Policing Together Portfolio

Governance Structure

Following the launch of the Policing Together Strategy, there was a refresh of existing structures to provide a consistent naming convention across the EDI landscape. The EDI & HR SOB was renamed the Policing Together Strategic Oversight Board (PT SOB).

In February 2023, a new ACC portfolio was created to deliver on Policing Together. The creation of this portfolio will ensure the organisation continues its momentum and gives sustainable and tangible effect to the commitments within the Policing Together strategy. The appointments of Assistant Chief Constable David Duncan and Dr Victor Olisa to senior roles within the newly established Policing Together chief officer portfolio was communicated internally.

Following the formation of the ACC Policing Together portfolio, a PT Tactical Group was proposed, to help streamline the business flowing through the PT SOB.

There are four main sub-groups supporting and feeding into the PT Tactical Group:-

Policing Together Community Group
Policing Together Colleague Group
Policing Together Implementation Group
Policing Together Performance and Impact Group

The newly created Policing Together Performance and Impact Group will ensure effective delivery of Police Scotland’s legislative and voluntary performance reporting responsibilities in the area of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. In addition the Group will consider the insights and measures available seeking to capture, monitor and measure the impact and outcomes of EDI activity at a national and local level. The group will look to develop data and insights to support EDI performance tracking and reporting and will utilise a suite of key performance dashboards. Part of the remit of the Group is to provide advice to promote and improve outcome focused reporting ensuring consistency and a corporate approach in how information is presented.
In addition, various SLWG’s report directly to the PT Tactical Group, PT SOB, or via the aforementioned sub-groups. The PT SOB also benefits from independent scrutiny in the form of the Policing Together Independent Review Group (IRG).

Ongoing Focus

The four pillars which will underpin the work of the Policing Together programme going forward are:-

Leadership - Meaningful and sustainable change will require persistent focus and leadership. We recruit and promote people who share our values and behaviours and give officers and the staff the tools and skills they need to lead culture change. Cultural change is everyone’s responsibility and will be driven by leaders across the organisation

Training - Seeks to address racism, misogyny and all forms of discrimination within policing in Scotland. We recognise the majority of officers and staff act in accordance with our values and standards every day. We also know that to continue to deliver excellent service in an ever changing world, there is more we can learn about ourselves and others through continuous professional development

Communication - Corporate Communications have commenced an organisation-wide behaviour change campaign which over time, will positively impact on organisational culture. This is a long term approach with campaign objectives split across three phases

Prevention - The way we conduct ourselves, both on and off duty, is fundamental to maintaining public confidence and essential to policing by consent

Leadership

Culture change cannot be delivered solely through a communication campaign. Leaders within Police Scotland have a professional, moral and personal duty to drive the change required by setting out expectations for how those under their line management conduct themselves in accordance with the values and ethics of the organisation – integrity, fairness, respect and upholding human rights.

As part of Police Scotland, our commitment to those values doesn’t stop when our working day finishes. All of us, regardless of role, rank or grade must know and live these values in all aspects of our personal and professional lives.

Leaders must ensure they are creating a culture within their division or department, and among the people they lead, where everyone understands that these are the values they must live and work by.

There is an expectancy on leaders to reinforce that offensive “banter”, sexual harassment, bullying, demeaning or intimidating actions, homophobia, casual racism and, discrimination towards those with disabilities are not compatible with the values of a police officer or member of staff.

Policing is relentless and often puts our officers and staff in difficult and demanding situations; many will use humour, banter and ‘canteen culture’ as a way of coping with these stresses. However, when analysing grievances, exit interviews and survey/consultation feedback; it is clear issues persist. One such issue is claiming “it’s just banter” or “it’s just a joke” to justify or disguise offensive and inappropriate comments and behaviour to their colleagues and/or members of the public.

In order to rid itself of what has been described as ‘canteen culture’, people entrusted with positions of leadership must lead the desired culture change. The public have a right to expect that any officer or member of staff employed by the police service in Scotland will be held to a high standard. Otherwise we cannot rightly ask them to have confidence in us as individuals or as service.

Your Leadership Matters (YLM) is a programme designed to enhance leadership behaviours, providing the skills and tools necessary to build teams which deliver effective policing for all our communities, underpinned by our Competency and Values Framework and with high levels of operational competence.

The three leadership behaviours defined as part of the programme are:-

Lead and Learn Inclusively
Have the Courage to do the Right Thing
Collaborate for Growth

YLM will benefit not only leaders themselves but everyone in Police Scotland, and those we serve. It was rolled out to senior leaders at superintendent/police staff equivalent and above in 2021. Most recently, in April 2023, the programme launched to Chief Inspectors and staff equivalents. In the coming months the programme will roll-out to approximately 5000 sergeants, inspectors and police staff equivalents with line management responsibilities.

