A statement from Essex Police
Today Essex Police stands united with every community across our county as we continue to ensure we represent the diverse communities we serve.
Every day our officers are #ProtectingandServingEssex. We are catching criminals, keeping people safe and earning the trust and confidence of all of our communities.
We have made great strides at Essex Police through our #FitTheBill We Value Difference campaign to be an inclusive employer and will be signing the Race at Work Charter.
In recent months more women have joined the force at all levels and we have welcomed rising numbers of people who are black, Asian or from minority ethnic backgrounds.
In the six months following our latest recruitment campaign, our applications from all backgrounds have increased. We are pleased to report that 14% of applicants are now from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds and 36% of our applications were from female applicants.
We are also doing our best to listen more and to act on the concerns you raise. We take time to hear about any concerns or to learn about what’s going well and seven out of ten people who contributed to our latest independent survey agreed that Essex Police understands community issues.
We are really encouraged by that, but we are never complacent and know that we always have more to do.
We are working hard to recruit new members to our Independent Advisory Groups. These groups, which are made up of volunteer members of the public, come together four times a year to tell us what they think of the way we police the county.
They hold us to account they make sure we’re getting it right or learning when we don’t. In Brentwood and Epping Forest our Independent Advisory Group includes people who are white, Asian, Jewish, Christian, Black, Transgender, city dwellers and those from rural communities. Put simply, we police for the benefit of our whole society so everyone is welcome!
If you’re interested in joining you can do so here: https://www.essex.police.uk/iag
Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “In Britain we police by consent. We are part of communities; we are on their side working with them and I see this myself on every day of every week of every year here in Essex.
“We are here to help people, keep people safe and catch criminals. It’s as simple as that. We would like to say thank you to every worker, every volunteer and every family and community in Essex towns and villages for looking out for each other.
“I am proud of the work we do across a range of areas to tackle inequality and to make our county an inclusive and welcoming place to live and work.
“Thank you to every resident of Essex for your support. We will continue to provide the best service we can for you.”
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