Equality

Merseyside Police Authority seeks to achieve and promote Equality and Diversity through a variety of policies, processes and procedures. These are delivered via the Race Equality Scheme Action Plan, Disability Equality Scheme Action Plan, and Gender Equality Scheme .

Members of the Authority are committed to ensuring barriers which exist or are perceived by the community to prevent full involvement with Merseyside Police in whatever form are removed. It also accepts there are many challenges to achieving that aim. There are communities and sections of society that feel discriminated against and have had experiences which makes them less trusting of the police.

Merseyside Police Authority understands in addition to its responsibilities to promote equality of access and opportunity, justice and fairness, it has a duty to demonstrate strong social leadership and encourage diversity in our community.

In addition to its own specific duties as a statutory public body, the authority must also monitor and scrutinise the work of Merseyside Police Service to ensure it delivers on its corresponding responsibilities. This is done through a number of committees and meetings. Progress is ongoing in achieving the aims of Merseyside Police Authority, and constant assessments are being made to ensure improvement, particularly in the areas of accessibility, community engagement, equality impact assessment, young people and training. Improvements to monitoring and scrutiny are also being dealt with through developing structures and processes to ensure the outcomes of the services of both MPA and Merseyside Police deliver equality and recognise diversity.