YLM is a mandatory programme that represents a significant investment in our leaders and a commitment to improving the existing workplace culture. It will empower leaders to lead inclusively and proactively, creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment, so that every team member can thrive and reach their potential.

Training

The learning products delivered by Learning Training and Development with an EDI focus have been split into three elements; core, operational and role specific. Each aspect of training displays the depth of support available for colleagues at different stages in their career, ensuring all officers and staff have guidance on how they can role model and lead on the changes required, ultimately delivering the commitments made in the Policing Together strategy.

A programme of work is ongoing to ensure the Probationer Training Programme, Tutor Constable training and the Staff Induction are aligned to the organisations values and Policing Together strategic commitments. All EDI content will be quality assured to ensure that these key learning products remain fit for purpose.

Mandatory EDI e-learning was launched in November 2022, and all officers and staff were required to complete by the end April 2023. A communications plan supported the roll out of the mandatory training package, with regular reminders of the deadline. To date 19,084 officers and staff have accessed the module which is 81% of the organisation. SCoPE will not update until the evaluation questions are completed, which is an important part of the learning process to understand colleague engagement for EDI matters.

The EDI e-learning module is now part of the mandatory training calendar, meaning that each year all officers and staff will have the opportunity to refresh their knowledge and re-set expectations aligned to our values and standards of professional behaviour. The module was developed using the real life experience of officers and staff and sets out the legal, moral and ethical considerations for everyone within policing in Scotland. By doing so, the training is more relatable and gives the user the opportunity to consider the experiences of others.

The e-learning module has achieved independent CIPD accreditation and all officers and staff will receive a certificate on completion in 2023. Moving forward the module will have an ongoing maintenance schedule to ensure it continues to be fit for purpose. A full evaluation will be completed in May 2023 and all feedback will be considered for the next iteration of the module that will be released in November 2023.

Following a successful pilot and a procurement process in 2022, the learning and behaviour change specialist Elev-8 continue to work with Police Scotland to deliver the ’Transforming Climate through Inclusion’ learning programme for Senior Leadership Teams. Cohort 2 commenced in January 2023 with Professional Standards, Greater Glasgow Division, Contact Command and Control, Edinburgh City Division, Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism and Fife Division taking part. Cohort 3 is in plan for September/October 2023 subject to budget provision, ongoing positive evaluation and appropriate scheduling and planning activities taking place to ensure organisational capacity is considered. The content of this learning programme complements the key messages within the ‘Your Leadership Matters’ programme.

The next phase of the Continuous Professional Development / EDI learning programme is face to face or virtual sessions with Sergeants, Inspectors and staff equivalent roles. This next phase requires planning and engagement with business areas and also alignment with other activity e.g. Your Leadership Matters, People Management Development Programme and transformational change programmes.

One of the main areas of developmental through early feedback from the EDI eLearning module was desired time to discuss EDI in group settings. CPD Empower Hours will be used to provide a 3.5 hour facilitated session providing time and space to explore privilege, bias, EDI myths and also techniques and approaches to become positive challengers of all forms of discrimination. CPD Empower Hours are also independently CIPD accredited and colleagues will receive a certificate on completion.

A one day Policing Together training event for all officers and staff is the final phase of the CPD/EDI learning programme and requires a full scoping exercise to be completed to determine requirements, resources, budget and desired outcomes. This will also require a procurement process. It is anticipated that the procurement process requires 16 weeks for a competitive, robust tender to be completed and assessed. The full requirements for this event will be determined following full evaluation of the e-learning module and SLT improving climate learning programme.

As part of the West Command People Plan led by ACC Steve Johnson, a series of Valuing Difference and Inclusion workshops were piloted in 2022. One of the strategic priorities for the plan was to develop and improve EDI training, this approach was further evidenced during the first BME forum where it was acknowledged by members that barriers to retention and development were not always a result of deliberate discriminatory practices but instead often arose from ignorance of the needs and beliefs of black and minority ethnic officers. Members highlighted the need to improve the knowledge and understanding of cultural differences that would not only inform colleagues and prevent discriminatory practices but also give colleagues more confidence to challenge discriminatory practices and behaviours that prevent black and minority ethnic officers and staff feeling they are valued, included and belong. The Workshops explored:-

How the dominant identity shapes the world
Advantage is invisible to those that have it
We judge ourselves by our intentions, we judge others by their impact
Some things have to be believed to be seen
Everyone seeks safety, dignity and belonging

The CPD/EDI team have recently delivered ad-hoc CPD sessions for key stakeholders:

Reach event for BME leaders in February 2023
Scottish Women’s Development Forum Conference in February 2023
Women in Policing Conference in March 2023

Feedback across all events has been extremely positive. The sessions delivered were focussed on the development of mind-set and behaviour, which are also key components for EDI maturity within any organisation.

