Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) wins the Inclusive and Diversity Initiative of the Year Award

Image by Hertfordshire Constabulary

Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) has won the Inclusive and Diversity Initiative of the Year Award at the National Inspire Justice Awards, held in Birmingham on Thursday, 30 November.

WoCiP is a tri-force movement that supports women from ethnic minority backgrounds across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire to take up and progress their careers in policing.

Receiving their prize at the awards ceremony, hosted by Skills for Justice, WoCiP founder Sergeant Sandra Smith, said, “Women of Colour have historically been underrepresented within policing. WoCiP is a movement that seeks to redress the failure to recruit and support the progression of women of colour, which has been exacerbated by a wider lack of visibility within policing. It acknowledges and recognises the vital contributions that women from ethnic minority communities make within the workforce and society”.

WoCiP Assistant Lead, Sam Alexander added, “Through WoCiP we want to empower women from all backgrounds to help them find their voices and ensure we leave no one behind. Theirs is an enormous pool of untapped talent and we are delighted that our work is being recognised and valued by senior policing figures as well as by the wider justice sector.”

Congratulating Sam, Sandra as well as all the volunteers and allies involved in WoCiP, tri-force Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead, DCC Dan Vajzovic, said, “This award is thoroughly well deserved. Sandra and Sam are fantastic role models and we are immensely proud of their work to elevate and champion women from all backgrounds and encourage them to join the police.

“For too long, the police service has not adequately reflected the communities it serves and this is something we are committed to changing. Diversity not only helps strengthen our engagement with the public; it also brings many varied perspectives and experiences to our work, which will help us make better policing decisions and be invaluable in shaping a better police service for the future.”

The award judges voted unanimously in favour of WoCiP due to its outstanding work engaging young people from ethnic minority backgrounds with careers in policing.