Statutory Duty Information Quarterly Report October to December 2023

Essex Police is committed to diversity, inclusion, and dignity for everyone we serve and employ, treating everyone with fairness, equality, and respect. The communities of Essex are evolving and changing, and we want to grow and evolve with them by listening and responding to actual, rather than assumed, needs. Understanding the needs of the people that live or work in Essex, and the needs of those that visit Essex helps us prevent crime, keep people safe and catch criminals.

This report is part of Essex Police’s response to the Equality Act 2010. It is intended to offer data on the equality impact of Essex Police’s employment practices and activities.

The Equality Act creates a public sector Equality Duty to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act. In other words, to consider how different people will be affected by our activities.
• Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. We want to deliver services which, while efficient and effective, are accessible to all and meet everyone’s needs.
• Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. Fulfil our requirements to eliminate unlawful discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people (both employees, volunteers and others) who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. 

The data presented here covers October to December 2023, and in compliance to the specific duty regulations, Essex Police:

• Publish equality objectives every four years.
• Publish information annually to demonstrate compliance with the general Equality Duty.
• Publish information relating to our employees and others affected by our policies and practices (such as provide services to communities).

Essex Police Equality Objectives

The specific duties require public bodies to prepare and publish one or more specific and measurable equality objective which will help to further the three aims of the Equality Duty.

We incorporate equality into our core business, create equal opportunities and develop good working relationships between different people. We are transparent about how we respond to the Equality Duty, as required by the Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011.

This report looks at how well our organisation reflects our communities, how we are perceived by the public, and how we respond and deal with crime. The report reflects the five areas within the Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy.

• Attract, recruit, progress and retain a more diverse workforce that better reflects our communities to improve confidence in Essex Police.
• Narrow the disparity between protected and non-protected groups in respect of the use of police powers such as stops, searches and the use of force. Improve the experience of policing services without reducing the legitimate use of police powers to protect communities.
• Increase satisfaction and confidence amongst protected groups, wider communities, and victims of crime. Tackle hate crime and address any complaints and concerns raised.
• Adopt and advance the Police Race Action Plan and the NPCC Anti-Racism Principles.
• Improve inclusive culture and increase awareness and understanding of diversity and equality through delivery of mandatory training, equality data analysis, equality and health impact assessment, and effective community engagement.

The below tables detail the performance metrics identified in relation to each of the objectives, along with the direction of travel, i.e., the trend.  Please note that some metrics – such as those in relation to officer numbers (rather than proportions) – are still in the process of being built.

Objective: Attract, recruit, progress and retain a more diverse workforce

Indicators		% Dec 2022	% Dec 2023	% pt. Difference	Direction of Travel
Increase the number of Ethnic Minority officers and staff to be more reflective of the economically active population in Essex
% of Total Work Force	Ethnic Minority	4.2	4.0	-0.2	Deteriorating
	White	93.8	94.0	0.1
	Declined to state	2.0	2.0	0.0
% of Police	Ethnic Minority	4.1	4.0	-0.1	Deteriorating
	White	93.6	93.8	0.2
	Declined to state	2.3	2.2	-0.1
% of Staff (exc PCSO)	Ethnic Minority	4.3	4.1	-0.2	Deteriorating
	White	94.0	94.0	0.1
	Declined to state	1.8	1.9	0.1
% of PCSO	Ethnic Minority	0.0	0.0	0.0	Stable
	White	97.2	98.1	0.9
	Declined to state	2.8	1.9	-0.9
% of Specials	Ethnic Minority	5.2	4.5	-0.7	Deteriorating
	White	94.8	95.5	0.7
	Declined to state	0.0	0.0	0.0
Increase the proportion colleagues in specialist roles and leadership positions
% of Chief Officers	Ethnic Minority	0.0	0.0	0.0	Stable
% of Chief Superintendents	Ethnic Minority	16.7	18.2	1.5	Improving
% of Superintendents	Ethnic Minority	7.7	8.7	1.0	Improving
%of Chief Inspectors	Ethnic Minority	6.1	5.9	-0.2	Deteriorating
% of Inspectors	Ethnic Minority	2.0	2.9	0.9	Improving
% of Sergeants	Ethnic Minority	2.1	2.2	0.1	Improving
% of Constables	Ethnic Minority	4.4	4.3	-0.1	Deteriorating
% of Student Constables	Ethnic Minority	4.9	3.7	-1.2	Deteriorating
% of Chief Officers	Female	20.0	25.0	5.0	Improving
% of Chief Superintendents	Female	25.0	23.1	-1.9	Deteriorating
% of Superintendents	Female	23.1	22.7	-0.3	Deteriorating
%of Chief Inspectors	Female	28.6	22.0	-6.6	Deteriorating
% of Inspectors	Female	32.0	32.4	0.4	Improving
% of Sergeants	Female	28.2	29.1	0.9	Improving
% of Constables	Female	37.6	38.4	0.8	Improving
% of Student Constables	Female	45.8	49.6	3.8	Improving

Objective: Narrow the disparity

Indicators - per 1,000 population (where ethnicity recorded)		Q3 2022/23	Q3 2023/24	Difference	Direction of Travel
Understand, explain and reduce the disparity in use of force and stop and search between White and Ethnic Minority people
Use of Force incidents	Ethnic Minority	4.0	5.1	1.1	Deteriorating
	White	2.6	2.8
Stop and Searches	Ethnic Minority	2.1	1.5	-0.6	Improving
	White	1.5	0.8

