Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Focus on improving our culture of inclusion and increase awareness and understanding of diversity and equality, through the delivery of professional development awareness and training. Colleagues will have confidence to share their diversity data, particularly for non-visible differences, which will inform our processes and policies. Colleagues will be supported to challenge, overcome and reduce discriminatory behaviours or practices.

Understanding, engaging and increasing satisfaction and confidence across all communities and victims of crime. Engaging with our communities to understand their concerns, improving communication, accessibility and building trust and confidence to ensure all communities have a voice, and are more confident in reporting hate crime and incidents, and be kept informed at each stage.

Work transparently with communities to progress understanding of disproportionality in the use of police powers, and engage effectively to tackle the concern this raises in our communities

Attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce which is representative of the communities we serve, ensuring robust analysis of workforce data to identify areas of concern or disproportionality to inform organisational priority, delivery of positive action interventions and organisational training and development needs.

As of September 2021, Surrey Police comprised 2,085 Police Officers and 1,985 Police Staff, totalling 4,070 people.

Ethnicity:

5.9% or 122 Police Officers identified as either Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background. 1,896 identified as White. 46 selected Prefer not to say and 21 did not disclose.

For Police Staff, 6% or 120 identified as either Black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background. 1,706 identified as White. 36 selected Prefer not to say and 123 did not disclose.

Sex and Gender:

37.3% or 777 Police Officers identified as Female and 1308 identified as Male.

For Police Staff, 63% or 1251 identified as Female and 734 identified as Male.

Religion:

For Police Officers, 2 identified as Buddhist, 541 as Christian, 8 as Hindu, 3 as Jewish, 9 as Muslim, 6 as Sikh, 11 as ‘Other’ and 509 as none. 75 answered Prefer not to say and 921 did not disclose.

For Police Staff, 14 identified as Buddhist, 653 as Christian, 12 as Hindu, 1 as Jewish, 20 as Muslim, 6 as Sikh, 16 as ‘Other’ and 603 as not having a religion. 76 answered Prefer not to say and 584 did not disclose.

Age:

For Police Officers, 185 identified as 16-24, 694 as 25-34, 727 as 35-44, 428 as 45-54 and 51 as 55-64

For Police Staff 194 identified as 16-24, 521 as 25-34, 413 as 35-44, 409 as 45-54, 385 as 55-64 and 63 as 65 years and over.

Disability:

1.4% or 29 Police Officers identified as having a Disability, 98.6% or 2056 identified as not having a Disability.

For Police Staff, 2.9% or 58 identified as having a Disability, 97% or 1927 identified as not having a Disability.

Sexual Orientation:

For Police Officers, 31 identified as Bisexual, 47 as Gay or Lesbian, 633 as Heterosexual, 5 as ‘Other’, 55 Prefer not to say and 1314 did not disclose.

For Police Staff, 32 identified as Bisexual, 32 as Gay or Lesbian, 786 as Heterosexual, 5 as ‘Other’, 52 Prefer not to say and 1078 did not disclose.

We provide an annual dashboard which provides a detailed breakdown of our Force's diversity by role and distribution across departments and teams.

The latest version - dated September 2021 - can be found here.

Background

Workforce ‘diversity data’ or ‘equality monitoring data’ refers to the information employees provide to their employer regarding aspects of their identity; typically, this includes categories such as Age, Disability, Gender, Ethnicity, Faith, and Sexual Orientation.

Surrey Police recognises that a balanced and diverse workforce produces better results and believes in giving everybody the opportunity to maximise their potential. ​It is important for Surrey Police to understand the demographics of our workforce, so that we can understand how representative we are of the communities we serve, and how we can support the diverse needs of colleagues. Having a police force that reflects the community it serves also helps to ensure greater integration and engagement, resulting in enhanced trust and confidence.

Collecting data

An individual’s diversity data is typically captured at the application stage for when people join the organisation. This information is stored on a secure system, which colleagues are encouraged to update routinely, recognising that individual circumstances can change, as well as preferences on sharing personal information.

In addition to publishing annual workforce data, capturing diversity information can facilitate effective priority setting by monitoring protected characteristics, for example in recruitment, retention, progression, pay, grievances, and overall workforce representation.

Participation and disclosure rates

Diversity data is captured for Disability, Ethnicity, Faith and Belief, Sex, Gender identity and Sexual Orientation. Colleagues are invited to share their personal information for all questions, this includes an option for preferring not to say. Prefer not to say is recognised as a valid response code; indicating an individual has participated in the process of reviewing or updating their diversity data however, chosen not to disclose. Not disclosed, indicates where a colleague has not selected a valid response code for a specific question, or has not engaged in the process to update their information.

Surrey Police’s recruitment process requests applicants to complete diversity data, during the application stage. For colleagues already in the organisation, Surrey Police Chief Officers routinely publish invites and requests to share diversity data, promoting the objectives and importance of doing so.

The Diversity Force overview PDF document provides a detailed breakdown by role and distribution across departments and teams. 

What is the IAG?

Surrey Police has a strategic Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which meets on a regular basis to provide independent views and advice on the strategic development and delivery of our services. The IAG is a panel of volunteers who are committed to working with the police for the benefit of the whole community, providing independent advice to the police about policing matters. The IAG is the critical link between the community and the police which aids us in engaging directly with the public. This helps Surrey Police to develop and operate policies and practices that do not exclude, discriminate or have an unjustifiable adverse impact on any particular community.

Who are we looking for?

The aim of our IAG is to improve the quality of policing by acting as a vital link between us and our communities. IAG members provide us with advice to help us recognise the diverse policing needs of communities and deliver a fair service that secures greater trust and confidence.

We are recruiting for new members of our IAG and would especially like to hear from you if you feel that the voice of your community is underrepresented in conversations between our communities and our Force.  

We are looking for individuals from diverse communities who currently reside in Surrey and may hold one or more protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation).

If you’re interested in shaping the way policing is delivered in Surrey and ensuring your community has a voice then please complete our application form below. If you would like any further information on the vacancy then please contact the Inclusion Team on [email protected]

Independent Advisory Group Application Form