The Role of Women Officers Today

Equal opportunities are an integral part of West Midlands Police policy. All roles are open to women. There are 2,137 female officers representing 23.75 per cent of the total force strength and 2,573 female police staff. Women officers are encouraged to apply for posts in areas where they are currently under-represented, e.g., the Operational Support Unit and the Firearms Operations Unit, although all departments have female members.

West Midlands Police is proud of all those initiatives which may favourably affect the working conditions of female staff, and in the process also enhance the facilities available to our male personnel. Two members of our force were part of the executive group which wrote the Gender Agenda, a common agenda of the issues affecting the ability of women to achieve within the Service. This group represented the British Association of Women Police, Action E, the Senior Women Officers' Conference, the Police Federation, the Association of Chief Police Officers' Women's Group, the Metropolitan Association of Senior Women Officers, and the European Network of Policewomen.

The initiatives we have introduced include:

Flexible working - The force is fully supportive of flexible working and will try, wherever possible to accommodate requests. Everyone, male or female, police or support staff, is entitled to apply to work part time or flexible hours. There may be a variety of reasons why people would wish to work flexibly, including family commitments or undertaking further education.

Career breaks - open to men and women, police and support staff. A career break is an extended period of unpaid leave from work, usually between 1 and 5 years.

Help for pregnant women - female staff are taken off confrontational duties when they become pregnant. A number of risk assessments have been undertaken to ensure their safety in the role they undertake.

First Contact Advisors

Harassment in the workplace is an unwanted feature of some organisations and females may be vulnerable to sexual harassment. Research has shown that victims do not always seek help through formal grievance procedures for a variety of reasons. In an attempt to provide support and help for any member of staff who feels they are being harassed, West Midlands Police have set up a team of 'skilled helpers' called first contact advisors.

This is a network of police and civilian staff trained to give confidential help, advice and support. Any action taken as a result of consulting an advisor will only be at the request of the complainant and no pressure is placed on any member of staff to act against their wishes.Posters advertising the scheme have been displayed at prominent positions across the force area and all members of staff have received a leaflet advising them of the support systems available and the organisation's commitment to equality of opportunity.

Source: UK Police Dpt website - This info is posted for your sole interest, and is not any kind of expression of the opinion of this blog's owner. See their site for more info.