Dear Sir or Madam,

I am requesting basic information on diversity training carried out
after the publication of the Macpherson report into the death of
Stephen Lawrence. Could you please provide information relating to
the following three questions:

1. How many "Diversity" training courses has your Constabulary
provided in the period 1999-2008?

2. What was the target group of those courses, i.e: all staff,
police officers, police staff, staff of a particular rank/grade,
etc.

3. What was the duration of the courses in terms of days/ hours.

FYI, please see the following clarifications regarding the above
questions:

i) By 'diversity' I refer to any course aimed at meeting the
training recommendations of the Lawrence report or subsequent
training related to awareness of issues of race, prejudice, sexual
orientation, religion or gender.

ii) I am interested in all types of diversity training including
both stand alone courses or diversity elements within courses,
where the identification of that element is easily recognisable and
its inclusion in your report is unproblematic

iii) I am not concerned with the diversity training contained
within the Probationer Training Program or the IPLDP, and do not
require any information regarding diversity training undertaken as
part of basic probationer training.

iv) Where the diversity training is self-directed or e-learning
without a fixed duration, I would request that an estimate on the
number of study hours required for its completion is provided
instead of information on course duration.

v) I do not require any information on the number of participants
involved in any course, the completion rates, or any detailed
information on course content, delivery method or evaluation.

Thankyou in advance for your assistance.

Yours faithfully,

James Sutherland

Corporate Information Management Department
Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road, Portishead, Bristol, BS20
8QJ
Facsimile 01275 814667

24 July 2008
Private
James Sutherland
[email address]

Dear James Sutherland

Reference No: 08/404

Thank you for your request for information dated 24 July 2008,
concerning post Macpherson Report Diversity Training. This request will
be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response
within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act,
subject to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to
a third party. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may
be unable to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be
informed and given a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed
and the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive
payment from you. If you choose not to make a payment then your request
will remain unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;
1. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order to
seek clarification, all other communication should be made in writing.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request
with you in order to seek clarification, all other communication should
be made in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides
you with the right to request a re-examination of your case under its
review procedure (copy enclosed).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure - E-Mail.doc>>

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Corporate Information Management Department
Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road, Portishead, Bristol, BS20
8QJ
Facsimile 01275 814667

19 August, 2008
Private
James Sutherland
[email address]

Dear James Sutherland

Reference Number 08/404

I write in connection with your request for information dated 24 July
2008 concerning post Macpherson Report Diversity Training.

Specifically, you requested the following:-

1. How many "Diversity" training courses has your Constabulary
provided in the period 1999-2008?

2. What was the target group of those courses, i.e: all staff,
police officers, police staff, staff of a particular rank/grade,
etc.

3. What was the duration of the courses in terms of days/ hours.

Although much of this information can be provided, we are unable to
supply information as far back as 1999 as the records are not kept for
that long. However we can tell you that in 2000 and 2001 every member
of staff in the Constabulary undertook two days of training under the
"Race for Equality" banner. There were three tiers of training:-

2 days for senior managers
2 days for middle and first line managers
A minimum of one day for all other members of staff

The following courses are recorded from December 2002. These are cases
where Diversity is actually planned as an input by the trainer.

Recruitment and Selection 24 x 2 day courses
Mainly first line Managers
Disability Awareness 23 x 1 day courses
All staff
Disability Awareness for Managers 17 x 1 day courses
First line Managers and above
Coaching and Mentoring 9 x 2 day courses
First line Managers and above
Managing the Fairness at Work procedure 41 x 1 day courses
First line Managers and above
Police Staff Induction 45 sessions 2hrs/half
day Newly inducted police staff
PCSO Induction 15 sessions 2hrs/half day
Newly inducted police staff

We can also tell you that all members of staff are currently required to
complete National Centre for Applied Learning Technologies
(NCALT),Diversity Modules by the end of this year for which 8 hours has
been allowed. However, we do not see this as training but rather as a
knowledge checking mechanism to ensure that all our staff do have a
common level of understanding of Diversity issues.
I can inform you that Police Forces in the United Kingdom are routinely
required to provide statistics to government bodies and the recording
criteria is set nationally. However, the systems used for recording the
figures are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in
capturing the data. It should be noted that for these reasons the
figures given relate to information from the specific recording system
of the Avon and Somerset Constabulary and should not be used for
comparison purposes with any other response you receive.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;
1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary's website (within 24 hours), some of which may contain a
link to additional information, which may provide you with further
clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order to
seek clarification, all other communication should be made in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review procedure (copy
enclosed).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure - E-Mail.doc>>

show quoted sections