Training to improve the internal culture regarding sexism and misogyny
Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029698
I note you seek access to the following information:
I am contacting all police forces in the UK to get an overview of the steps they are taking to improve the culture within their force, following a number of high-profile cases:
Please would you send me answers to the following questions:
Is your force delivering formal training to improve the internal culture regarding sexism and misogyny?
If yes:
• What is this training/what does it look like?
• Who delivers it?
• Is this delivered to all staff members (e.g., police officers and senior leaders)
• How long have you offered this particular form of training for?
• What is the duration of the training – e.g., an hour, a day?
• Is the training in person, or online?
• Is it mandatory to complete it, or optional?
• How do you track who has completed it, and its impact?
Decision
I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.
Please find below information pursuant to your request above.
Yes – The Met has set out our ambitions to become an anti-racist, anti-misogynist and anti-homophobic organisation. We know that we must have robust systems and leadership in place to support us to achieve this ambition and we recognise that we have failed in that respect as Baroness Casey’s Independent Review of the Met’s culture and standards lays out. The below information outlines some of the training we have implemented to improve internal culture.
Via our corporate Learning Management System, officers and staff also now have access to over 30,000 externally curated online courses on demand. One of the 4 key capability themes is Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion. This content is created by industry leading professionals (including certain material verified by external awarding bodies) and maintained through regular updates and new releases.
New Recruit Training
The Met’s training for all new police officers is based on the national police curriculum designed by the College of Policing. This places significant emphasis on building capabilities in respect of equality, diversity and inclusion.
We seek to embed standards and values from the very first day that our new recruits join us and throughout their training. This training covers how we do not tolerate any form of racist, sexist, misogynistic or homophobic behaviour from our officers. This starts from the first week our recruits commence their employment with the Met, where they receive inputs regarding professional standards and a full day of training specifically focused on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). This centres upon interactive discussion and exercises that explore the key principles of EDI, the lived experiences of those victimised due to diverse characteristics, and the impact of these behaviours. Training covers the Equality Act and the recruits’ relationship with EDI as police officers. These themes are continuously returned to and developed throughout their probationary period.
Supplementing the core curriculum, a strong community centred approach has been embedded into the design and delivery of training of all new police recruits. This ensures all recruits hear directly from a range of community stakeholders regarding their lived experiences and perspectives across areas vital to community trust and includes direct inputs regarding violence against women and girls. Community facilitated discussions with smaller groups of officers actively support recruits to reflect and explore what they have heard, how they commit to build upon this and put it in to practice.
For those who join the Met via our Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF) pathways (Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship Programme and Degree Holder Entry Programmes), the EDI training is delivered by lecturers from our Higher Education Institution Delivery partners. For those joining the Met’s internally delivered training programme (IPLDP+), the training is delivered by Met trainers. We have developed our training delivery style to be much more immersive, this enables recruits to explore their approach to today’s policing challenges and practically upholding our values and standards.
Further inputs regarding professional standards and behaviours are delivered throughout recruits’ training by Met Learning and Development Inspectors and Sergeants as well as the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. Over and above this, recruits receive inputs from a range of community stakeholders regarding their lived experiences and perspectives.
This training is delivered to all new recruits across all the Met’s entry routes and has been embedded into the initial training of all recruits since January 2021, through the Met’s implementation of PEQF and the updated national police curriculum designed by the College of Policing. The training is mandatory and delivered in person.
The Met’s PEQF recruit training pathways are externally accredited to give confidence in the robustness of the training standards. Attendance and participation during initial training is closely monitored for all recruits, alongside robust performance management. Officers are unable to progress through their training and probationary period without having completed mandatory training and having evidenced the necessary standards.
Leadership Development Programme
The Met has dedicated programmes in place which support officers to move into leadership roles following successfully passing promotion processes, as well as those who have been leading teams for some time. These courses include a focus on how our leaders ensure our people bring our values to life and include a focus on inclusive leadership which includes content on sexism and misogyny.
