A year in the life...

This has been a year like no other, I’m not sure there hasn’t been anyone who hasn’t been affected in one way or another! From a work perspective, I will share some of my ‘feature’ moments of the last year while I worked with Northumbria Police on a year long contract.

Where it started…

My role started in November with plans to build on what they had already achieved; it was a year long contract to cover maternity. I was excited for the opportunity but went in there with open eyes as trying to make a difference in a year is a tall order for any organisation, and sometimes achievements in D&I are less tangible to measure.

Understanding an organisation is always tough, and policing is extremely complex, too much to start putting into words and there is so much I still could learn. 

As with any public organisation funding is also a big challenge, and the austerity measures have had a profound impact on those who experienced them and the uncertain times they brought. Public sector funding will always be challenging but throw in a global pandemic and it really starts to make things interesting. 

Along comes a global pandemic…

Coronavirus happened around 4 months into my contract when I was just about to start putting some of the planning into tangible activity. I always had respect for our police force but what quickly became apparent was that with all of the planning in the world, life would be life, and without any warning, or rehearsal they can be plummeted into situations and within the blink of an eye and are expected to have all of the answers. Quite often within coronavirus we would learn about the changes at the same time as everyone else during the evening broadcast. Yet as professional as ever they drew on their experience and worked tirelessly to respond and keep our communities safe. There’s no rule book for the virus, it’s the first time for us all!

As key workers during coronavirus, I was extremely proud to be associated with Northumbria Police, and almost felt guilty that I couldn’t do more. I did turn this into some positive activity, but in the early stages, I will admit to feeling a little overwhelmed and a little useless!

Damned if you do – damned if you don’t

The police have an extremely multifaceted role and on many occasions are the first and last line of defence for situations that are not always directly police related but they handle which with professionalism and agility. However, what I did notice, is how quick the public are to condone anything and everything they do. The social media keyboard warrior onslaught was highly frustrating but something I would have to learn to ‘absorb’ or avoid as I would find myself drawn into rabbit warrens of negativity. This was never so more apparent than during the protests linked to #BlackLivesMatter. The D&I team briefed the officers ahead of the protests but then I saw directly from the control room, a side of our society that is uneducated, racist and ultimately just not very nice humans! I spent a lot of time during those months writing then reflecting, but not posting anything. I was collecting my thoughts, educating myself and getting better at my job, taking a responsibility to learn and understand more about the society that I live in. I will always have to learn as society continues to change, but these past few months have been critical.

Three things - my featured moments!

The internal communications team have worked tirelessly with me to get me to write less and to always think about 3 key things! We have done so much more than 3 things during my tenure with Northumbria Police, so I’m throwing away the rule book and have put these into 3 headings!

Some of the achievements over the last 12 months have been phenomenal, they aren’t all down to me but I’m sharing them as part of the progress I have seen.

Going Digital - Responding to coronavirus, we took our recruitment and new recruit training online. We have continued to recruit police officers at the higher levels that have been provided under the government scheme ‘Operation Uplift’ giving Northumbria Police their allocation of the 20,000 new officers in the UK. Within this we have continued to develop more diversity within the workforce through our Positive Action strategy and a brave and bold recruitment campaign; “Jobs for the boys”

It has been a golden opportunity for D&I and we have pushed forward with flexible working now becoming the norm not just in policing but across lots of industries. 

We have created our diversity friends and using them to ‘open up’ conversations. Delivering over 600 hours of training virtually this last month has provided insight for the development of and learning experience like no other for D&I and Unconscious Bias. Local company SUB-10 has supported us with this project, and I cannot wait to see the finished result. 

All things inclusion - Understanding and becoming more inclusive has never been as important as during lockdown so many of the projects launched during this time include the word Inclusion in their title which also aligns with one of our new core values.

A supportive inclusive culture is everything to us. Full stop.

Our Inclusion Charter was launched setting the principles of our working to be more inclusive and we have been learning in our virtual sessions about conscious inclusion.

We also grew our support associations introducing a disability and carers association, a men’s network and relaunched the women’s network and brought them all together under the Inclusion Hub. 

Wellbeing has been critical during lockdown. We brought people together at our Inclusion Cafes where we have discussed mental health, inclusion, growth mindset, unconscious bias, stress and hate crime to mention just a few.

Leaving a legacy - To be successful in D&I isn’t about me, it’s about leaving a legacy that will continue to grow and develop, creating the foundations on which success can be built and giving people the tools and confidence to build.

We have created a conversation and brought together our work within our organisation, communities and partners with an awesome team that will see D&I grow and eventually be embedded at the heart of the work we do.

My voice will linger as our Diversity Unpacked podcast launched in October and I was fortunate to be able to host this with some of our amazing officers. Hopefully they will ask me back as a guest presenter!

And although award ceremonies have fallen at the hands of coronavirus, our collaboration with Inclusive Companies has continued and hopefully the legacy I will leave will be a place in the Top50 for our third year.

I hope the people of Northumbria Police have enjoyed working and learning from me in the way I have from them. Having social value at the heart of my work has been extremely rewarding and I am looking forward to taking this into my next role. Thank you Northumbria Police, I am proud to have played a small part in your journey.