An independent review of Thames Valley Police’s DEI practices has found a ‘divided workforce’ after three white officers won their race discrimination claim for being overlooked for promotion.
The review, led by Kerrin Wilson, a retired assistant chief constable at Lincolnshire Police, found that the force’s Positive Action Progression Programme (PAPP) was not transparent and led to positive discrimination taking place.
In her report, Wilson said the PAPP, designed to enable and encourage officers from ethnic minorities to develop their skills so they were ready for promotion, was “the crux of this case”.
“The programme itself was not designed, consulted upon or transparent in how it was managed. This therefore led to parts of the organisation feeling excluded and that, in the process of directly posting an individual into a specialist role, positive discrimination had taken place as opposed to positive action,” she said.
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In August 2024, three white police officers won their race discrimination claim after they were passed over for promotion in favour of an ethnic minority candidate.
The tribunal ruled that the officers were overlooked by Thames Valley Police because of their race and that an ethnic minority sergeant was promoted “without any competitive assessment process taking place” to improve diversity among senior staff.
Detective Inspector Phillip Turner-Robson, Inspector Graham Horton and custody inspector Kirsteen Bishop brought tribunal proceedings when Superintendent Emma Baillie moved Sergeant Sidhu into a newly-created role of detective inspector in the priority crime team without carrying out a competitive process or advertising the job vacancy.
The tribunal heard that Sidhu had not even been made an inspector when she was promoted to detective inspector.
Wilson said: “The impact of the employment tribunal on the force has been significant. It has questioned the leadership from the chief constable and down through senior leaders in various roles.
“It has raised questions of trust, transparency and consistency in individuals and the force’s approach to the equality agenda, plus a lack of faith in the internal communications surrounding the matter.”
She added that for minoritised staff of all protected characteristics, but predominantly from an ethnic minority background, this has led to a deeper feeling of being marginalised.
Divided workforce
“It has raised to the surface the concerns from parts of the organisation that feel undervalued as a majority group,” she explained in her report. “This has materialised in a divided workforce. Individual recommendations aside, the force needs as a priority to heal these divides and build a united and fully inclusive organisation.”
Wilson said a lack of training for middle managers at Thames Valley was a concern, with no definitive requirement or management of their professional development outside of operational accreditations.
This has materialised in a divided workforce. Individual recommendations aside, the force needs as a priority to heal these divides and build a united and fully inclusive organisation” – Kerrin Wilson
Specific training regarding equalities legislation, equality duty, dispute resolution and employment tribunals is an area that the College of Policing recognise has been absent for middle and senior managers across the country and are aiming to fill that gap.
“Equalities training is universally difficult to evaluate, and the current programme of equity training that is being rolled out across the force does not have a clear plan on how that training will be assessed as achieving its aims. While critical race theory is not taught on the course, there are aspects of the delivery which may create divisions rather than bring people together should they not be delivered well,” she explained.
Wilson made 51 recommendations, including:
- If the force is aiming to introduce areas of policy with the potential to be contentious, it should seek expert guidance in the relevant field to enable hurdles to be effectively navigated. This could be relevant expert bodies or legal advice from those who specialise in the field.
- Equality impact assessments (EIA) are essential in programmes such as PAPP where it is known that certain groups may be disadvantaged in order to support other groups. It is therefore essential that mitigation is captured in any EIA.
- Development of talent management programmes should seek to be inclusive to all and be merit-based while enabling those from all protected characteristics to overcome barriers to compete.
- Thames Valley Police should review the arrangements with staff association meetings at a local and central level to ensure that early discussions are brought to the table to be considered before they are escalated into tribunal status.
- The force should work with staff associations and look to its approach at internal dispute resolutions with an aim to develop a comprehensive programme to minimise the risks of tribunals taking place through early or alternative resolutions.
- The force should review how internal selection and recruitment processes are administered, ensuring that interview panel members have the skills and training to undertake the role and that a transparent process with a degree of independent input is included as standard.
‘From the heart’
She also recommended that the force’s internal communications should come “from the heart, at the right time and by the right voices” rather than being overly engineered.
Thames Valley Police’s chief constable Jason Hogg said: “The review’s findings and recommendations will help guide our next steps as we work together to foster an environment where all our people feel valued and supported.
“Thames Valley Police takes these recommendations seriously and will use them as it seeks to improve.
“I am also pleased that the report recognises that Thames Valley Police is an organisation that has ‘wonderful people with passion and ways of working that deliver excellent policing for its communities’ and that the force is effective in tackling crime and supporting those most vulnerable.”
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