Our Race Action Plan

In May 2022 the national Police Race Action Plan was launched, developed jointly by the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing. The plan sets out the necessary changes required to improve trust and confidence in policing among Black communities.

Why have we developed a local Race Action Plan?

The national plan has provided a starting point from which we have developed our own

localised South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan.

Our South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan aims to improve the trust and confidence of our Black and Black heritage communities and employees, and address any racial disparities in the service. 

We hav

e engaged our communities and workforce to understand their concerns, and the local plan sets out the actions we will take to prioritise the areas of policing which most disproportionally affect our Black communities and colleagues. The collective plan covers the period up to 2026 and these actions will be continually built upon until we achieved the aims of our plan.

How are we driving forward our Race Action Plan?

Our plan commits us to deliverin

g activity under six core themes:
 

• Building an anti-racist, inclusive and informed workforce: deliver activity to ensure our workforce understands Black culture, Black history and the important role they play in creating a representative, fair and inclusive organisation.
• Increasing representation: we will focus on attracting and retaining more people from Black and Black heritage backgrounds.
• Proportionate use of police powers: we will provide transparency and accountability around the use of police powers and do something about it if disproportionate.
• Improving relationships and confidence within communities: we will build relationships with our Black and Black heritage communities and improve confidence in policing through positive engagement.
• Supporting Black colleagues: we will support our Black and Black heritage colleagues to develop and grow and ensure they feel empowered to bring their whole self to work, and to progress their careers.
• Achieving justice and protect victims from harm: we are committed to achieving proportionate justice for victims of crime and reducing the risks of harm, which are acute for Black and Black heritage people.

Who holds us to account on the pla

n?

We have set up a local Police Race Action Plan Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which is made up of members of the public who represent our Black and Black heritage communities across South Yorkshire. The IAG has been consulted on the development of our plan and will scrutinise our work as we develop and deliver our plan. Below are qu

otes from the IAG co-chairs:

Adrian Bent, Co-Chair of the South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan Independent Advisory Group, said: “The South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan is a collective commitment to building trust, breaking barriers, and ensuring respect and protection for Black communities. By addressing systemic inequities head-on, we are working towards a future where policing that is fair, just and rooted in equality. By ack

nowledging the past and taking decisive steps to move forward we are creating a safer and more equitable future for all.”

Kaltum Osman Rivers, Co-Chair of the South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan Independent Advisory Group, said: “Delivering on the promise of addressing racial aspects of policing is important across the country, and in South Yorkshire we have dedicated independent advisors from the Black heritage community to oversee this tas

k. It is important to highlight that effective engagement needs a customised approach for the Black community in South Yorkshire and across the country. As a Co-Chair of the advisory group I welcome the South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan and look forward to supporting the building of trust and community engagement through inclusive, transparent and practical approaches.”

Internally, we have set up a governance structure for the plan, which is overseen by our Race Action Plan Lead, Deputy Chief Constable Sarah Poolman.

As part of this structure, we have set up an in

ternal Black Heritage Action and Advisory Group, which is made up of members of our Black workforce and provides a formal opportunity to hear more about their lived experiences, gain insight and to consult them on our local plans. This is supported by our Race, Inclusion and Equity (RIE) staff association, which works to assist employees from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds working within SYP, as well as offering wider support to the force.

How can you support our Race Action Plan?

If you would like to share your views with the National Police Chiefs’ Council team who are leading the national Police Race Action Plan, or ask questions or obtain information, you can do so by emailing [email protected]. 

Alternatively, you may wish to share your views by joining our Police Race Action Plan Independent Advisory Group (IAG). To find

out more about joining the IAG, please email [email protected].

What’s next?

Over focus is on delivering the actions set out in our South Yorkshire Police Race Action Plan. We will share a bia

nnual update via this website, providing an update on our progress towards delivering our local plan. The next update will be provided in April 2025.

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