Objective: Increase satisfaction and confidence

Indicators			% 12 months to Dec 2022	% 12 months to Dec 2023	% pt. Difference	Direction of Travel
Increase the confidence of Ethnic Minority people in the service they will receive from Essex Police as measured by the independent force survey
• Taking everything into account, how good a job do you think the police in this area are doing?
% Good/Excellent		Ethnic Minority	78.6	79.2	0.6	Stable
		White	74.7	74.2	-0.5	Stable
• How much would you agree or disagree that Essex Police understand the issues that affect your community?
% Strongly/Tend to Agree		Ethnic Minority	62.0	59.7	-2.3	Stable
		White	52.2	53.1	0.9	Stable
• If you were to report a crime or incident in the future, how confident are you that you would receive a good service?
% Very/Fairly Confident		Ethnic Minority	74.1	77.9	3.8	Stable
		White	68.9	68.3	-0.6	Stable
Increase the confidence of Ethnic Minority people working to increase the number of those who feel they would be treated fairly if they made a complaint, as   measured by the independent force survey
• If you were to make a complaint to Essex Police about an officer or staff member, do you think you would be treated fairly?
% Strongly/Tend to Agree		Ethnic Minority	63.9	65.4	1.5	Stable
		White	67.6	72.0	4.4	Increase
• Please say how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: I am confident that the police use their stop and search power fairly and respectfully?
% Strongly/Tend to Agree		Ethnic Minority	59.7	58.9	-0.8	Stable
		White	60.8	63.5	2.7	Stable

Activity:

‘We Value Difference’ and ‘We Value You’ is a continuous recruitment narrative which runs throughout the course of the year. Please see below the internal and external activity and impact that took place between October and December 2023.

Police Officers

We continued with our approved recruitment marketing channel plan to reach and encourage people from all backgrounds to join as officers. During the three months October 2023 to December 2023 Essex Police received 594 applications to be a Police Constable. Of the 530 applications, 40% were from females and 17% from Ethnic Minority individuals.

Main advertising tactics were as follows:

• A mix of organic, boosted and paid We Value Difference adverts​ with a unique telephone number to call for enquiries across Essex Police social media channels.
• Indeed advert and updated profile content​ – this was not live in October so was pushed for November/December as a main channel of recruitment – this is our biggest driver.
• ITV feature for Black History Month featuring PC Luke Watson and Supt Naomi Edwards – reached 571,000 people:
• Black History Month aligned to We Value Difference content
• Greatest Hits radio advert
• Passing out Parade content over multiple channels
• New LinkedIn paid-for adverts start running
• Google sponsored adverts and search to compete against other force recruitment
• Mobile phone GIFF adverts – received 74,066 impressions and 658 clicks to application page
• YouTube paid-for adverts
• Promotion of recruitment events in collaboration with HR innovation Team​
• Recruitment packs distributed to HR Innovation Team​ for events
• Hospital magazine advert in mid-Essex and Southend editions

Internal Activity:

• Officer advocacy on Viva Engage and refer a friend campaign started
• Promoted ITV Anglia news piece across Viva Engage communities to encourage force advocates to provide a case study

Increase the number of Ethnic Minority officers and staff to be more reflective of the economically active population in Essex.

The below table illustrates the percentage of ethnic minority personnel within the workforce compared to the same period the previous year. The current economically active population who identify as ethnic minority is 11.2%.

Ethnic Minority employees				Black or Black British
	31/12/2022	31/12/2023	% change	31/12/2023
% of Total Work Force	4.16	4.00	-0.16	0.51
% of Officers	4.10	4.01	-0.09	0.37
% of Staff (exc PCSO)	4.30	4.10	-0.20	0.65
% of PCSO	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
% of Specials	5.22	4.51	-0.71	1.50

• There has been a slight decrease (0.16% pt.) in the total workforce Ethnic Minority proportion in December 2023 (260) compared to December 2022 (269); this equates to nine fewer officers/staff.  This has been driven by decreases in the proportions of ethnic minority police officers, staff, and Specials.
• As of 25th December 2023, there were 329 Police Officer applications currently in the recruitment pipeline with 39 Ethnic Minority applicants (12%) and 137 female applicants (42%). It is worthy of note that for December 2022 to present, the average weekly amount of ethnic minority applicants is 14%. A review of Positive Action processes continues, working with other teams, to maximise conversion rates of applicants to offers of employment.
• The proportion of Ethnic Minority Police Officers (as a percentage of all officers) decreased slightly by 0.16% pts in December 2023 (4.00%) compared to December 2022 (4.16%).

Black or Black British employees represent 0.51% of the total work force. There are no Black or Black British PCSOs and this is not likely to change at present due to there being no current/planned recruitment processes for PCSOs.

The Positive Action Team (PAT) are responsible for supporting the following objectives of the diversity, equality and inclusion strategy:

• Attract, recruit, progress and retain a more diverse workforce. 
• Improve the inclusive culture and increase awareness and understanding of diversity and equality. 
• Increase public satisfaction and confidence in Essex Police. 

The PAT team are currently working on several aspects of the Police Race Action Plan. This work is in conjunction with colleagues across the force.  Further updates will be included in future reports.

