Diversity focus as Wiltshire Police seeks views from the public on how it can be more inclusive

By Ben Fitzgerald - 27 September 2018

CommunityOpinion and Features

Wiltshire Police is reaching out to the public to help make policing more representative of its communities, as the Force prepares to launch a new Equality, Diversity and Inclusion strategy.

Public meetings are being held in Trowbridge on Wednesday 3 October and Swindon on Wednesday 10 October.  A third meeting is being planned for the south of the county.

An online public consultation will also run from 10 October to 21 November on the Wiltshire Police website.  The survey will ask the public how the police can build stronger relationships with communities, achieve greater diversity in its workforce and work better with partner agencies to tackle any disparity in service delivery.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said: “In a year which marks 100 years of women in Wiltshire Police, it is important that the Force and policing in general continues to diversify to ensure it is representative of the communities it serves.

“The public are the eyes and ears of the police and to build strong relationships with them it must be representative. Wiltshire Police has made solid improvements in recent years since I asked for a stronger focus on equality, diversity and inclusion and this momentum must continue.”

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills, who leads the Force’s work on diversity, said: “Diversity is a key priority for us. We strive to focus on ability, not disability and this ethos underpins everything we do to encourage more diversity in the workplace.”

A Diversity and Inclusion team was set up 18 months ago to bring more focus to attraction, recruitment and retention of under-represented groups, including people from a black and minority ethnic (BME) background.

Next week, the Force launches the first of its autumn recruitment campaigns and encourages applications from under-represented groups. The Crime & Communications Centre in Devizes opens recruitment for Contact Centre Operators on Monday 1 October.  Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) recruitment opens on 15 October and Local Crime Investigators on 5 November.

The Trowbridge public meeting is at Trowbridge Rugby Club, Hilperton on Wednesday 3 October from 6 pm to 8.30 pm. The Swindon meeting is at the Broadgreen Community Centre, Salisbury Street, Swindon on Wednesday 10 October from 9 am to 12 noon. 

Places can be booked on Wiltshire Police's website https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/article/3376/We-need-your-views

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