Race Matters

Community oversight

The Race Matters Community Network ensures we deliver our Race Matters work with the voices of people from Black heritage and racially or ethnically minoritised backgrounds at its core.

If you want to be involved in this work or receive regular updates, register your interest in Race Matters.

Independent Advisory Groups (IAGs) and scrutiny panels

Our IAGs help us tackle issues that concern local people, communities and businesses. They offer guidance, insight and, where needed, act as critical friends to the police.

To ensure we are acting openly, fairly and to hold us to account, scrutiny panels review body-worn video footage in incidents where we have used force, including stop and search, and where we have taken no further action.

We are reviewing the make-up of these groups to make sure they fully represent all communities.

We are recruiting an independent advisory and scrutiny board for our Race Matters work to monitor progress and hold us to account. We will ensure the voices of people from Black heritage and racially or ethnically minoritised communities are heard and represented.

Neighbourhood Policing Teams (NPT)

Our NPTs build relationships with community groups and leaders in their area.

They attend local events, visit schools and youth groups to support in the prevention, detection and resolution of crime and anti-social behaviour.

To get in touch with your local policing team, type your address into the your area section of our website.

Understanding our workforce’s experiences

Survey responses about the wellbeing of police officers and staff of Black heritage will help shape policies and training to ensure the appropriate guidance and support is available.

Outreach team

Our outreach team encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for jobs with the police, mentor them through the recruitment process and provide support to increase their prospects within the service.

Training

Our Race Matters training for staff is based on self-reflection, empathy, and explores police culture. It aims to improve how we deliver our service to Black heritage communities and inspires staff to think differently.

Positive action programme

The programme supports new applicants with protected characteristics in their recruitment journey and promotion boards to ensure we have better representation at higher ranks.

Find out more about our commitment to increasing diversity in our workforce.

There are occasions when police officers will use force in the course of their duties to uphold the law and keep themselves and the public safe.

Stop and search

After consulting our communities, we have created a bespoke stop and search policy that supports officers to use their powers legitimately and fairly.

Everyone who is stopped and searched can use our receipt and feedback form, which improves the way young people access stop and search information and helps us understand the impact in communities.

Children and young people

We have worked with a community interest company to create online content that helps children and young people understand their rights in stop and search.

This content is used in local schools to further that education and to help build positive relationships.

Recording use of Section 163 of the Road Traffic Act

Officers use this to pull vehicles over and ask them to stop. We now record all stops under this power, including the ethnicity of the driver and any passengers, so we can address any disproportionality.

Trauma-informed practice

Multi-agency training gives officers insight into the traumas felt by people from Black, ethnic, or minority communities to ensure fairer, more sensitive policing.

Use of force refresher training

Annual refresher training helps us to reflect on learning about how using force can affect our communities, especially those from Black, ethnic, or minority backgrounds.

Use of force training for new officers

Training will focus on working effectively in culturally diverse situations and the impact of our actions.

Resolving crime without going to court

We want more people from Black heritage and racially or ethnically minoritised backgrounds to get a chance to avoid a criminal record and receive a deferred prosecution.

Chance to Change gives suspects an opportunity to complete specific conditions as an alternative to a formal prosecution without having to fully admit the offence.

For more information, see out of court resolutions.

Lived experience advisors

These individuals will support the reviewing of complaints by people from diverse backgrounds, bringing different perspectives.

We want to be a police service that protects people from Black heritage and racially or ethnically minoritised backgrounds.

Victim service standard

We are exploring ways to bring fairness to the way victims are treated and redress the difference in the way people of Black heritage experience crime and report it to us.

Hate crime

Building a network of hate crime champions, developing officers’ skills, and using lived experience advisors helps us better understand the impact of hate crime in communities and for our staff.

Tackling disproportionality in the wider criminal justice system

An independent scrutiny board oversees multi-agency work to tackle racial disproportionality in the Avon and Somerset criminal justice system. This is overseen by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner

Children and young people

The Violence Reduction Partnership sees partner agencies work together to support young people within the force area who are most at risk of criminal exploitation and harm.

Police Early Intervention Teams work alongside the Violence Reduction Partnership, NPTs, and local schools to educate young people on different crime types, build relationships and divert them from crime.

The Crime Prevention Through Sport Fund aims to support projects using sport and physical activity to reduce violence, crime and anti-social behaviour. We work with community organisations to deliver those projects.

Read our progress reports on our work to date:

• September 2024 (PDF)
• June 2024 (PDF)
• March 2024 (PDF)
• October 2023 (PDF)
• June 2023 (PDF)

For more information, see our anti-racist strategy (PDF).