Tay Equality Diversity Newsletter - Issue 2 - April 2011

Issue 2 April 2011

Tay Equality Tay Equality

Making the Difference

Tayside Police Diversity Update Welcome to our second edition - how time has flown! The pavements are finally snowless - can’t believe the computer says it’s not a word - and the “spring” flowers have finally made an appearance – so all is good in the garden again (metaphorically and literally).

Katherine (Burrows not Middleton), Claire and I have been busy gathering articles which we hope will keep you informed about what is happening in the equality and diversity field. Remember, we depend on you to provide the interesting stuff – it’s not the Twilight Saga, so can’t look to Edward Cullen and Bella to fill the pages! We would have liked to send our Katherine (with a K) to interview the Catherine (with a C) about her views on diversity and equality… but apparently she’s busy in April – what could possibly be more important than a One to One with our Katherine (with a K)? No response required!

I suppose the BIG news - apart from Claire and I raising cash for good causes - is that the Public Sector General Equality Duty, after a marathon journey finally became law on 5 April 2011. Having said that, unlike past times, the Specific Duties intended to help deliver the General Duty have ran into some last minute challenges – so we have to wait a bit longer. Read more on the duties further on.

In the meantime enjoy the longer, lighter and altogether uplifting months ahead – despite the economic doom, gloom and uncertainties - spring and summer has a way of making you feel better somehow.

Oh, and remember to make your vote count on 5 May in the Hollyrood elections – hope your choice wins!

Nasreen

Nasreen Mohammed

Katherine Burrows

Claire McLaren

__________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS Women’s Development Forum Equality Act 2010 Muslimah of Scotland Conference LGBT Youth IMP:ACT Deaf Action (Tayside) Gets off to a great start Force Control Room (FCC) Improvements

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One to one with…Deputy Chief Constable Girls Galore and a Grand for MS The Marathon in me Freedom of Information Dundee International Women’s Centre School Bullying Incident

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Tay Equality WOMEN’S DEVELOPMENT FORUM Wood,, WDF (Scotland) Administrator Sarah Wood Who are we and what do we do?

The Scottish Women’s Development Forum is an ACPOS working group and aims ‘to assist and support the Scottish Police Service to provide a positive positive working environment which enables everyone to reach their full potential, thereby improving the quality of service delivery to our communities’. communities’ Update on recent activities The WDF Personal & Professional Development Sub-Group continues to develop a programme of development events based on feedback from staff from Scottish staff. The Annual Conference will be held on the 01 June 2011 at the Scottish Police College when the Annual Awards will also be presented.

expressed a keen interest in a mentoring scheme.

The WDF Performance Sub-Group is currently examining the gender breakdown of Road Policing Units and Authorised Firearms Officers, these being two areas where there are general acceptance females were under-represented.

The WDF Communication and Marketing SubGroup are currently re-designing the WDF (Scotland) website and marketing materials which will be launched later this year.

If you have any questions about WDF (Scotland) please contact Sarah Wood, WDF (Scotland) Administrator sarah.wood@tayside.pnn.police.uk

The WDF Coaching & Mentoring Sub-Group has carried out a significant amount of work to develop a mentoring scheme. The proposals were approved at ACPOS level and a pilot joint-force mentoring scheme was launched on 1 April 2010. Most Scottish forces have EQUALITY ACT 2010: PUBLIC SECTOR EQUALITY DUTIES – Nasreen Nasreen Mohammed As of 5 April 2011, as a public authority, Tayside Police must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to: • Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act; • Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and • Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.

The Act explains that having due regard for advancing equality involves: • Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics; • Taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people; and • Encouraging people people from protected groups to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low.

Protected Characteristics: Age, Disability, Gender reassignment, Marriage & Civil Partnership (employment only), Pregnancy & maternity, Race, Religion/Belief Sex, and Sexual orientation.

More details to follow in next edition….

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Tay Equality MUSLIMAH OF SCOTLAND CONFERENCE On Saturday 12th February 2011 over 100 Muslim women attended the national conference organised by Amina - the Muslim Women’s Resource Centre and shared in the outcomes of their groundbreaking work regarding tackling violence against women, a problem that affects all communities.

The highlights of the day included two inspirational speakers. Saadia Usmani, WRVS media head and former BBC journalist and producer, spoke on “media madness” explaining how the media works, and urging participants to be more pro-active in expressing support for good journalism and objections to distorted reporting.