The PAT team continue to build external working relationships designed to improve community relationships and gain recruitment opportunities.

Increase the proportion of Ethnic Minorities and female colleagues in specialist roles and leadership positions.

Ethnic Minority employees							Black or Black British
	31/12/2022		31/12/2023		Difference		31/12/2023
Rank	Headcount	%	Headcount	%	Headcount	%	Headcount	%
% of Chief Officers	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	0	0.00%
% of Chief Superintendents	2	16.67%	2	18.18%	0	1.52%	0	0.00%
% of Superintendents	2	7.69%	2	8.70%	0	1.00%	1	0.03%
% of Chief Inspectors	3	6.12%	3	5.88%	0	-0.24%	1	0.03%
% of Inspectors	3	2.00%	5	2.92%	2	0.92%	0	0.00%
% of Sergeants	10	2.09%	11	2.23%	1	0.14%	1	0.03%
% of Constables	117	4.37%	121	4.30%	4	-0.07%	10	0.26%
% of Student Constables	15	4.87%	9	3.69%	-6	-1.18%	1	0.03%
Force	152	4.10%	153	4.01%	1	-0.09%	14	0.37%

• There are now at least two officers from an Ethnic Minority in every rank in Essex Police other than within the Chief Officer team.

• The percentage of Ethnic Minority Student Constables decreased to 3.69% in December 2023 compared to 4.87% in December 2022.

• There is one Black or Black British employee in the Superintendent, Chief Inspector and Sergeant rank. There are 10 Black or Black British employees in the Constable rank, and one Student Constable

Female employees							Black or Black British
	31/12/2022		31/12/2023		Difference		31/12/2023
Rank	Headcount	%	Headcount	%	Headcount	%	Headcount	%
% of Chief Officers	1	20.00%	1	25.00%	0	5.00%	0	0.00%
% of Chief Superintendents	3	25.00%	3	23.08%	0	-1.92%	0	0.00%
% of Superintendents	6	23.08%	5	22.73%	-1	-0.35%	1	0.07%
% of Chief Inspectors	14	28.57%	11	22.00%	-3	-6.57%	0	0.00%
% of Inspectors	48	32.00%	56	32.37%	8	0.37%	0	0.00%
% of Sergeants	135	28.18%	143	29.12%	8	0.94%	1	0.07%
% of Constables	1,007	37.60%	1,081	38.40%	74	0.80%	1	0.07%
% of Student Constables	141	45.78%	121	49.59%	-20	3.81%	0	0.00%
Force	1,355	36.55%	1,421	37.28%	66	0.72%	3	0.21%

• The number of female employees has remained the same in the Chief Officer and Chief Superintendent ranks but has decreased by one in the Superintendent rank and three in the Chief Inspector rank in December 2023 compared to December 2022. This was due to one Superintendent transferring to a different force. In the most recent Superintendent promotion process, there were no successful female applicants.
• An upcoming Chief Inspector promotion process will be taking place and therefore the representation of females at this rank is likely to improve.
• The number of females at the ranks of Inspector and Sergeant increased by eight to 56 and 143 respective in December 2023. We continue to highlight the opportunities for female employees in terms of both promotion and development into specialist roles, through our Positive Action Team activity and also the Women’s Leadership and Development Support Network. We have also seen significant interest in the recently advertised Aspire Leadership Programme which is delivered by the College of Policing and the force is actively encouraging eligible candidates to apply.
• 66% of the applicants for the recently launched ‘Achieve Programme’ in Essex Police are females.

To support the aim of increasing the number of ethnic minority officers and females in leadership roles, the PAT have completed extensive outreach activity through national support networks, to attract external candidates from diverse backgrounds for all four promotion processes in this reporting period.

Improve the confidence of officers and staff to self-declare sexual orientation, disability, and religion to better understand and reflect the diversity of the Force.

Hate crime awareness week 14th – 21st October 2023.

Everyone in Essex has the right to feel safe, and we all have the responsibility to stand against hatred and discrimination by raising awareness, encourage reporting, improve our response to hate crime and prevent further incidents from taking place. National Hate Crime Awareness Week  saw a week of action to encourage key partners and communites to tacke hate crime.  All across the County a series of events took place. These activites ranged from virtual sessions with the Crown Prosecution Service to Officers patrolling hotspot areas and engaging with communities and handing out leaflets.

Belief and Blue Lights Conference.

Wednesday 19th October 2023 saw the first ever ‘Belief and Blue Lights’ Conference held at Chelmsford Cathedral. The tri-service event was hosted by Canon Moody and saw each service give an overview of faith in their own service. Positive feedback was received across all services.

The Safe to Say Campaign remains active within Essex Police. The willingness of staff to voluntarily self-declare their visible or non-visible protected characteristics is an important measure of an inclusive healthy organisation. Raising awareness of the support networks and promoting inclusivity generally has resulted in an improved declaration rate. The following table details this across the workforce. It is important for the force to understand the diverse make-up of the organisation and ensure that we better reflect the communities we serve.  

