Ethics, equality and inclusion

We strongly believe in the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) guidance that supports us to ensure that our behaviour, actions and decisions will always be in support of the public interest.

We value public trust and confidence in policing. To earn this we will be open to scrutiny and be transparent, ensuring we adhere to the Equality Standard in the interests of the individuals and communities that we serve and our staff that deliver policing services.

Bedfordshire Police and the Police and Crime Commissioner are fully committed, in respect of both our staff and the communities we serve, to:

• eliminating unlawful discrimination, prejudice, harassment and victimisation
• improving Equality of Opportunity between those with protected characteristics and those without, and
• fostering good relations between those with protected characteristics and those without

The public sector equality duty which is set out in Section 149 (1) of the Equality Act 2010 outlines the specific legislative requirement of the force to publish information that evidences how we are fulfilling our requirements around equality and diversity.

Further information around the Equality 2010 Act can be found on the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Home Office websites.

Our service delivery, business strategies, policies, corporate behaviour and our relationships with the communities we serve all support our approach to ethics, equality and inclusion. Our commitment ensures that we will support our employees to reach their full potential, and in so doing, maximise community engagement, involvement and increased public confidence.

We have a moral and legislative obligation to check that the work we do does not impact adversely on our communities, particularly with respect to the protected characteristics as identified within the Equality Act 2010:

• age
• disability
• gender reassignment
• marriage/civil partnership
• race/ethnicity
• religion/faith
• gender
• sexual orientation
• pregnancy/maternity

We utilise the services of members of the community through the Bedfordshire Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs). Further information about IAGs is available.

Internally we use strong and active staff support groups to enable the workforce to engage easily on matters of ethics, equality and inclusion. Our Staff Support Groups include:

• Christian Police Association
• Disability Awareness Network
• BME Support Group
• Bedfordshire Police LGBT Network

Inclusivity

Everyone at Bedfordshire Police takes personal responsibility to help create an inclusive workplace, where police officers and staff respect one another, feel valued for their differences and can be themselves. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments, wherever needed so everyone feels welcome and can flourish.