Cambridgeshire Constabulary becomes first force to develop culture statement to 'build trust and confidence' in police

Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the first police force in the country to develop a mission statement for its internal culture, according to the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

The six-paragraph statement says that the force is a “progressive organisation” committed to “creating an inclusive working environment”.

It continues that “diverse perspectives are the best way of solving many of the complex issues facing us today” and that “everyone is valued for who they are and what they bring to policing”.

The statement’s aim is to help Cambridgeshire Constabulary embed its values of fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality in its workforce, PCC Darryl Preston said at a meeting this week.

It also includes the aim to “build trust and confidence” in police, a particular challenge after recent high-profile cases of police officers abusing their power.

Presenting the statement at the meeting, PCC Preston referred to recent “high-level, abhorrent cases” of crimes committed by officers, adding that in Cambridgeshire “there is a lot of very proactive and good work going on to root out wrongdoers and dismiss them”.

Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens is currently serving a whole life sentence for the murder of Sarah Everard, while former Met officer David Carrick is serving a life sentence for raping and assaulting at least 12 women between 2003 and 2020.

In Peterborough, former detective constable James Jordan was jailed last month for accessing indecent images of children and sexual offences victims while on duty,

He worked for the Child Protection and Safeguarding Unit.

All Cambs cops being checked against national database

In January this year, the Government ordered that all serving police officers and staff should be checked against the national police databasefor their fitness to serve in the wake of Carrick’s sentencing.

PCC Preston confirmed that this is “ongoing under the direction of the Home Secretary” in Cambridgeshire and that “we’re all expecting there will be issues that come back to us that aren’t currently known” to be dealt with.

At the meeting, attended by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough councillors, members wanted to know how the impact of the force’s culture statement will be measured, not only among officers and staff but also in how it extends to the public.

Their suggestions included looking at trust in policing statistics from minority groups, with Cllr Alice Gilderdale (Labour) pointing to an assessment undertaken by Cambridge’s Encompass Network that found many LGBTQ people feel unable to approach police.

She added that at a panel she attended alongside police officers and domestic abuse survivors, women expressed feeling that the “police didn’t listen to them”.

Meeting chair Edward Leigh also suggested that these statistics could be benchmarked against those of other forces without culture statements.

PCC Preston and his officers said that it would be difficult to isolate the specific impact of the culture statement, but that the range of measures undertaken to improve culture overall can be measured by undertaking surveys and reviewing complaints, police officers’ reasons for leaving the force and whistleblowing reports.

They also said that they would take councillors' further suggestions to Cambridgeshire Constabulary Chief Constable Nick Dean.

The culture statement, which can be found in full below, has been in the works for more than two years.

The force put itself forward to take part in a national pilot which involves implementing the statement and other forces are expected to follow suit.

Culture statement in full

“Cambridgeshire Constabulary is committed to creating an inclusive working environment where everyone is valued for who they are and what they bring to policing.

“We recognise that diverse perspectives are the best way of solving many of the complex issues facing us today, and to achieve this, we must ensure all voices are respected and heard.

“We are a progressive organisation where innovation and enterprise are encouraged, and people feel empowered to make a difference. We are continually seeking ways to learn and grow, and influence positive change beyond our force boundaries.

“We recognise the importance of continually investing in our people and ensuring they have the right support in place to flourish.

“We know that by doing this, everyone will feel part of the team and happy in the workplace, which is crucial for our organisation to thrive.

“Through our culture, we aim to build trust and confidence in one another and our communities and we will achieve this by ensuring our behaviours reflect our force values of Fairness, Integrity, Diligence, and Impartiality to deliver a first-class service to the people of Cambridgeshire.”