Diversity Category - Gender: Female

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	1421	37.28% ↑	37.09%	35.83%	34.53%	34.08%	31.95%	31.69%
Staff	1564	67.50% ↑	67.38%	65.63%	65.20%	65.01%	64.35%	63.48%
PCSOs	67	63.81% ↓	65.38%	63.11%	58.18%	55.00%	54.46%	60.17%
Specials	75	28.20% ↓	31.19%	34.19%	32.45%	32.05%	30.21%	28.49%

Diversity Category - Self Declared Gender: Prefer to Self Describe

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	6	0.16% ↑	0.13%	0.05%	0.09%	-	-	-
Staff	2	0.09% ↓	0.13%	0.17%	0.09%	-	-	-
PCSOs	0	0.00% →	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	-	-	-
Specials	0	0.00% →	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	-	-	-

Diversity Category - Religion: Declared a Religion

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	873	22.90% →	22.90%	22.36%	21.52%	19.47%	15.98%	13.55%
Staff	701	30.25% ↑	29.36%	28.86%	27.70%	24.47%	20.82%	18.56%
PCSOs	27	25.71% ↓	26.92%	22.33%	24.55%	23.33%	21.78%	15.68%
Specials	94	35.34% ↑	34.56%	30.97%	28.65%	30.13%	23.89%	12.63%

Diversity Category - Ethnicity: Ethnic Minorities

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	153	4.01% ↓	4.09%	4.17%	3.72%	3.17%	2.17%	2.07%
Staff	95	4.10% ↓	4.16%	4.48%	4.45%	3.74%	3.50%	2.97%
PCSOs	0	0.00% →	0.00%	0.97%	0.91%	2.50%	0.99%	2.12%
Specials	12	4.51% ↓	5.20%	6.02%	6.64%	6.91%	4.92%	3.49%

Diversity Category - Sexuality: Bisexual/Gay/Lesbian

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	210	5.51% ↑	5.12%	4.75%	3.98%	3.17%	2.14%	1.54%
Staff	90	3.88% ↑	3.82%	3.42%	2.91%	2.42%	1.52%	1.19%
PCSOs	5	4.76% ↑	2.88%	2.91%	3.64%	3.33%	2.97%	2.97%
Specials	9	3.38% ↓	3.98%	4.52%	3.98%	5.37%	4.45%	2.42%

Diversity Category - Disability: Yes

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	279	7.32% ↑	6.64%	5.49%	4.90%	3.91%	4.08%	3.92%
Staff	223	9.62% ↑	9.27%	8.97%	7.95%	7.17%	6.77%	6.73%
PCSOs	19	18.10% ↑	13.46%	8.74%	8.18%	5.83%	4.95%	5.08%
Specials	3	1.13% ↓	1.22%	0.86%	0.19%	0.58%	0.94%	0.00%

Diversity Category - Nationality: Declared Nationalities Excluding British

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	62	1.63% ↑	1.60%	1.18%	1.03%	0.86%	0.53%	0.44%
Staff	44	1.90% ↑	1.89%	1.71%	1.71%	1.50%	1.29%	1.14%
PCSOs	0	0.00% →	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Specials	5	1.88% ↓	2.75%	3.01%	3.98%	4.80%	2.81%	1.88%

Diversity Category - Marital Status: Married or Civil Partnership

Employee Group	Headcount as at 31/12/2023	% as at 31/12/2023 & Direction of Travel vs 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2023	Position as at 31/03/2022	Position as at 31/03/2021	Position as at 31/03/2020	Position as at 31/03/2018	Position as at 31/03/2016
Officers	1249	32.76% ↑	32.24%	34.02%	36.59%	39.60%	47.47%	55.52%
Staff	876	37.81% ↓	38.28%	39.62%	40.44%	43.18%	44.86%	51.66%
PCSOs	53	50.48% ↑	50.00%	51.46%	53.64%	50.00%	60.40%	54.66%
Specials	31	11.65% ↑	10.70%	8.60%	7.97%	8.83%	13.35%	22.85%

• There was a slight increase in the percentages of officers who stated their sexual orientation now sitting at 5.51%, staff has increased to 3.88%.

• Officers who declared a religion – remains stable at 22.90% staff increased to 30.25%.

• There was an increase in the percentages of employees who declared a disability – officers 7.32%, staff increased to 9.62%, and PCSOs increased to 18.10% and Specials decreased to 1.13%.

Understand, explain, and reduce the disparity in use of force and stop and search between White and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people.

Essex Police introduced an Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Cohesion (EDIC) task and finish group to address a range of areas relating to disproportionality, chaired by a Chief Officer. The purpose of the EDIC is to understand, address and where necessary set actions around reducing disproportionality with a focus on stop and search and use of force. The group is made up of senior leaders, operational police colleagues and key representatives from members of the public, local Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) and young people. The group use data produced for the forces ‘Use of Force Board’ and review and monitor activity again this.

To ensure legitimacy and transparency around the use of police powers, a Body Worn Video (BWV) Review Panel has convened to review clips of officers using stop and search powers in Essex. The panel consists of a diverse membership with representation from the Black, Jewish, and Transgender communities. Attendance is monitored to ensure the membership is fully representative of the community. The panel operates a feedback process to individual officers, not only to ensure officers are learning from each search conducted but also to highlight best practise and recognising officers who use their powers fairly, effectively, and respectfully to leave a positive impression on those subject to the search.

The panel have adopted a Procedural Justice Framework survey to provide feedback for the BWV clips viewed. The outcomes of each panel are reported to the Use of Force Bord, EDIC Stop and Search Board and the Learning the Lessons Board to ensure learning is shared.

