Our equality, diversity and human rights priorities
Cheshire Constabulary has a strategy to improve our performance and deliver specific equality results at every level. Through it, we aim to secure the trust and confidence of all the communities we serve and to build a service that better reflects them.
The strategy is based on the principles of the Equality Act 2010 and the Public sector equality duty.
Equality Act 2010
This sets out the nine protected characteristics that are protected by law, and the behaviour against them that is unlawful:
- Age
- Disability
- Gender reassignment
- Marriage and civil partnership
- Pregnancy and maternity
- Race
- Religion and belief
- Sex
- Sexual orientation
You can download more information on the protected characteristics from the UK government's website.
Public Sector Equality Duty
This came into force in April 2011. It contains the general duties for all police forces set out in Section 149 of the Equality Act:
- Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act
- Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not
- Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not.
It also sets our specific duties, under which we must:
- Publish information to demonstrate our compliance with the Equality Act Section 149. That information should be subsequently published at intervals not greater than one year from date of their last publication.
- Prepare and publish one or more Equality Objectives. You can read ours here.
- Provide equality objectives that are specific and measurable. These must be revised at intervals of not greater than four years from the date of their last publication.