Valuing Difference

TVP recognises, values and celebrates difference.

Every individual at TVP matters. Everyone has an important role to play and makes a difference. Collectively we work together to achieve our commitment of making all communities within the Thames Valley safer and more secure.

Different people bring different perspectives which help us develop better understanding and learning, leading to new ideas and solutions to the challenging social issues that we face on a daily basis.

We aspire and are working hard towards having a police force that truly reflects the communities we serve. Our region is increasingly diverse and it is important our workforce reflects this, ensuring our officers, staff and volunteers are approachable and relatable to our communities.

Positive Action & Engagement Team – Supporting Diverse Recruitment

TVP’s Positive Action and Engagement Team (PAET) focuses on building engagement in under–represented communities and encouraging people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to consider a career in policing.

As well as focusing on outreach work in the communities, the team supports and encourages applicants through the recruitment process and works to improve retention by supporting ethnically diverse student officers already in force with sign-posting to mentoring, coaching and support.

TVP’s Positive Action and Engagement Team

The team comprises of six serving Police Officers: PC Pete Butt-Gow, PC Yasser Zubair, PC Shaharyar Khan, PC Sylvia Masih-Gill, PC Lucy Williams, PC Misbah Ali, and is led by Sergeant Reyan AL-Owaied.

Discover what our Positive Action and Engagement Team (PAET) has been up to: Read more about PAET’s first year.

You can also stay up-to-date with their activities by following their PAET Twitter account.

If you are from a Black, Asian or Minority-Ethnic background and are interest in a career in policing with TVP, you may have more questions so we encourage you to contact the team directly on positiveactionteam@thamesvalley.police.uk or to hear the latest on future Police Officer recruitment openings:

Register now and join our Positive Action Talent Bank

Meet our Positive Action and Engagement Team

What is Positive Action?

Positive Action is a range of measures by which employers can target candidates for recruitment from communities who are underrepresented in an organisation. It allows us to develop strategies that support progression and improve retention. By removing traditional barriers, TVP can provide a positive, modern and progressive working environment for those candidates who apply and meet the minimum role criteria.

We want to recruit the best candidates and with Positive Action initiatives we are able to give the widest possible access to aspiring people from all backgrounds.

Some examples of our positive action initiatives include:

  • mentoring programmes for both applicants and existing officers, staff and volunteers,
  • ambassadors across the Thames Valley positively promote the work of the police, facilitating and encouraging engagement with our recruitment teams,
  • regular attendance at local cultural events and celebrations giving us the opportunity to engage positively and regularly with our communities,
  • familiarisation evenings and events during recruitment of Police Officers, PCSOs, Special Constables, Call Handlers and staff roles,
  • BAME career development tracker for our current officers and PCSOs,
  • an active number of dedicated staff support networks
  • TVP’s PALS programme is a development programme run for police officers and staff who identify themselves as BAME. It is a fantastic opportunity to progress and develop both professionally and personally, as well as offering support in the form of tools such as Myers Briggs, 360 feedback and PDA Assessment.

Professional Action Learning Sets

Initiatives & Accreditations

Race at Work Charter

Race at Work charter

As an employer, being “at our best” means working together to establish an inclusive, supportive culture that values skills and experience. Our five year People Strategy sets out the road map in achieving that aim.

Thames Valley Police has recently joined over 800 employers in signing up to the Race at Work charter. The Business in the Community (BITC) initiative encourages businesses to commit to improving equal opportunities for Black, Asian, Mixed Race and ethnically diverse employees in the UK.

Signing this charter helps show our officers and staff that we are committed to delivering sustainable change and equality of opportunity for all our ethnically diverse employees.

– Dennis Murray QPM, Assistant Chief Constable, Thames Valley Police

Further work is already underway on the Thames Valley Police Race Action Plan, led by Assistant Chief Constable Dennis Murray QPM.