Use of Force[1]

Use of Force per 1000 population							Ratio to White
	White	Mixed	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Other Ethnic Group	Ethnic Minorities	Mixed	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Other Ethnic Group	Ethnic Minorities
Force	2.75	2.52	2.44	9.62	7.68	5.13	0.92	0.89	3.50	2.79	1.87

The above table shows a breakdown of Use of Force incidents per 1,000 population and the ratio of various ethnicities to White people across the Force for reporting period 1st October 31st December 2023.

• Ethnic Minority individuals are 1.9 times more likely to have force used upon them than White individuals. This is an increase from that reported in the previous reporting period, when Ethnic Minorities were 1.6 times more likely to have force used upon them than White individuals.
• Essex has the sixth highest Ethnic Minority to White ratio for Use of Force, and the lowest Black to White ratio[5]. 

Stop and Search per 1000 population							Ratio to White
	White	Mixed	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Other Ethnic Group	Ethnic Minorities	Mixed	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Other Ethnic Group	Ethnic Minorities
Force	0.83	1.11	1.11	2.22	2.02	1.53	1.34	1.34	2.67	2.43	1.84

The above table shows a breakdown of stop and searches per 1,000 population and the ratio of various ethnicities to White across the Force in this reporting period.

• Ethnic Minority individuals are 1.8 times more likely to be stop and searched than white individuals. This is a slight decrease from that reported in the previous reporting period, when Ethnic Minorities were 1.9 times more likely to be stop and searched than White individuals.
• The stop and search Force tactical lead ensures the grounds of 10% of all stops each month are reviewed in relation to the proportionality, necessity, and justification. In this quarter, 97% have been found to be of a satisfactory standard. Feedback is provided to the officers who are completing stop and search records at an unacceptable standard, with necessary referrals to the Professional Standards and/or Learning and Development departments as required.
• All LPAs and OPC have well embedded Body Worn Video (BWV) review processes, including scrutiny panels which are supported by IAG members to monitor officers use of stop and search and use of force powers. The Stop and Search Tactical Lead is now working to standardise how all the panels run and seeking to increase the diversity of the panel members.
• Our award-winning Equality Diversity Inclusion and Cohesion (EDIC) Partnership scrutinises data to ascertain and address any racial disparity. This partnership with residents and other statutory and community organisations will continue to develop and grow in the months and years ahead.

Essex ranks 6 out of 7 in our Most Similar Group (MSG) in the Ethnic Minority to White ratio and 6th in the Black to White ratio. It should be noted that Police.uk have not yet moved to the 2021 Census data and are still using 2011 data.

Understand, explain, and reduce the disparity in arrests and outcomes between White people and Ethnic Minorities.

Q3 Arrest Disproportionality

Arrests per 1000 population						Arrest Disproportionality
Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Mixed	Any Other Enthnicity	All Ethnic Minorities	White	Asian or Asian British	Black or Black British	Mixed	Any Other Enthnicity	All Ethnic Minorities
6.26	15.34	10.93	9.56	10.39	6.33	0.99	2.42	1.73	1.51	1.64

• Individuals from Ethnic Minorities were 1.6 times more likely to be arrested than White individuals in Q2 and this figure rises to 2.4 times more likely for Black individuals. This is an increase from 1.4 times more likely for Ethnic Minority individuals in the previous quarter and 2.9 times more likely for Black individuals.
• The likelihood of Asian or Asian British individuals to be arrested was the same as White individuals.
• This data is examined monthly at CJ Strategic Board and CJ Performance meetings with Strip Searches (in Custody), Use of Force (in Custody) and Adverse Incidents being broken down by ethnicity. In addition, the new Custody IAG meeting is scheduled to take place on 28th February with a new Chair. This IAG will be looking at custody data in detail to identify any potential disparity issues and proposed actions to mitigate.
• A new criminal justice system wide report conducted by Anglia Ruskin, commissioned by OPFCC, enables the Criminal Justice Command to look at CJS wide disparity across all relevant organisations.
• Terms of reference for the Essex County Justice Board Sub-Group have been agreed. The group will examine disparity across the criminal justice system and include representatives from all agencies, including members of the public and members of existing IAGs and groups such as the Essex Police Community Engagement Group. All agencies have agreed to share their data to ensure the Board is operating transparently and ethically.

Activity

North Local Policing Area (NLPA)

The North holds a regular Domestic Abuse focus panel whereby our staff observe real life stories from victims of domestic abuse. This enables our staff to understand different victim perceptions and wider cultural understanding when contacting the Police.  This enables a more tailored service for victims.

In relation to recruitment, the North LPA’s Community Safety Engagement Officers (CSEOs) attend recruitment events. CSEOs also look to promote recruitment into the Special Constabulary whilst they are attending engagement events in the local community.

In Chelmsford, the Community Police Team (CPTs) are working with the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) on a new initiative called “On Your Team”. This is centred around men’s mental health and suicide prevention. Weekly meetings that are focussed on sport are attended by a cohort of men that have been identified as requiring support for their mental health. This has been such a success that the programme has been extended to include separate meetings for females, focussing on self-security and confidence. 

