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Media release 30 October 2002
Disability: Police get in on the Act
National Police Conference anticipating 2004 DDA extensions to include police
In October 2004, the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995) will be extended to cover operational police officers for the first time. In anticipation for this change, Police will be gathering from across the UK to attend the first National Police Conference on Disability.
Organised by the Police Disability Network (part of the Employers' Forum on Disability), the conference entitled 'Disability: Get in on the Act' will be held between 10am-4pm on October 30th 2002 at the West Midlands Police Training Centre, Tally Ho, Birmingham thanks to hosts West Midlands Police.
Addressing an audience of peers will be Detective Constable Paula Craig who has been recently selected for promotion at the Met Flying Squad and is a wheelchair user. Chief inspector and co-ordinator of the Police Disability Network, Mark Goldby, will also speak from experience on a day that "will provide the starting point to develop and implement the changes required by this important piece of legislation.
“The DDA extension will enhance the ability of the service to deliver quality policing," says key speaker Bernard Hogan-Howe, Assistant Commissioner and Chair of the ACPO Equality sub-committee. "It will build on the commitment of every force to ensure every officer is treated fairly and consistently no matter which force they work for.”
In addition to covering what the Police Service has achieved overall thus far - including case studies and an update from the Home Office on its medical standards project - the conference will look forward to 2004, with:
- An update on future law and what it will mean for operational officers
- Practical guidance for Forces on how to make reasonable adjustments
- A current definition of disability and future extensions of the definition by law
- A look at how provisions will affect the operational capability of each force
- How forces can ensure they have clear policies on treating staff fairly.
Representatives from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Superintendents Association and the Police Federation are attending. The event will be especially relevant to those working in human resources, equal opportunities, occupational health, health and safety, legal services, and to medical advisers.
Ends
Media contact:
Press OfficeEmployers' Forum on Disability
Telephone: (020) 7089 3020
Email: media@employers-forum.co.uk
Case Study: DC Paula Craig
While access is improving Paula admits that officers and support staff still need educating about disability. "It's like life outside the job - some people know how to react and some people haven't got a clue. They either do too much or too little. Now I'm here, people are probably a bit more aware of the issues.' When a motorist knocked DC Paula Craig, 16 years in service, off her bike in May 2001, causing her to break her back, she had been in the National Crime Squad and was due to start at Finchley Flying Squad. Her biggest fear was that she would lose her job, "because I love what I do." Following 11 months recuperation, Paula, now 39 and a wheelchair user, has rejoined the Met at the Flying Squad's north London offices and has been recently selected for promotion.
Notes to Editors
The Employers' Forum on Disability makes it easier for business to work with disabled people as employees, customers and partners. It is funded and managed by over 370 members, which between them employ over 5 million people, or 22% of the UK workforce.
Disability: Get in on the Act
The National Police Conference anticipating 2004 extensions to the DDA to cover police.
10am-4pm October 30th 2002, West Midlands Police Training Centre, Tally Ho, Birmingham
The Police Disability Network was established in 1999 under the auspices of ACPO in partnership with the Employers' Forum on Disability. The network makes it easier for the service to employ and serve disabled people.
There are 8.6 million people who are disabled in the UK. Disabled people are victims of crime, suspects, witnesses, civilian employees and serving officers. Police officers and constables may be disabled, or have become disabled through injury during the line of duty.
The Police Disability Network has over 40 members, including the National Crime Squad and the Metropolitan Police. In its first two years, members of the Network across the UK have achieved the following:
- The Leicestershire Constabulary has a four-year £;250,000 programme to make its police stations accessible. Adjustments have included accessible toilets and ramps for wheelchair users, as well as contrast colours for door handles and automatic doors to make it easier for people with poor sight to get in and out of rooms.
- Greater Manchester Police has reduced its medical retirements by over 50% in the last year following a change to internal procedures.
- West Midlands Police has launched a 999 mobile phone text messaging service for hearing and speech impaired people in an emergency.
- The Metropolitan Police has designed a concept front office police station accessible to disabled people, now a model for all new MET Police stations to adopt.
- The Police Service has acquired over 100,000 copies of Forum guide 'Welcoming Disabled Customers' specifically tailored to help serving officers, for example, police a disability march, or report a crime on someone with a mental illness.
- The Home Office has commissioned research into the occupational health standards and physical fitness standards to ensure future standards for entry are job related, fair and non-discriminatory.
- The Metropolitan Police held a one-day consultation in June, and gained feedback from 50 disabled people on its services as part of a commitment to improvement.
- Northumbria Police teamed up with disability organization Radar in 2001 to host a conference looking at the police service's role as an employer of disabled people.
The Employers' Forum on Disability is recognised as the authoritative employers' voice on disability as it affects business. As such, the Forum makes it easier for business to work with disabled people as employees, customers and partners. It is funded and managed by over 370 members, which between them employ over 5 million people, or 20% of the UK workforce.
For further information, please contact:
Press OfficeTelephone: (020) 7089 3020
Email: media@employers-forum.co.uk.