Race Action Plan
In May 2022 the national Police Race Action Plan was launched, developed jointly by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing. The plan sets out changes across policing to improve outcomes for Black people who work within or interact with policing.
The national plan has allowed us to develop our localised Sussex Police Race Action Plan which focuses on key Priorities for 2024/25.
Our commitment to Anti-Racism
Together with our neighbouring force in Surrey, Sussex Police have committed to an anti-racism statement to underline all of our work. These are the expectations we have of all officers and staff as we seek to build an anti-racist police service.
Why are we developing our Sussex Police Race Action Plan?
Our Sussex Police Race Action Plan aims to improve the trust and confidence of our diverse communities, especially our Black communities, and of our own workforce, and address any racial disparities in the service.
How are we driving forward our Race Action Plan?
Our plan commits us to four key pillars, which further enable our communities to feel:
- Represented: We want communities to see themselves when they look at policing. This is about representation, retention and our internal culture.
- Respected: We want to treat our communities fairly, with respect and dignity. This is about eliminating any racial bias and disproportionality.
- Involved: We want to involve our communities in policing. This is about knowing where our communities are and improving our engagement with them.
- Protected: We want to protect our communities. This is about taking action if some communities get a different service than others.
The plan allows us to develop on the work that is already taking place within Sussex Police to address racial disparities.
For more information, read our full anti-racism statement below.
National progress report
In July, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) launched the first progress report for the Police Race Action Plan (PRAP). The report provides an overview of the progress the PRAP has made since it was first published in 2022 and takes a look at the outcomes and the collective commitment across all forces to rid the police service of racism, discrimination and bias. You can find the full report linked on the NPCC website.
We are committed to engaging with and listening to the views, concerns and issues of those who live, work, study or visit the county.
Our Strategic Independent Advisory Group (SIAG) provides independent views and advice on the strategic development and delivery of our services. Across Sussex, each division has its own Independent Advisory Group, which enables understanding of the differing effects local policing can have on geographical communities. In addition to this, Sussex Police has a number External Reference Groups (such as the Race Advisory Group), specific to Equality Act protected characteristics, chaired by members of the community, to test challenge and inform Sussex police. Engaging directly with the public helps us develop and operate policies and practices that do not exclude, discriminate or have an unjustifiable adverse impact on any particular community.
Our Stop and Search Independent Scrutiny Panel holds meetings every few months and can be attended in person at Sussex Police Headquarters in Lewes or through our digital meeting platform. The panel comprises community members from across the county. The purpose of the panel is to improve the trust and confidence of communities, and provide an opportunity for members of the public to independently quality assure the use of Stop and Search powers in Sussex. This includes exploring disproportionality of thematic and district level data, reviewing body worn video footage, assessing the lawfulness of grounds and subsequent outcomes of activity.
Information on stop and search rights, our process and data can be found on our Stop and Search page.
If you would like to get involved with any of our advisory groups, email [email protected]
The vision at Sussex Police is to have a workforce who understands why diversity, equality and inclusion are fundamental to improving trust, confidence and legitimacy in policing.
This is important to creative an inclusive culture which is embedded into everything we do; to deliver a policing service that recognises the individual needs of the people we serve; to engage effectively with communities; and to attract, recruit and retain a diverse workforce which is representative of the communities we serve.
We are actively working on a range of activities to increase representation through a bespoke mentoring scheme which is aimed at prospective applicants and provides them with an insight to careers in policing, different routes of joining and selection processes.
For more information, please email the Positive Action Team at [email protected]
Sussex Police’s internal Race Action Plan and Insights Delivery (RAPID) Board monitors the progress we are making in delivering an inclusive environment for all our people and the provision of an equitable service for all.
In 2023, Sussex Police was awarded the prestigious Race Equality Matters Trailblazer status by an independent and racially diverse panel of judges, in recognition of our work to address racial inequality within the organisation. We were one of the first polices force to receive this recognition.
In addition, at Sussex Police we are proud to have a diverse range of staff support networks, including faith-based, gender-based, sexual orientation-based and ethnicity-based networks. They act as critical friends to the organisation, championing improvements to policies and practices that improve the working lives of those within the force. You can learn more about the work we do for the development of our staff by visiting our Inclusion page.
We, the officers, staff and volunteers of Surrey Police and Sussex Police,
are committed to creating equality of opportunity and preventing
inequality of protection. We promise to challenge injustice, ensure
fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles.
We recognise that many races and ethnicities, particularly Black and dual
heritage communities, continue to experience disadvantages and barriers
in accessing the police service they are entitled to. We will move at pace to
build capacity, capability and the wider awareness to be anti-racist.
We promise to act with courage, take responsibility for our actions and
have a zero-tolerance approach to racism.
We will proactively seek to interrogate why disadvantages and barriers
exist, to understand community trauma, and to recognise the burden on
those with lived experience, and we will take action where possible to
remove these or reduce their impact.
This includes actively building a positive environment where everyone,
especially people of colour, feels involved and included. We will overtly
challenge racist actions and attitudes, both inside the organisation and
within the communities we serve.
We understand harm can be caused inadvertently: when we make mistakes,
we will not hide them, but seek to learn and share that learning.
These are the expectations we have of all officers and staff as we seek to
build an anti-racist police service.
You can also download a poster version of this statement.