South Local Policing Area (SLPA)

Following on from additional focus around Victim Code Contract the South LPA have seen greater compliance in this area. Our NICE principles for victim contact detailed below are now routinely used by all officers and staff:

N – Name of the officer in the case
I – Incident Number relating to the victims case
C – Contact details of the officer in the case
E – Explain (that email is best method of contact)

These efforts will drive victim satisfaction rates in the South LPA. All this work ties in with the Force Plan around our commitment to victims.

A robust discussion around our officers’ use of police powers, specifically stop and search, is a standing agenda item at the district level Independent Advisory Group (IAG). Any learning is shared across the South LPA to improve the use of our powers and build trust and confidence with our communities.

West Local Policing Area (WLPA)

A new Harlow Stop and Search Scrutiny Panel has been launched and undertaken its first meeting. Stop and Search Scrutiny Panels in other districts throughout the West LPA are also currently ongoing and they each have the same over-arching ambition: to help us learn, grow and develop in our use of police powers, specifically stop and search.

Operation Alliance is the West LPA operation to identify communities where additional work is required to strengthen ties and increase community engagement. Using census data for Harlow, the key areas are:

• Women and Girls
• Eastern European
• Young People 

Each has its own plan of action under Community Safety Engagement Officers to deliver increased engagement. We will share our ongoing efforts in due course for future reports.

Crime & Public Protection

The Crime & Public Protection Command (C&PP) held an engagement event on the 27th September 2023 around Rape and other Sexual offences.  Some common myths were discussed, and advice given to those in attendance. An excellent opportunity to see the people behind the badges.

Extensive activity takes place across all commands to ensure confidence and satisfaction levels improve across many areas. To improve in this area, policing must be seen to act legitimately, ethically and are transparent in our activity and scrutiny.

Increase the confidence of Ethnic Minority people in the service they will receive from Essex Police as measured by the independent force survey

There is no significant statistical difference in White and Ethnic Minority respondents’ views for many questions. Where significant differences do exist, these tend to relate to perceptions of fairness for example in the use if stop search powers and treatment of complaints.

[2] Data supplied by SMSR: Social & Market Strategic Research. Data to June 2022.

Respondents were asked the following questions:

• “Taking everything into account, how good a job do you think the police in this area are doing?” (Q13b)

Q13b	White % Good/Excellent (NET)	Ethnic Minority % Good/Excellent (NET)
12m to Mar 2022	79.4%	76.1%
12m to Jun 2022	78.4%	74.0%
12m to Sep 2022	76.4%	77.0%
12m to Dec 2022	74.7%	78.6%
12m to Mar 2023	72.9%	79.1%
12m to Jun 2023	71.4%	79.5%
12m to Sep 2023	72.7%	79.2%
12m to Dec 2023	74.2%	79.2%

• “How much would you agree or disagree that Essex Police understand the issues that affect your community?” (Q4)

Q4	White % Strongly/Tend To Agree (NET)	Ethnic Minority % Strongly/Tend To Agree (NET)
12m to Mar 2022	57.3%	59.4%
12m to Jun 2022	54.5%	61.1%
12m to Sep 2022	53.6%	61.8%
12m to Dec 2022	52.2%	62.0%
12m to Mar 2023	51.1%	59.3%
12m to Jun 2023	50.6%	58.9%
12m to Sep 2023	52.1%	58.5%
12m to Dec 2023	53.1%	59.7%

• “If you were to report a crime or incident in the future, how confident are you that you would receive a good service from Essex Police?” (Q10)

Q10	White % Very/Fairly Confident (NET)	Ethnic Minority % Very/Fairly Confident (NET)
12m to Mar 2022	75.1%	72.7%
12m to Jun 2022	73.4%	70.7%
12m to Sep 2022	70.4%	73.9%
12m to Dec 2022	68.9%	74.1%
12m to Mar 2023	66.6%	73.9%
12m to Jun 2023	65.2%	75.5%
12m to Sep 2023	66.8%	75.8%
12m to Dec 2023	68.3%	77.9%

• White respondents answered less positively to Q13b and Q10 in the 12 months to December 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Ethnic Minority respondents’ confidence level remained stable for Q13b and increased by 45 pts. for Q10, but this was not significant.

• White respondents answered more positively to Q4 and Ethnic minority respondents answered less positively.

• Ethnic Minority respondents’ confidence is higher than White respondents’ for all three questions in the 12 months to December 2023. The disparity increased for Q13b and Q10 when compared to December 2022 (1% pt. and 4% pts. respectively) and decreased for Q4 over the same period (3% pts). It should be noted that no differences for the above questions were significant.

• Q13b: “Taking everything into account, how good a job do you think the police in this area are doing?”. There was a decrease of 1% pt. for White respondents for the 12 months to December 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. Ethnic Minority respondents remained stable at 79% for both periods

• The disparity increased by 1% pt. in December 2023 compared to December 2022. The level of confidence for Ethnic Minority respondents was 5% pts. higher compared to White respondents in the 12 months to December 2023, compared to 4% pts. higher for the same period in the previous year.

• Q4: “How much would you agree or disagree that Essex Police understand the issues that affect your community?”. Confidence remained stable for all respondents in the 12 months to September this year compared to the same period last year but decreased by 2%pts. for Ethnic Minority respondents and increased by 1% pt. for White respondents.

• The level of confidence for Ethnic Minority respondents was 7% pts. higher compared to White respondents in the 12 months to December 2023, compared to 10% pts. higher compared to White respondents in the 12 months to December 2022.

