Equality Impact assessment Process

Transcription

1 You should begin this process as soon as you begin to develop or review, a Strategy, Policy, Procedure or Service Plan, to help assess the impact it may have on any minority group or section of society. You should base your Equality Impact Assessment upon all strands of Diversity. These are: Age, Disability, Gender, Race, Religion & Belief and Sexual Orientation STEP 1 Basic details State the name of the Strategy, Policy, Procedure, or Service Plan you are developing or reviewing. Policy Bail Procedure Street Bail Procedure Pre-charge Bail Procedure 00903Bail Conditions Procedure Appeal Against Grant of Bail Procedure Bail Granted Subject to Sureties Procedure Application to Judge in Chambers Date Equality Impact Assessment started : 27/03/2010 Completed by: Name & roleadrian Dadd - Force PACE and Custody Advisor 1. What are the main aims & objectives? 2. Who implements it? To ensure that all persons arrested and subsequently bailed in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are dealt with lawfully, expeditiously and in a manner which is both fair and proportionate. a) Custody Inspectors b) Custody Officers c) Detention Officers d) Investigating Officers of all ranks e) Supervisors of Investigating Officers 1

2 3. Who will be affected by it and the way it is delivered? 4. What are the existing performance indicators/measures for this? a) Staff detailed at '2' above b) Persons detained at police stations c) Crown Prosecution Service d) Victims of crime e) Witnesses to crime Each OCU is responsible for monitoring bail activity within their area. They are also responsible for ensuring that bail returns are managed in an effective way and that incidents of failing to answer bail are promptly and robustly dealt with. 2

3 STEP 2 Collecting and analysing data. 1. What information do you already have about the equality impact of this Strategy, Policy, Procedure or Service Plan? 2. Where can this information be found? 3. How frequently is this data collected? 4. Have there been any (internal or external) demographic changes or trends locally which need to be taken in to account? a) The age, gender and ethnicity of all persons arrested and subsequently bailed in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are recorded on their individual custody record. b) The number of detained persons bailed from each police station, together with the alleged offence for which arrested and reason for their bail and the nature and duration of their bail is recorded on the Constabulary RMS. c) All complaints made relating to this Policy and these Procedures are fed to the Policy and Procedure owners (either directly or via Professional Standards Department). Each complaint is considered and where appropriate Procedures are amended and/or custody staff are provided with additional guidance. d) There is no evidence indicating that specific groups in society are caused a particular problem with the implementation of this Policy or these Procedures. The data referred to at a) and b) above is stored on the Constabulary RMS and can be extracted via Business Objects Universe. See 2 above. The collection of data referred to at 1 above is continuous/ongoing according to need. None that are relevant to this Policy or these Procedures. 3

4 5. Have you consulted with stakeholders? 6. Has this consultation given you sufficient information for your purpose? a) A Custody User Group (encompassing the various aspects of bail) meets every three months. All internal service users are represented at these meetings and where appropriate other agency representatives attend (eg CPS, Court staff). b) A regular 'news/guidance' document (The Custody Courier) is published. This is sent elecronically to all custody staff and is published on the Constabulary Intranet for all staff to refer to. Yes 7. Who do you now need to consult with? No further consultation required. 4

5 STEP 3 Assessing potential inequalities Based on the information and data that you have collected and analysed so far you are now able to answer the 4 Equality Impact Assessment questions. If you are unable to give a definite answer to any one of these questions you should go back to collect more data/information to help you decide. You should answer yes or "no" to each of these questions and provide clear evidence to support your answer. Yes /No Provide evidence (quantitative and/or qualitative) 5

6 Yes /No Provide evidence (quantitative and/or qualitative) A. Could the Strategy, Policy, Procedure, or Service Plan discriminate unlawfully against any group? No Exclusion of service users is not an issue as they are not provided with an option as to whether or not they wish to use the service. Whether a person may or may not be granted bail is directly governed by PACE and the Bail Act. All bail decisions must be made in accordance with this legislation. The important issue in the case of this Policy and these Procedures is whether the treatment each detainee is subject to unfairly disadvantages one group more than another. Effective safeguards in respect of vulnerable detainee's are contained within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and the Codes of Practice made under that Act. This provides protection for those considered vulnerable by reason of: a) age; b) mental or physical disability; c) language difficulties (including the deaf). B. Could any specific groups of people be excluded from the service or benefit of this? Yes When a person is arrested any decision as to whether they are granted bail has an immediate effect upon them and any other family members. 6

7 Yes /No Provide evidence (quantitative and/or qualitative) C. Could any group be denied fair and equal access or treatment as a result of this? No Exclusion of service users is not an issue as they are not provided with an option as to whether or not they wish to use the service (see 'A' above). D. Could this actively promote good relations with different minority groups? Yes These procedures provide instruction regarding when and a person may or may not be granted bail and additional guidance on the nature of the bail that may be granted. These decisions are made on the facts and circumstances of the particular case and whilst there is no specific provision for a particular minority group all circumstances, including family and community are factors that are taken into account before a decision is made. 7

8 STEP 4 - Planning and reviewing any further action 1. Based on your answers to s A, B, C & D in step 3, what actions now need to be taken? No action required but continuous monitoring and review of this Policy and these Procedures is necessary. 2. When will this be done? n/a 3. Who is responsible for doing it? n/a 4. If this assessment relates to a Force Policy or Procedure, which role within your Department or OCU is responsible for its monitoring and regular review? Force PACE and Custody Advisor Due to the critical nature of this Policy and these Procedures they are under constant review and an important part of that review process is the dialogue with interested user groups. 5. Do you consider this policy or procedure should have a high or low impact rating? Will this affect the review date? 6. Frequency of review: High 1 Year Justification: This Policy and these Procedures provide instruction and guidance on areas of critical business. Note to author: All public authorities are required to monitor their policies and procedures to ensure they are meeting their equality responsibilities and to report their findings annually. These reports should be presented in such a way to be understandable to the general public. In order to comply with equalities legislation the completed Equality Impact Assessment and relevant consultation and monitoring documentation must be published. Service Delivery Department will arrange for this publication on the Force Website. 8

9 Please send this to the Policy Team, Corporate Information Management, Service Delivery Department, where quality assurance will be arranged. 9