 25 years service at Assistant
Chief Constable and above is equal to the percentage of white
officers with 15 years to under 25 years service at Assistant
Chief Constable and above."
The Race Relations Act forbids racial discrimination
in employment. It makes it unlawful to discriminate against a
person, directly or indirectly, on the grounds of race. The Act
covers the entire area of racial discrimination in employment,
including those areas relating to recruitment, advertising, selection,
promotion and training.
Police authorities have a positive duty to eliminate
unlawful racial discrimination and to promote race equality and
good race relations whatever the size of their local minority
ethnic population. The use of good practice in the recruitment
and selection process is key to achieving this as it is to ensuring
equality of opportunity for all candidates.
It is therefore vital that authorities ensure
that they review and rigorously examine their processes for the
selection and appointment of chief officers to assess whether
there is any adverse impact on minority ethnic applicants for
chief officer posts and remove any barriers identified. Equally,
authorities should ensure that there are no barriers to the progression
of women, gay/lesbians and other under-represented groups at this
level.
In order to ensure that the pool of eligible
candidates for chief officer posts is as diverse as possible,
authorities should be working with their forces to encourage officers
from currently under-represented groups to apply to both the High
Potential Development Scheme and Senior Leadership Development
Programme. Guidance on how to identify the potential barriers
to achieving this and on how forces and authorities can assist
in increasing the number of applicants from these groups is provided
in Progression Outcomes 3 and 4 of "Breaking Through".
KEY QUESTIONS
FOR POLICE
AUTHORITIES
Access to the High Potential Development Scheme
and Senior Leadership Development Programme
— How is the authority working with
the force to ensure that visible minority ethnic officers are
actively encouraged to apply to the High Potential Development
Scheme and Senior Leadership Development Programme? Are VME officers
progressing successfully through the schemes in similar numbers
to their white counterparts?
— What systems does the authority have
in place to monitor the advertisement and promotion of these schemes
by the force? Does the police authority input to any marketing
process about the authority's expectations of ACPO level officers?
— What data does the force provide
to the authority on a regular basis regarding the take-up of these
schemes, including data on the ethnicity, gender, age etc of applicants?
— How is the authority working with
the force to identify any barriers to the successful completion
of the programmes by visible minority ethnic officers and to ensure
that any necessary changes are made?
— Is the system of Personal Development
Reviews carried out properly and effectively for all officers,
including those applying for senior ranks?
— Are there any patterns in the career
pathways of VME officers, and if so what conclusions have been
drawn from them and what action is being taken?
— What guidance is given to line managers
at all levels about encouraging officers to apply for the scheme?
Is enough being done to identify and encourage potential beneficiaries
of the programme?
Appointment of chief officers
General
— How will the authority ensure an
open, transparent and fair process in the context of local circumstances
so as to encourage a diverse pool of candidates?
— Has the authority considered seeking
external support and advice to achieve this—eg from a personnel/HR
or diversity expert/adviser?
— How will the authority ensure that
any barriers to the successful appointment of minority ethnic
applicants are systematically identified and removed? If there
is any evidence of adverse impact, who will take responsibility
for ensuring the necessary changes are made to the selection and
appointments process?
Developing a role profile and person specification
— How will the authority ensure that
the role profile and person specification does not contain any
criteria that have or could have a differential impact on minority
ethnic applicants?
— Could your rules or requirements:
— discourage applicants from particular
ethnic groups;
— act as a barrier to some ethnic groups;
or
— have a negative impact on officers
from visible minority ethnic (VME) communities?
— Has the authority taken full account
of the National Competency Framework competencies for the rank?
— How will the authority ensure that
the person specification is tailored to local circumstances and
takes full account of all equal opportunities legislation?
Advertising
— Has the authority consulted with
the local Black Police Association and other staff support networks
to ensure that details of the vacancy reach the widest possible
audience?
— Does the authority encourage the
local BPA and other staff support networks to circulate details
of chief officer vacancies in communications with its members,
where appropriate?
— Has the authority consulted with
the local BPA and other staff support networks on the role profile
and person specification?
Applications
— Does the authority monitor the number
of requests for application packs from white and VME candidates?
— Does the authority contact those
VME officers who requested an application pack but did not then
complete the application form to help identify the reasons for
non-return?
— Has the authority considered dip-sampling
suitably qualified VME candidates to find out why they did not
request an application pack?
Selection Procedures
— Has the authority sought to ensure,
as far as reasonably practicable, that the selection panel has
a suitably diverse representation of gender, minority ethnic groups
and background?
— If it is not possible to include
a minority ethnic member on the panel, has the authority considered
using an observer to discharge its responsibilities in this respect?
— Have selection panel members received
training on race and diversity issues? When was this training
undertaken? Has it been properly evaluated?
Short-listing
— How will the authority ensure that
there is no bias at short-listing stage and that the selection
criteria are applied fairly and consistently?
— If unsuccessful at short-listing
stage, does the authority review the applications of VME officers
to satisfy itself that there has been no bias in the short-listing
process?
Interviewing and Assessment
— How will the authority ensure that
the interview and assessment process is objective and non-discriminatory?
— Could any of the assessment methods
have an adverse impact on officers from VME groups?
— Is the interview held at a time when
some groups may be disadvantaged for religious or culture reasons
(eg Jewish days or Ramadan)?
Post-Selection Procedure and Feedback
— As well as providing feedback, does
the authority survey unsuccessful candidates to obtain their views
on the process; how it could be improved; and any barriers identified?
Monitoring Data
— Does the police authority have systems
in place for monitoring the number, ethnicity, gender and age
of people applying for each chief officer post?
— How is this information reported
to the full authority? Who is responsible for addressing any evidence
of adverse impact?
WHERE CAN
I GET FURTHER
HELP?
If you have any questions about "Breaking
Through" or the race equality employment targets, please
contact Fionnuala Gill or Claire Cooper at the APA Secretariat:
Fionnuala Gill
020 7664 3167
fionnuala.gill@lga.gov.uk
For further information, see:
Chief Police Officer Recruitment & Selection
Guidance. Home Office Circular 60/02
Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000: An APA
Guide for Police Authorities. Association of Police Authorities
Ethnic Monitoring: A guide for public authorities.
Commission for Racial Equality.
Statutory Code of Practice on the Duty to
Promote Race Equality. Commission for Racial Equality
The Duty to Promote Race Equality: A framework
for Inspectorates. Commission for Racial Equality
The Duty to Promote Race Equality: A guide
for public authorities. Commission for Racial Equality
Career progression of Ethnic Minority Staff
(1999). Home Office Police Research paper 107
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