Rahma Abdulatif, Counsellor and Parenting practitioner, gave a challenging presentation “The Next Generation – what is your role in the process?”

Discussions also included: countering stereotypes in schools; development of women’s groups; advice, counselling and befriending services; training inputs on providing faith and culturally sensitive services to mainstream organisations.

Further information about the work of Amina - the Muslim Women’s Resource Centre is available via 01382 224678, info@mwrc.org.uk, www.mwrc.org.uk

LGBT YOUTH IMP:ACT - Kirsty Keay, Cr Crime ime Intelligence Division, Community Safety Representatives from Tayside Police recently attended the LGBT Youth IMP:ACT conference on 25 March 2011 to talk to people in Dundee about their experience of accessing tayside Police services. The diverse agenda comprised of personal stories from three young people in Dundee about the difficulties that some young LGBT people encounter and the additional burden of being bullied or worrying about what will happen if you ‘come out’ to friends and family.

Tayside Police facilitated a workshop on ‘hate crime’ which produced interesting and varied inputs from a number of those attending. It was an opportunity for the force to engage, listen, learn and share information about hate crime.

Individual stories supported what has long been suspected; LGBT people who experience hate incidents or crimes often make a conscious decision not to report it to the police. The reasons included: it is something that communities don’t recognise as being a crime, or the behaviour is accepted (or expected) as they are LGBT or because there is a misconception that the police won’t be interested or able to do anything.

Tayside Police is working hard to combat these perceptions; however the day provided a useful learning point that we could do more. We will aim to work more closely with Allsorts in Dundee, to break down the perceived and real barriers between young LGBT people and the police. This will allow us to identify areas where we can make our services more LGBT friendly and become better at advertising the force as an inclusive organisation, as a service provider and employer.

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DEAF ACTION (TAYSIDE) GETS OFF TO A STRONG START – Nic Goodwin, Deaf Action Two of the oldest organisations working with deaf people in Scotland, Deaf Action and Tayside Deaf Association, were delighted to officially recognise their merger on 16 March; creating the largest deaf organisation in Scotland. Over 140 people, including local Councillors, health representatives, organisations and clients gathered to celebrate the launch of Deaf Action (Tayside).

At the launch event, Petra Claydon, a Deaf BSL user and young mum spoke passionately of her feelings of frustration at being unable to communicate throughout her education with hearing colleagues and today with young mums at the school gates. “After After discovering the Training Services available from Deaf Action and working with their staff, I am delighted that I am now in a position to deliver Deaf Awareness Training and British Sign Language Training to hearing people”. people”.

Since 1893, Tayside Deaf Association has been supporting Deaf, deafened, deafblind and hard of hearing people throughout Tayside. The merger will see the introduction of new services for deaf people in Tayside. Deaf Action (Tayside) will continue to deliver the established services for deaf people. Deaf Action is the leading provider of services for deaf people in Scotland and has a long history of providing services for and working with Deaf British Sign Language users as well as those who are deafened, deafblind and hard of hearing.

It is estimated that 62,000 people in Tayside are affected by some degree of hearing loss.

Contact: Jean Burke, Deaf Action. Email: Jean.Burke@deafaction.org 49 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH13QY. Tel: 0131 550 0998 or 07891 941 337 www.deafaction.org

FORCE CONTROL ROOM (FCC) IMPROVEMENTS IMPROVEMENTS - Susie Mitchell, Team Leader Calling Cards - There are still issues with the "new" calling card failing to address the feedback queries by the various community advisory groups. A copy of the card has been forwarded to Inspector Duncan along with the feedback comments. He will review the card as a practitioner and liaise with Nasreen Mohammed regarding the comments raised. Enquiries have been made regarding the cost of the 0300 111 2222 number - but nothing has come back as of yet.

Raising awareness awareness - A poster and leaflet campaign has been run to raise awareness of diversity within the FCC and so far have covered MS, Autism and ADHD. A number of other posters are to continue to be posted around the FCC to raise awareness and understanding.

Interpreting Interpreting Service - All testing of the telephone equipment within the FCC has been completed to ensure compatibility with 3 way conference calling - including 999. An account has been established with Language Line.

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Tay Equality area such as the West Midlands. However, Tayside has some particular issues, such as deprivation in rural communities and the impact that a lack of mobility, for example, can have on a number of different communities in a large rural geographical area. Social isolation and the ability to police across such diverse terrain can bring its own challenges.