• Q10: “If you were to report a crime or incident in the future, how confident are you that you would receive a good service from Essex Police?”. Ethnic Minority respondents remained stable and showed a higher level of confidence (78%) compared to White respondents (68%) in the 12 months to December 2023. Ethnic Minority respondents showed an increase of 4% pts. compared to the same period the previous year.

• The disparity increased by 4% pts in December 2023 compared to December 2022. The level of confidence for Ethnic Minority respondents was 10% pts. higher compared to White respondents in the 12 months to December 2023, compared to 6% pts. higher for the same period in the previous year.

Increase the confidence of Ethnic Minorities, working to increase the number of those who feel they would be treated fairly if they made a complaint, as measured by the independent force survey

Respondents were asked the following questions:

• “If you were to make a complaint to Essex Police about an officer or staff member, do you think you would be treated fairly? (Q7)

Q7	White % Yes	Ethnic Minority % Yes
12m to Mar 2022	75.4%	60.3%
12m to Jun 2022	72.5%	60.5%
12m to Sep 2022	69.7%	63.2%
12m to Dec 2022	67.6%	63.9%
12m to Mar 2023	67.7%	63.3%
12m to Jun 2023	66.7%	63.2%
12m to Sep 2023	69.1%	63.8%
12m to Dec 2023	72.0%	65.4%

• “Please say how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: I am confident that the police use their stop and search power fairly and respectfully” (Q15)

Q15	White % Strongly/Tend To Agree (NET)	Ethnic Minority % Strongly/Tend To Agree (NET)
12m to Mar 2022	70.8%	61.9%
12m to Jun 2022	67.9%	60.0%
12m to Sep 2022	63.8%	60.3%
12m to Dec 2022	60.8%	59.7%
12m to Mar 2023	59.9%	58.6%
12m to Jun 2023	58.6%	57.6%
12m to Sep 2023	60.4%	56.9%
12m to Dec 2023	63.5%	58.9%

• White respondents showed a significant increase and ethnic minority respondents remained stable in the 12 months to December 2023 compared to the 12 months to December 2022 for Q7. All respondents remained stable in December 2023 compared to the same period last year for Q15.
• Q7: “If you were to make a complaint to Essex Police about an officer or staff member, do you think you would be treated fairly?”. White respondents’ confidence increased significantly in the 12 months to December 2023 compared to December 2022 with an increase of 4% pts. compared to the same period in the previous year. Ethnic minority confidence increased by 1% pt. in the same period, but this was not significant.
• Q15: “Please say how much you agree or disagree with the following statement: I am confident that the police use their stop and search power fairly and respectfully”.
• Confidence was stable in the 12 months to December 2023 compared to December 2022 with an increase of 3% pt. for White respondents compared to a decrease of 1% pt. for Ethnic minorities.

Example of activity to increase confidence and satisfaction:

Black History Month

OurBlack History Month Annual Black History Month event was held on 19th October at Springfield Park Baptist Church.  The theme of our event was “Saluting our Sisters and Matriarchs of Movements which have influenced policing”. Around 80 attendees from both inside and outside of Essex Police met in person to celebrate black history month. We had both internal and external speakers giving lived experiences.

Local Policing Support Unit

We are providing training internally to Community Policing Teams across the Force to broaden the knowledge of Hate Crime which intrinsically adds value to the Diversity Strategy. We are also providing inputs on Hate Crime to school settings with a view to improving knowledge of the impact Hate Crime has on victims. The team have provided training to staff at all hotels where refugees are being accommodated and engaged heavily with residents in line with both the Force Plan and the Diversity Strategy.

Implement and conduct a quarterly review of ongoing action aligned with the Police Race Action Plan.

The Police Race Action Plan has been adopted and work is already underway against the four workstreams of the Plan in our continued determination to build an anti-racist police service.

Workstream 1 – Represented (internal culture and inclusivity)

Workstream 2 – Not over-policed (use of powers)

Workstream 3 – Involved (community engagement)

Workstream 4 – Not under-protected against victimisation

Workstream	Actions not started	Actions started	Completed Actions to date	Total of Actions per Workstream
1	1	10		11
2		5		5
3		7		7
4	2	7		9
Total	3	29	0	32

Key updates from activity against the plan are:

• All workstreams now have a lead at the rank of Superintendent/Chief Superintendent or PSE equivalent.
• Governance of progress against the plan is achieved through the Force Diversity and Inclusion Board, chaired by the Chief Constable.
• HR Corporate Recruitment, Positive Action Team and Corporate Comms are working with MESA to enhance recruitment campaigns to attract black and ethnic minority officers.
• Launch of our ‘Achieve Leadership Programme’ within Essex to support those from under-represented groups in their development and progression to become leaders in the force.
• Focussed support for the force mentor programme to attract diversity into the mentor cadre.  Support from the support associations and positive action team has seen an increased number of mentors from ethnic minorities join the programme following an advertising campaign.
• Recruitment of a full-time Support Co-ordinator for our Multi-Ethnic Support Association (MESA). The Co-ordinator is responsible for ensuring that all members of MESA are supported and providing a key link for the network on all matters related to the Police Race Action Plan.
• Essex Police had one of the highest response rates for the NPCC led Our Black Workforce Survey, and we are awaiting the analysis of this survey to inform further activity.
• Activity around use of police powers, specifically use of force and stop and search, is captured under section 4.2 of this report. Consideration is also being given to the capture and monitoring of ethnicity data regarding Section 163 Road Traffic Act stop checks, with a similar scrutiny and governance process in place.
• Significant increase in the number of BWV reviews taking place by supervisors in relation to the monitoring of stop and search and use of force – from an average of 40 per month to over 200. Monitoring of this scrutiny takes place through the Use of Force Board.
• Internal and external stakeholder panel groups are being developed in response to the NPCC survey regarding staff and community consultation on the Police Race Action Plan.

