Single Equality Scheme

Suffolk Police has legal requirements to promote equality in the areas of disability, gender, gender reassignment and race.

Our three-year equality scheme sets out how we will meet those legal requirements while also addressing the other areas of equality that we cover – age, religion or belief and sexual orientation, as well as human rights. We call this our single equality scheme.

By law, all public authorities, including police forces, have a duty to publish a race equality scheme, disability equality scheme and gender equality scheme. These must include a commitment to meet the general and specific duties set out in the legislation plus action plans to drive forward improvement.

This Single Equality Scheme brings together these responsibilities in one document. The duties vary but they are broadly similar. They aim to:

• Eliminate unlawful discrimination and harassment
• Make sure everyone has the same opportunities
• Promote good relations between people from different groups
• Encourage people to get involved in public life
• Promote positive attitudes towards others.

We have also included the following areas of diversity for which public authorities do not currently have a duty to publish an Equality Scheme:

• Age
• Religion and Belief
• Sexual Orientation.

More protected Characteristics will be added under the Equality Act 2010.