In addition to the aforementioned work, the ‘Inclusion Moments’ (IM) package was created by Inspector Jenni Stuart in 2020. This is an innovative toolkit which has been utilised / piloted by various individuals and departments within their own initiatives and has also been adopted by the College of Policing and City of London police. The package helps guide, promote and aid discussion around different aspects of EDI and provides a platform to have ‘challenging’ conversations that people often find difficult. IM currently consists of 50 pages / slides with numerous linked videos and media, ranging from YouTube videos to animated information videos – which have been confirmed by Legal Services as not generating any copyright issues.

Following the work of a Short Life Working Group, including representation from diversity staff associations, it has been agreed Inclusion Moments will operate as a ‘living product’ with opportunity for users to provide feedback to improve the product and increasingly become more inclusive. A working group set up under Policing Together will continuously manage the product, noting feedback, assessing and deciding on new additions or removals from the package.

Communication

Police Scotland Corporate Communications are working through their Policing Together delivery, with various themes already published and many more in the pipeline.

Corporate Communications continue to support Professional Standards Department (PSD) with a co-ordinated schedule of communications to bring a refreshed focus on building and maintaining professional standards and boundaries, through their Values and Standards campaign. This includes a year-long focus on each of the ten legislative standards of professional behaviour, bringing attention to each standard, explaining what they mean, why they are significant and why it is critical we adhere to them; along with real examples of behaviours which can breach them.

In addition, ACC Speirs has commenced an internal publication of the outcomes of gross misconduct hearings where officers have left Police Scotland. This intranet message has been viewed more than 9,000 times by 24 April, 2023.

DCC Taylor’s response to the publication of Baroness Casey's review of the Metropolitan Police was published internally and externally, this outlined Police Scotland's proactive work in this area.

An internal communications plan published the findings of Police Scotland’s Sex Equality and Tackling Misogyny (SETM) survey. The plan included a video message from DCC Malcolm Graham; an intranet article and a line manager briefing email.

Corporate Communications continue to align Policing Together and SETM messaging with Police Scotland’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls. An internal and external communications plan was delivered to support the publication of Police Scotland’s VAWG Strategy in March 2023. Content included news stories on Police Scotland’s website and intranet, a video message from DCC Jane Connors on all channels, and a news release.

The ‘Don’t Feed Hate’ campaign launched the week commencing 24 April 2023 and will run on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Reddit, Google Display ads and YouTube over a six week period. Don’t Feed Hate seeks to engage with white men aged 18-30 in Scotland who form the group at highest risk of committing hate crime, but which has the most opportunity for behaviour change. Co-ordinated internal and external communications will support ‘Don’t Feed Hate’. In addition, toolkits have been shared with divisional social media SPOC’s and partner agencies.

In support of work being undertaken by the Policing Together Cultural Calendar Group, Corporate Communications have published Police Scotland’s recognition of significant milestones including:-

Online panel event to mark International Women’s Day
Internal and external communications celebrating Ramadan
Internal and external communications celebrating Easter
Publicising the Christian Police Association’s annual conference which is due to be held in May 2023
Promoting National Infertility Awareness Week, highlighting the support Police Scotland offers officers and staff
Publicising British Sign Language Week
Publicising Transgender Day of Visibility

Looking ahead, a communications plan is being developed to publicise and support a joint anti-racist event with staff association SEMPER, being held in May 2023.

Prevention

At the heart of Policing Together is the organisation’s code of ethics and values of integrity, fairness, respect and a commitment to upholding human rights. From this, we derive a direct link to values-based policing, which reflects and represents our communities and is vital for public confidence and consent, from which policing draws its legitimacy.

A key element of Policing Together is the PSD led Preventions & Professionalism programme. This includes a governance structure with tactical and operational leads, driving prevention and awareness activities intended to influence positive cultures, whilst empowering officers and staff to appropriately challenge and report harmful behaviours. It also highlights the key role that leaders and bystanders play in robustly and proportionately addressing concerns at the earliest opportunity, and the support available to do this. Part of this programme includes the previously mentioned Standards of Professional Behaviour campaign as described below.

The Standards of Professional Behaviour campaign is a focussed year-long initiative which launched in November 2022, supported by Corporate Communications, Corporate Engagement Team and Learning, Training & Development. Each month there is a spotlight on each of the 10 standards, providing relatable context of the behaviours expected of officers and staff alongside examples of actions that fall below these.

Planning takes cognisance of seasonal or wider events that correlate with a particular standard. E.g. The Fitness for Duty standard was published over the festive period, with increased likelihood of social events. Activity also includes:-

Circulation of physical posters each month to all local policing, specialist/corporate divisions and force training centres, ensuring key messaging is visible to the whole workforce.

