Welcome to Policing Diversity On Line On this page: 1. Welcome 2. How to use the site Welcome to Policing Diversity Online - Produced by HR Organisational Development Policing Diversity Online is the updated version of the policing diversity handbook that was last published in 2002. This new version has been prepared in the spirit of the original, but because it is a website, it can offer a wider scope of resources such as links and contacts to other sites, both internal and external. A hard copy of any page or pages may be printed off. The website is intended as a working tool for police officers and police staff to support best practise in their day-to-day working life. It will be regularly updated, amended and extended to meet the needs of its users. There are six main sections which correspond to the six diversity strands. The material has been prepared under the guidance of the six strands: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender), Race/Nationality. A Met-wide questionnaire was circulated to police officers and staff, and boroughs were consulted as IAGs and members of the communities that are included on the site. Everyone should be regarded as an individual with his or her own needs, beliefs and cultural background and is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. With the preparation of this site, it became evident when consulting different leaders and members of the same faith, nationality, age- group, gender, etc that while there is common ground, everyone has their own ideas and interpretations. There is no simple division of the individual into any particular group. Each case is complex, with the possibility of a person fitting into several different categories: gender, faith, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, etc. But in carrying out best practice, it is hoped that Policing Diversity Online can provide information that will support and improve the service that the Met can offer. Policing Diversity On Line is produced by HR Organisational Development How to use the site The site has been designed to keep things as simple as possible. It is set out as follows: LEFT HAND COLUMN - THE MENU Click on any of the Strands (ie Age, Disability, etc) Then Click on any of the subsections that are relevant to your needs RIGHT HAND COLUMN (Click on any of the following for direct access) • Met Police Support Associations (direct links to contacts of each Association) • Borough Diversity Contacts (a unique comprehensive list of all BOCUs) • Contact Us (For sending your comments, contributions, etc) MAIN BODY OF PAGE This contains the main text. In certain places in the text there are boxes topped with a red strip. Example These contain information for use when dealing with various situations such as visits to homes and religious buildings, custody protocol, first contact, etc. Policing Diversity Website Disclaimer Any links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Metropolitan Police Service of any products, services, policies or opinions of the organisation or individual. This disclaimer and exclusion shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law under the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. How to use the site The site has been designed to keep things as simple as possible. It is set out as follows: LEFT HAND COLUMN - THE MENU Click on any of the Strands (ie Age, Disability, etc) Then Click on any of the subsections that are relevant to your needs RIGHT HAND COLUMN (Click on any of the following for direct access) • Met Police Support Associations (direct links to contacts of each Association) • Borough Diversity Contacts (a unique comprehensive list of all BOCUs) • Contact Us (For sending your comments, contributions, etc) MAIN BODY OF PAGE This contains the main text. In certain places in the text there are boxes topped with a red strip. Example These contain information for use when dealing with various situations such as visits to homes and religious buildings, custody protocol, first contact, etc. Policing Diversity Website Disclaimer Any links to other websites do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Metropolitan Police Service of any products, services, policies or opinions of the organisation or individual. This disclaimer and exclusion shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law under the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. What's new? On this page: 1. General & Met-related 2. Age 3. Disability 4. Religion and Belief 5. Gender 6. LGBT 7. Race/Nationality 8. Archive Media Material Diversity News Policing Diversity On Line - News Race Section - Regions of The World - Link General & Met-related Jewish New Police Association Web Site Launched - link Policing Arrangements for the Jewish High Holy Days 2010 Guidance and good practice for employers on the forthcoming Equality Act 2010 - Link 'The Diversity Space' - A publication produced by Diversity and Citizen Focus Directorate. Latest Edition Spring 2010 Equality Act 2010: Public sector equality duty consultation launched - Equality Act 2010 Forthcoming Changes to Employment Law HR - Diversity Related Age Saga of law to end age bias that puts paid to OAP perks - Link Default retirement age: Employers can justify age discrimination, Court of Appeal rules - Link Mature job seekers to face ageism recruiters 23/7 - Age Uk Latest News Disability Reasonable Adjustments - Chief constable of South Yorkshire Police v Jelic Source - Personneltoday Improving the police service response to those with mental ill health and learning disabilities ACPO Religion and Belief Believe it or not : What will be the impact of extending religious discrimination rules to cover philosophical beliefs - Link Legal Q&A: Religion and belief discrimination - Link HR must do more to understand and prepare for Ramadan and other religious festivals - link Religious discrimination: What recent tribunal decisions mean for employers - Link Gender "Rape is not just a women's issue" - 17th March 2010 Source - The Guardian LGBT Law in practice: sexual orientation - Link Race/Nationality CIPD should take a "positive action" to boost racial diversity in HR - Link Stephen Lawrence Enquiry - 10 Years on Archive related media material - The link below will take you to all media stories and articles previously published here. All the main strands are covered and divided into relevant sections under each strand. Archive Media Articles Age On this page: 1. Introduction 2. Legislation 3. Internal and External Links Welcome …to the age section of the site. The intention of this section is to provide information on Age issues for the use of police officers and staff in their professional, everyday duties both among colleagues and the community. Matters regarding HR please contact PeoplePages top Legislation The Equalities Act 2010 The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations Act 2006 The Community Care (Residential Accommodation) Act 1998 The Children Act 1989 The Children Act 2004 Internal and External Links A full and comprehensive set of links is found within the sub-folders of this section. Below are some key links for the Age section Age UK Adviisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service [ACAS] Children's Rights Alliance for England [CRAE] NSPCC Child Line HM Government : Every Child Matters Age discrimination Ageism, affecting both the young and old, is the most widely experienced prejudice in Britain, according to the first major study into age discrimination*. The survey found that ageism now eclipses racism, sexism and discrimination based on disability in terms of frequency. The only age group not to experience ageism are those people aged between 35 and 44, who are too old for negative youth stereotyping and too young for prejudice based on advancing years, the study found. Those who took part in the study believed that older people are viewed as friendlier than younger people, while younger people were perceived as more competent and capable than older people. As the average age of the British population increases, it is believed that the combating of age discrimination will become increasingly important. The report was sponsored by Age UK A copy can be found on their website by clicking on this link. * Dominic Abrams, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent New legislation New Legislation on Age The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 On 1 October 2006, The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 became law. The Regulations apply to employment and vocational training. They prohibit unjustified direct and indirect age discrimination, and all harassment and victimisation on grounds of age, of people of any age, young or old. The pension provisions came into force until 1 December 2006. Legislation alone, however, is not enough to tackle age discrimination. There is also a social justice case for equality, as it is fundamentally unfair to treat someone differently because of their age, rather than their skills and abilities. People are living longer than ever before, and are having fewer children. As a result, our population is ageing and this has a huge impact on the pool from which employers are able to recruit new employees. Ageism is deeply entrenched in society and the workplace. Valuing people of all ages and understanding their needs are vital to good policing. Since 1st October 2006, the law requires the removal of bias on grounds of age in employment, including policies and practices relating to: • recruitment, selection and promotion • criteria for benefits • providing training • retirement, redundancy It is illegal when recruiting to: • directly discriminate on grounds of age - eg refuse to employ or promote an individual because of their age; • indirectly discriminate on grounds of age - eg to demand a particular number of years previous experience, which younger people are unlikely to have, or a recent qualification which older people are unlikely to have; • permit any harassment, bullying or victimisation on grounds of age either by a company or a fellow employee.