The First Line Leaders Programme (FLLP) is being delivered to all of our new and existing Sergeants and Police Staff equivalents (circa 7,500 individuals) throughout 2023/24. The FFLP delivers 5 full days of leadership training for existing leaders and 8 days training for newly promoted leaders. This is designed to uplift leadership capabilities across the Met, centred upon the Met values, as an important enabler and indicator of culture as set out within the Met’s Turnaround Plan. Course content over these days includes:
• Leadership, including disproportionality, bias, equality, and inclusion
• Effectively managing performance and development
• Values, Professional Standards and supervision – including how to set standards, how to manage misconduct and behaviours robustly
• Wellbeing and supporting our team members through trauma
• Line manager’s role in delivering change under the Turnaround Plan
• Violence against women and girls, including where we need to improve our response and victim care
• Community inputs on how we build trust and provide the best service that they need
The Programme is delivered by a blend of officers and staff from the Met’s Leadership Development Team, with the support of facilitators from an external leadership specialist provider. The Programme was launched in April 2023, following a pilot which commenced in January 2023. All Sergeants and equivalent Police Staff will receive the course by April 2024.
Completion of the First Line Leadership Programme is tracked through the Met’s corporate Learning Management System. Impact will be measured through a number of metrics including staff survey results and data pertaining to attrition and disproportionality.
Signa Training
The Met has mandated ‘Signa Training’ that is specifically focused on sexism and misogyny. This training was developed by the Met’s Network of Women and rolled out across the Met during 2022 using a train the trainer programme.
Signa is a programme that was developed following feedback from women across the Met that highlighted lack of confidence in the mechanisms to report and respond to harassment and sexism in the Met.
Signa as a package is made up of three parts;
1) a toolkit for line managers to assist in challenging behaviour and understanding policy and the support available
2) a mandatory training package that focuses on women’s real experiences of sexism and misogyny in the Met and support for them to identify when it is happening and develop their confidence to step in and intervene
3) an anonymised reporting mechanism that all officers and staff can use to report experiences of sexual harassment which are then presented back to the workforce in internal communications and training.
The training involves watching key content videos, having reflective conversations and learning how to use the tools available within the Met to report concerns. Women’s stories of victimisation and sexual harassment are shared with the aim of empowering colleagues to intervene in similar circumstances by educating them on appropriate methods of intervention.
The training is delivered by specially trained volunteers who have chosen to deliver the training as something they are passionate about. Volunteer officers and staff were identified by the local senior leadership team, to be trained in delivering this package to address sexism and sexual harassment, ensuring that the training champions are passionate allies. They have access to resources and tools to plan and deliver training sessions including lesson plans, videos, support for frequently asked questions, and central support. It is 1 hour long. The training was launched in December 2021 and is delivered to all employees as mandatory. It is primarily delivered in person however is sometimes delivered virtually.
Training registration is recorded on an in-house App. This data is then shared with senior leader teams to ensure compliance. Currently over 37,000 Police officers and staff have completed the training. As cultural changes take time, Signa as a tool kit addresses this by providing a continuous focus and development in this area. Despite this, early training and reviews on the recording tool do show a positive effect. This assessment is ongoing, with dip samples of training, and frequent listening circles with commands, combined with review of the data from the everyday sexism reporting tool.
Domestic Abuse Matters
The Met recognises that there are specific areas of policing, including violence against women and girls, in which officers and staff need to consider their approach, views and attitudes to ensure that we are delivering for London’s communities. The Met has rolled out Domestic Abuse Matters (DA Matters) training to 6800 officers across Frontline Policing that includes modules on identifying why victims can find it difficult to leave an abusive relationship and explaining best practice to maximise evidential value. The programme is designed to have long-term impact: changing and challenging the attitudes, culture and behaviour of the police when responding to domestic abuse.
DA Matters training was a national programme designed in partnership by SafeLives and the College of Policing, in response to a review of training on domestic abuse.
The training is delivered to first responders, DA Matters Champions, and to senior leaders. While the training focussed on improving knowledge around DA and recognising different types of abuse, it also challenges victim blaming and outlines the preferred method to respond to DA disclosed by a colleague.
The training objectives included improving officer knowledge around specific offences, mainly coercive and controlling behaviour. However, it also aimed to minimise victim blaming and identify why victims can find it hard to leave abusive relationships. More information is available on SafeLives website
The training is delivered by SaveLives trainers who have suitable training experience or qualifications and many qualify in training delivery up to and including level 4. All SafeLives trainers must attend and pass a three day train the trainer course which is pass or fail and they are assessed against set criteria.
The training was launched in July 2021 and is delivered in 1 day in person. It was mandatory for frontline officers.
Attendance was tracked daily. Immediately after the training participants were asked to compete a questionnaire to consider their level of understanding before and after the training against each of the programme objectives. Additionally, participants are asked whether they feel the training will change how they perform their role, respond to victims, and whether they would recommend the training to a colleague. Six months post training, participants are sent an online questionnaire asking how the training has impacted on their practice.