Community and Police Race Action Plan
The Police Race Action Plan was developed by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing (CoP) in May 2022 to outline the commitment of improving policing for Black people by each Chief Constable and their police force across England and Wales.
The plan aims to give police officers the tools they need to build better relationships with the Black community by allowing those members of the Black community to voice their opportunities to improve and shape the future of policing.
Our plan
Staffordshire Police is committed to supporting this plan and its objectives to build trust and confidence with our Black and Black heritage communities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
Our Community and Police Race Action Plan builds on the work Staffordshire Police has delivered in recent years to address racial disparities in policing, including:
- Creating an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team in the force with a focus on engaging with black communities to understand their views on policing
- Developing a positive action plan to make the Staffordshire Police workforce more representative of the communities it serves
- Establishing and supporting a Multi-Cultural Association within the force
Chief Constable Chris Noble
Staffordshire’s local plan is based around the deliverables in the national plan, with a particular focus on increasing engagement, improving racial disparities in the workforce, improving support for victims and tackling racial disparities in the use of police powers, such as stop and search.
Chief Constable Chris Noble said: “The Police Race Action Plan is an ambitious and hard-hitting plan which sets out a number of commitments and actions to build trust in policing amongst black communities.
“Much has been done already to address racism in the police and society. Staffordshire Police is more inclusive, more diverse and more reflective of its communities than it’s ever been and we are absolutely committed to tackling discrimination in all its forms. But the challenges faced by black communities remain fundamental and need specific attention – that’s why I am leading this work to implement the plan locally.
“Going forward, I want the black community to have the highest levels of trust and confidence in Staffordshire Police and for the force to be career choice for black people across Staffordshire, with my black policing colleagues rising to the highest ranks of the service.
“I also want those with lived experiences of black and diverse communities, both within and outside of policing, to have a direct influence on police policies and practices. As part of our delivery of the plan, we will be reaching out to key people in the black community to provide insight, challenge and scrutiny of our work.
“The work we do to deliver the plan locally will generate learning points and new approaches for improving trust and confidence amongst all diverse communities. Without their trust and confidence, policing is less effective at protecting all communities.”
What have we done so far?
Engaging with the community to get their views on the work we’re doing on our Community and Police Race Action Plan is a big part of the delivery of our local plan. Since the launch of the plan, we have held sessions with members of the Black and Black heritage communities, both internally and externally, to give them a chance to feedback on the national plan and whether it is achievable. These sessions were led by senior officers including DCC Emma Barnett and Superintendent Tracy Meir. Our more recent external session was held at a local community centre led by Chief Constable Chris Noble with the support of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team and senior officers. The session provided an opportunity for us to start to build our local plan, ensuring it delivers on the priorities of the Black and Black heritage communities in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent.
These sessions allow both our officers and staff and members of the community the opportunity to speak freely about their views and experiences of policing in the Black community. Further sessions will be scheduled in due course. Please continue to visit this page for the latest information.
What are we doing next?
We will continue working with internal stakeholders, external communities and partner agencies across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent to deliver our local plan under the following pillars / workstreams:
During 2023, we will be arranging a series of external and internal engagement sessions to further consult Black and Black heritage communities on the issues they face and to update them on progress on our local plan. Further details about these events will be shared here in due course.
Additional information
More information about the national Police Race Action Plan can be found here:
- Police Race Action Plan (college.police.uk)
- Police Race Action Plan: Improving policing for Black people - Plan on a page 2022 (college.police.uk)
- Police Race Action Plan: Improving policing for Black people (college.police.uk)