The Diversity and Inclusion Team are responsible for enabling and supporting progress against each action. Essex Police have chosen to adopt the Police Race Action Plan and included the delivery of it within the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy under the Adopt and Advance objective.

Diversity, equality, and inclusion training has been delivered to the majority of the workforce over the last two years.

Essex Police has worked collaboratively with an external provider (Pearlcatchers) to develop our diversity, equality and inclusion training package across the force.

The training, called ‘Leading Difference and Inclusion’ for leaders, and ‘Valuing Difference and Inclusion’ for the general workforce, was launched on 14 July 2021 and is being delivered across three phases:

• Phase 1 has concluded and has provided training for around 1,400 leaders (PS and SO1 and above).  This has been delivered in 2 modules with a commitment to embedding change through an action plan captured via a PDR objective.
• Phase 2 provided training for around 5,200 of the general workforce between January - November 2022.  This was delivered in 1 module. At the end of this reporting period, 3069 officers/staff and volunteers have already attended the training with a further 1038 booked on future sessions.
• Phase 3 will see ten supporting monthly videos and podcasts launched monthly from early 2023 followed by an annual refresher package for use from December 2023.

Over the next 10 months our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Team will be sharing a series of videos and podcasts that spotlights each of the protected characteristics from the Equality Act 2010 in addition to other areas not covered by the Act but that makes us uniquely different, embraces the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and our determination to promote dignity for all.  These videos will feature our own people who talk about their lived experience giving invaluable insight into the challenges that face and the importance of having honest discussions about diversity, equality and inclusion.  These videos are mandatory for all to watch and will be facilitated by Line Managers. Compliance rates are being shared with Heads of Department to ensure that officers and staff are learning through the Develop Me Learning Hub process.

Survey results indicate a strong increase in knowledge and understanding across the Leaders cohort and a positive response from the general workforce following phases 1 and 2.

Transgender Awareness Week & Day of Remembrance    

Each year across the country people and organisations participate in Transgender Awareness Week from 13th—19th November. It is a week when transgender people and their allies take action to bring attention to the community by educating the public about who transgender people are, sharing stories and experiences, and advancing advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community. The Chief Constable and the LGBTQ+ Network mark Transgender Day of Remembrance and Awareness Week by flying the Progress Flag across the force to demonstrate our support for the Transgender Community of Essex.

The Progress Flag contains the pink, white and blue chevrons to show support for our Transgender community.

Police Race Action Plan training products

The College of Policing (CoP) have developed an hour-long learning package for officers and staff on the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP), which includes material to aid their understanding of the history of policing Black communities, and to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to build trust and confidence with those communities. Learning & Development are in the process of reviewing this package with a view to embedding it within the current curriculum for all officers and staff.  

Develop a diversity dashboard to monitor our progress against our objectives.

The Performance Analysis Unit have developed a Diversity Dashboard which includes Victims, Suspects, Arrests, Outcomes, DA, Hate Crime, Honour Based Crime, Racial Crime, Sexual Offences and Community Resolutions. Separate dashboards for Stop Search and Use of Force have also been developed and this product is now delivered monthly and available for all staff to access.

LGBT Representation

There was a slight increase in the percentages of officers who stated their sexual orientation now sitting at 5.51% %, staff has increased to 3.88%. Completion rate 71.38%. The completion rate includes ‘prefer not to say.’

Diversity Equality Inclusion Briefing Sessions.

The Diversity and Inclusion Team delivered DEI briefing sessions to new recruits, newly promoted Sergeants and Inspectors. These interactive sessions are designed to promote the D&I Strategy, prompt discussion around the nine protected characteristics and promote inclusion within the workplace. These on-going sessions give us the best opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of diversity and equality issues amongst our staff and develop and retain the diverse talent within the organisation.

Performance Information and Data

How Essex Police perform is reported to the Office for Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC) on a monthly and quarterly basis. This data includes information on Hate Crime offences at a force and district level. This data can be found on the following link:

Essex Police Performance - Essex Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (pfcc.police.uk)

The Police and Crime Commissioner also publishes quarterly reports on Essex Police conduct matters. This data includes a breakdown of complaints by ethnicity group. This data can be found on the following link:

Conduct & Professional Standards - Essex Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (pfcc.police.uk)

Pay Equality

Each year Essex Police publish, separately to this report, an Equality Pay Gap report. The 2021 report was published in Spring 2022 on the Essex Police website:

Gender pay gap | Essex Police

Essex Police: Workforce Distribution

Each year Essex Police publish via the OPFCC website, a report which relates to the force’s attendance, strength full time equivalent (fte), turnover and diversity profiles. The link to this report is provided below:

https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.0-HR-Commentary-2021-Mar-21-v0.7-Final-approved-15.04.21-update.pdf