ONE TO ONE WITH….

WITH…. DEPUTY CHIEF CONSTABLE - Katherine Burrows “Equality is not a rulebook; it is at the heart of everything everything we do”.

DCC Gordon Scobbie joined Tayside Police last September, moving from West Midlands Police.

He brought with him a considerable track record in promoting Equality. I discussed with him some of the differences and similarities between the two forces and how he felt about the ethos in the force in regards to equality.

Q: How would you sum up the need to understand equality and diversity in the police?

A: Diversity should always be at the heart of everything we do, rather than rules to be obeyed.

The work of the police is always about delivering a fair and professional service to the public, and this means that no-one should be disadvantaged because of any of their characteristics.

Q: Are you happy that equality and diversity are fully included in the training of recruits?

A: Yes, but in addition valuable training comes from the job experience. No matter how much we teach diversity, the real benefit is to be gained in the work environment, where experience can be the best tutor. Working with our communities and understanding their needs and expectations of the police is core to good policing and is never a ‘job done’.

Q: Do you think Special Constables benefit from job experience before formal training?

A: Specials do also have training before they fully take up their duties and this includes Equality matters but they can also benefit from experiences learned in their day to day work, which will be a different background to the police force. Having said that, some people work in an environment where they might not be in daily contact with people from minority groups, so the police training is vital. It can also be exclusionary if we insist that all recruits must be specials first as not everyone can commit to this if they have other pressures and commitments to juggle.

Q: Is there ongoing training for officers?

A: We have to keep up to date with all relevant legislation and our system of continuing briefings is designed to ensure all officers have access to new regulations. Our Diversity Advisor is always on hand for advice and takes a pro-active approach when emerging issues need to be raised at a force level.

Q: Are there any differences in how Tayside & West Midlands Police approach equality?

A: Oh yes, there will always be differences in the approach of a police force owing to differences in the make-up and needs of each particular community. For example, the communities are much more diverse in a built up metropolitan

Q: How do you view the place in the force of the Community Advisory Groups?

A: They are vital. We are always seeking improvements so consultation and involvement of those from the various minority communities is vital. In fact these groups could be more widely used. In the West Midlands I set up a “Trust and Confidence Group” which consisted of members from over thirty organisations. Their role was to examine and address issues of trust and confidence in policing. In their first year they looked at how young people engage with the police as a priority, but the scope for looking into many other aspects of equality is endless. I would love to see our Strategic Community Advisory Group become more proactive in shaping the police plan, and setting priorities for improvements.

Q: How do you think the threatened cuts in funding for the police affect your force?

A: Firstly, reduced funding is inevitable, and I recognise this is a deeply worrying time for many of my staff about their future. I think we can use technology to help us deliver our services in a different way. The public expect us to continue to deliver effective local policing and to protect them from harm and we will do all that we can to deliver this in some difficult financial times ahead.

Effective policing is more than just about the police, which is why I am committed to working with all our communities to support and empower local people from all backgrounds to make Tayside a safer place.

My thanks and gratitude to DCC Scobbie 5

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NOT JUST A COUPLE OF PRETTY FACES!!

FACES!!

GIRLS GALORE AND A GRAND FOR MS! Mohammed,, Dundee Mela group MS! – Nasreen Mohammed From time to time, as members of the Dundee Mela Group, some friends and I dabble in voluntary/ charity work where the main aim is to educate people about important social and health issues in a fun way and raise cash for deserving causes in the process.

Our most recent effort on 10 March, as part of the Dundee Women’s Festival was to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis, which affects many people, young women in particular, yet not much discussed. The event involved a Dundee Women Got Talent contest with international participants and a fashion show with local girls taking to the catwalk to highlight the latest Asian fashion trends.

The event was a sell out and 10 year old Saloni Bhatracharia beat off stiff competition to win the talent contest (£100 prize) with a superb classical Indian dance. But the most important figure for us is the ONE THOUSAND POUNDS we raised for the Multiple Sclerosis Unit at Ninewells Hospital.

THANK YOU to Dundee Women’s Festival and all others who sponsored, supported and/or attended the event…and all members of the Mela Group and volunteers who helped to make it such a success.

Our Chair Parveen Jamil (right), Secretary Rehana Begum (centre) and yours truly (left) proudly presented the £1000 cheque to the MS Unit on 06 April 2011.