Significant programme of training/awareness inputs on recurring themes and issues (use of social media and online chat forums), delivered by PSD Learning & Improvement team, delivering 25 sessions reaching over 1000 colleagues. Positive feedback and learning will be used to inform future sessions

Engagement with LTD to include reference to the standards across various training courses, including probationer training, focussing on a particular theme more relevant to the topics and roles involved

Key note speakers at Extended Leadership Forums (held in each region) reinforce the overall objective of the campaign and the responsibilities placed on line managers to demonstrate these standards and challenge behaviours which don’t. PSD Preventions team provide a stand at these events, providing further support and guidance on how to approach difficult situations

Leadership inputs delivered to Senior Leadership Forum, Commanders meetings, staff associations and ASPS

Information and relevant links to further guidance and information included in the Line Managers toolkit, circulated regularly for awareness

Supporting Local Policing Commanders in preparation of local Scrutiny Boards, providing information intended to reassure the public of our continued efforts to maintain high standards across the service

Benchmarking and considering opportunities for learning and improvement, reviewing valuable evidence and insights contained with the Baroness Casey Review of Culture & Standards and the HMICFRS review of vetting, misconduct and misogyny in policing (England & Wales)

As the campaign approaches the half way point, insights are being reviewed and reported in an effort to measure the impact of activity, alongside any further opportunities to enhance awareness of the key messages. This will be achieved through direct engagement with senior leaders across all divisions, seeking their support and commitment to drive messaging, whilst taking on board their feedback and suggestions to maximise reach across the organisation. The campaign has already led to a number of PSD policy developments, intended to improve the ability to quickly identify and respond effectively to concerns.

Internal and external reporting is being monitored in relation to the actions/behaviours of officers, identifying notable links or good practice attributed to increased confidence to report concerns.

In February 2023, Police Scotland introduced a rolling programme of randomised re-vetting for officers and staff as part of a new Continuous Integrity Screening initiative. From 1 April 2023, 1275 employees will be selected at random each year to undergo the full vetting process again. Officers and staff who are selected will be asked to complete recruitment vetting forms and the same checks will be carried out as for new recruits or new members of staff, with any issues which emerge from this continuous integrity screening will be considered on a case by case basis.

In addition to the work of PSD, the Employee Relations & Reward team are leading on a holistic review of grievance policy, process and associated support tools. This deliverable is titled ‘Creating a Positive Workplace’.

Work is ongoing with Insight and Engagement regarding the lived experience survey ‘Raising a Workplace Issue’. The findings will be used to inform considerations for policy, process, training and- importantly- culture; as well as the necessary conversations that are appropriate and supportive for colleagues. Working group members’ feedback on ‘perceived gaps’ has been considered and has formed the basis of the training/awareness products that will be launched shortly under the ‘grievance’ module for managers as part of Your Leadership Matters.

Exploratory work continues with external organisation ‘Culture Shift’. They offer an online Report & Support tool which would readily enable officers and staff to report inappropriate behaviours and be supported as soon as an issue was raised. One of the core benefits is the tool’s ability to produce real time Management Information and to track actions. Discussions are ongoing as to whether there is an opportunity to replace the existing Integrity Matters functionality with the more sophisticated Report and Support tool, or whether these would be two distinct yet complementary mechanisms.

The opportunity for officers and staff to report behaviours that require to be eradicated from the workplace is an emerging theme from the Sex & Misogyny Survey, the Raising a Workplace Issue Survey and also the external ‘Our Black Workforce’ survey (a survey tracking the attitudes and experiences of Black or Black Heritage police officers and staff in service in England and Wales) (Kantar Public, Summer 2022). These findings highlight how we should improve on the reporting of unacceptable behaviours and support those reporting more effectively.

The potential introduction of a new Report & Support tool will support officers and staff to be heard, encourage an open culture and offer an improved sense of belonging. Harassment, discrimination and unacceptable behaviour have a direct negative impact on belonging and pose the biggest threat to fostering a sense of belonging within our organisation. Supporting officers and staff by having an early intervention route will enable Police Scotland to take earlier and more effective action to remedy workplace issues. This tool will also provide immediate support (articles and guidance etc.) to offices and staff. Internal processes would require to be designed to support such a mechanism, including ownership, response times, MI/trends analysis and process and escalation routes.

A number of training tools are currently available – our ‘How To’ learning platform has an array of training material including those which focus on creating a positive workplace and equality, diversity and inclusion. The site also offers learning on the Equality Act for leaders and managers – what they need to know and do to create a positive workplace and ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010. Corporate Communications are assessing how these tools can be embedded into the Policing Together Campaign.