Staffordshire Police and its multicultural association wins award for anti-racist work

Staffordshire Police and its multicultural association (MCA) has been recognised with a national award as a result of its anti-racist work.The ‘Police Force of the Year’ award was presented on 6 October at the National Black Police Association (NBPA) conference in Cheltenham. The award acknowledged the force’s work, via its MCA, to ‘actively progress the race agenda on both a regional and national basis to ensure representation, engagement and support’.In a citation, which recognised the rationale behind the award win, the NBPA said: “Staffordshire Police, with the leadership of their Chief Constable, has enabled the MCA to engage better and ensure other senior leaders are aware of the Police Race Action Plan and how it should be delivered in their areas of working.“The service has empowered the association to assist the service around support, strategic advice and working with the community.“They have embodied the ethos of utilising the lived experience of NBPA to help the service develop an anti-racist culture.”Dionne Johnson, Staffordshire Police’s  Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer, said: “This award is really special for the force and the MCA.“Not only does it recognise all the hard work the MCA continues to do to invigorate real change within the organisation, but it also shows how working with the communities we serve is vital in ensuring an anti-racist culture in the force.”Chief Constable, Chris Noble, added: “I am proud of the MCA and its work to achieve this impressive accolade. “They are a key voice and important influence in Staffordshire police and will be critical in seeing us establish the culture and workforce we need to best serve all our communities in Staffordshire.  “I continue to wholeheartedly and personally support the race agenda and our Police Race Action Plan to ensure members of the community know we are invested in representation and engagement at all levels.”