THE MARATHON IN ME! – Claire McLaren McLaren,, Crime Intelligence Division On Sunday 10th April, I ran a half marathon in Edinburgh along the beautiful coastline of Musselburgh. It was my first marathon and although a little nervous, I set off and ended up finishing the 13.33 miles with a big smile on my face.

I decided to raise money for the Strathmore Hospice in Forfar a small, yet inspiring place, where the staff are fantastic. The Hospice comes under the Lippen Care group and having had a family member taken care of here, I felt they deserved some extra help and raised £384 and I look forward to presenting this money to them. I would like to thank everyone who provided me with support and for your generosity which helped me to raise the money.

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Tay Equality FREEDOM OF INFORMATION – Claire Sturrock, Force Records Manager The Tayside Police Freedom of Information (FOI) department is responsible for ensuring that the Force meets its obligations in terms of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The Force currently receives around 600 requests for information annually, all of which must be fully researched by the FOI officers prior to the decision to release the material.

information is not held, it is provided to the FOI team or evidence must be provided that to retrieve the information sought would cost in excess of £600.

Only once the FOI Officers have the information can they make a decision on whether or not it can be released. This involves looking at any potential harm which may be caused by releasing the information as well as the strength of the public interest. Any decision to withhold information must then be fully justified.

On the subject of Diversity, topics have included domestic abuse, gypsy travellers, hate crimes, gender/sexual orientation breakdowns of staff, details of discrimination and sexual misconduct cases and offences committed by different racial groups. This variety of subject matter means daily contact with almost all of the departments and means that potentially any member of staff may be asked to provide information to the FOI staff.

If an applicant is dissatisfied with the Force response, they can request an internal review. If an applicant remains dissatisfied following this process, they have six months to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, to investigate.

Between 2008 and 2010 fewer than 2% requested an internal review and only 0.2% has gone on to appeal. There is no way of predicting the number of requests or how many questions will be in each of them - 39 questions in one request is the current record! In an effort to try to deal with this workload, the Force is committed to making information available particularly through the Force website.

Legislation dictates that the FOI officers have only 20 working days in which to research, gather information and make a decision as to what information can be released. Either the

DUNDEE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S CENTRE’S – Katherine Burrows The Dundee International Women’s Centre (DIWC) was established in 1969 and operates a service of educational, recreational and social opportunities for women and young women from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. Many of the service users face social and financial exclusion, compounded through a poor grasp of the English language and/or cultural/community barriers.

Its Mission Statement is: “To address the needs of women, with an emphasis on those from black and ethnic minority and and migrant communities; to promote and create opportunities for women's social, political and economic inclusion and for the advancement of education” The Centre works in partnership with local and national organisations to promote the personal and social development of women through encouraging active participation, leadership and citizenship in society. They achieve this by planning and delivering a weekly programme of social, educational recreational and employment activities for women of all age groups, identifying and thus responding to the needs of women from marginalised groups. This is done within a safe, friendly, multicultural and culturally sensitive environment. Their service also includes a Polish support service and an advice and information service. In addition they work to raise awareness and encourage cultural sensitivity of mainstream service providers thus enabling and encouraging more effective engagement of BME and migrant communities.

For more information, to join, volunteer and to see full details of all classes and activities check the web site: www.diwc.co.uk

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School Bullying Incident Parveen Jamil, a Community Adviser, passed on a thank you from a member of her community to a Tayside Police Officer, who provided positive advice and resolved a recent school bullying incident.

All we know is the Officer was from Longhaugh Police Office and if you are this impressive Officer, please come forward and talk to us – Editor.

NOTE TO ALL READERS TAYSIDE POLICE: We know that most of you, whether as police officers or police staff, do some exceptional work, but often no one knows about it! WE WANT TO KNOW – so please send us any articles about how you have made a positive difference to the outcome of a particular situation, by overcoming a challenge and/or tailoring your response to a person’s individual needs. Or is there an issue we or the community can help with?

COMMUNITY: Equally as a member of the community who has received a service you feel was beyond your expectations and you would like to highlight or praise or perhaps the service was lacking, please tell us – HELP US GET IT RIGHT EVERY TIME!

If you would like to submit an article, provide feedback or request this update in an alternative format please contact Claire McLaren 3rd Floor Annexe, Headquarters West Bell Street Dundee, DD1 9JU Phone Nasreen: 01382 596742 Fax: 01382 596529 mail@tayside.pnn.police.uk

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