Strategic Equality Plan 2025 - 2029

Introduction
Vision
About Gwent
Our Equality Objectives
Why do we need this plan?
Who this plan is for
How this plan was made
How we will deliver and measure this plan
Conclusion

Introduction

Welcome to the Strategic Equality Plan 2025-2029 for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) for Gwent. Previously, we have published our Strategic Equality Plan jointly with Gwent Police. However, following a review of our governance arrangements in 2023, a decision was made to return to publishing separate organisational equality plans.

While we share with Gwent Police many of the same values and commitments to embedding equality and inclusion and embracing diversity, our organisational roles and responsibilities differ. Publishing a dedicated plan for the OPCC enables us to better focus on our own ambitions and commitments in this space, while further developing the effectiveness of our scrutiny of Gwent Police’s Strategic Equality Plan and its delivery.

This plan has been written against a backdrop of increasing challenges to our relationships with our diverse communities, not just for policing, but for the entire public sector. Trust and confidence have continued to deteriorate, driven by professional conduct matters that have amplified the disproportionate impact on members of the public and officers and staff from diverse backgrounds that work within those organisations. Thematic reviews into progress have confirmed that very little has changed, despite numerous national and local strategies and approaches for equality, diversity, and inclusion that have failed to have the desired positive impact.

Since 2020, we have seen a significant shift towards acknowledging systemic racism and work to challenge and change existing processes and practices. To this end, we made significant contributions to the development and creation of and leadership for the Criminal Justice for Wales Anti-Racism Action Plan, which launched in September 2022. This sets out the commitment for criminal justice organisations in Wales to become anti-racist by 2030, in line with the Welsh Government’s own national ambition.

Development of this Strategic Equality Plan and objectives was informed by public and workforce engagement and supported by an extensive research process. This included a strategic analysis of the equality and diversity landscape for policing and a progress review for the previous plan. More information on this work is provided in section 7 of this document.

In March 2025, the Commissioner published the Police, Crime and Justice Plan 2025 – 2029. The plan sets the strategic direction for Gwent Police, the work of the OPCC and how we work with our partners. The objectives in this Strategic Equality Plan reflect the priorities and foundations of the Police, Crime and Justice Plan.

This plan also considers the influences of both Wales and UK policy on our strategic intentions. It seeks to meet any responsibilities placed on policing and criminal justice agencies and arrangements, while respecting the difference between devolved and non-devolved partners.

In publishing this plan, we have identified three priority areas of focus:

  • Objective 1 – Increased confidence and trust in policing for marginalised and minoritised communities, with a specific focus on race, disability, gender, and sexual orientation.
  • Objective 2 - Develop our organisation and culture with a specific focus on delivering an inclusive culture with well-informed people and accredited practices.
  • Objective 3 – Enhance our engagement approaches to strengthen social cohesion and develop more informed communities.

These are set out in more detail in section 4 of this document.

While this plan has been written for all our diverse communities, we have agreed to primarily focus on disability, gender, and sexual orientation for the first two-years, in addition to our existing commitment to anti-racism – recognising both the information provided within our development work and that communities sharing these protected characteristics face the most prominent challenges across policing. This will enable us to better respond to and drive improvements on the key issues and challenges for these communities, such as hate crime, and the quality of policing services they may receive.

Progress against the Strategic Equality Plan objectives will be driven through a Delivery Plan Framework. This will be developed across the OPCC shortly following publication of the plan, and reflect the distributed ownership of our equality, diversity, and inclusion activities across the organisation. Monitoring will be undertaken in a range of ways, including through governance meetings, scrutiny arrangements and public engagement. This is set out in more detail in section 8 of this document.

We will no longer be using the term ‘Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people’ to refer to large groups of people from different ethnicities. Instead, we will refer to people of Ethnic Heritage or will use more specific terms when describing different ethnicities.

Our thanks to all who engaged with us during the development of this Strategic Equality Plan. We welcome any additional feedback on this plan, or your experiences of policing in Gwent – should you wish to contact us our details are included at the end of this document.

Vision

To be an organisation that is:

  • Trusted by our communities and our staff.
  • Culturally competent and informed across all areas of diversity.
  • Visible in its commitment to positive change and tackling all forms of discrimination.

Guiding principles:

Several guiding principles underpin this Strategic Equality Plan.

Our work with partners will be integral to the success of this plan. We will use our influence in partnership structures to represent the views of seldom and less-often heard groups, and seek to maximise collaborative opportunities, including for commissioning and community engagement.

Putting children first in all our activities. We will further develop and embed a child-centred approach that ensures the voices and experiences of children are used to inform our work. We will co-produce and develop a Children and Young People’s Charter to determine how we will work with children and young people and explore their experiences and expectation of Gwent Police.

The Criminal Justice in Wales Anti-Racism Action Plan that aims “to make the criminal justice system in Wales fairer, more efficient and more effective with anti-racism as a core value and approach.” There are seven main goals, under which there are more specific obligations for policing:

  • Challenge racism.
  • Build an ethnically diverse workforce.
  • Involve and listen to different communities and take action.
  • Be transparent, accountable, and co-ordinated.
  • Educate the workforce.
  • Promote fairness.
  • Focus on prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation.
    The full plan can be found online at Criminal Justice Anti-Racism Action Plan for Wales - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Being trauma informed in our work and when interacting with victims and survivors who have been affected by crimes, people who have offended who may have experienced trauma in their backgrounds, and communities who carry generational and systemic trauma. Applying trauma informed practice means being:

  • Person-centred – providing choices and giving the person a voice.
  • Inclusive – considering culture and characteristics in an intersectional way.
  • Building safety and trust – not retraumatising, helping the person feel safe.
  • Collaborative – working within and across organisations to support the person.
  • Asking “what does this person need” rather than “what is wrong with this person”.

We recognise that some officers and staff are as vulnerable to trauma as anyone else. They may also share these experiences in their own personal lives, and in carrying out their duties be exposed to incidents that affect their judgement or behaviour. To counter this, we need to:

  • Work with Gwent Police to educate our workforces on the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences and intergenerational trauma;
  • Understand, challenge, and change our own biases;
  • Consider the way we work, including through partnerships and in ways that respect people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

The impact of intersectionality. Intersectionality means that a person’s identity is considered as a whole, rather than in separate bits. We often think about difference in distinct areas – for example, gender, race, sexual orientation, or disability – rather than considering how these areas can overlap and cause different experiences of discrimination and marginalisation. If we only focus on one part of someone’s identity, we may miss how other parts create an experience of multiple marginalisation.

For example, an Asian woman wanting to make a report of a crime may experience difficulties due to a lack of adaptations for her ethnicity – such as no interpreter – as well as for her gender – such as no female officer being available to take her statement, when she would feel uncomfortable talking to a male officer. If the lady was also disabled, this would be an additional layer of marginalisation.

The intersectional approach is not about anyone being more worthy of special treatment, but rather an acknowledgement that we all hold multiple layers of identity, which can interact to give us different, and in some instances worse, treatment.

About Gwent

The 2021 Census records the total population of Gwent as 587,686 people living within the five local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, and Torfaen.

Gwent covers 155,542 square km. The county is economically and culturally diverse, with areas of both affluence and deprivation. The highest levels of deprivation are consistently seen in Blaenau Gwent, with Monmouthshire experiencing greater affluence than the other four areas [Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (full Index update with ranks): 2019 | GOV.WALES].

Socio-economically disadvantaged communities present additional policing challenges. They may be more vulnerable to crime, particularly where poverty intersects with characteristics such as race and disability.

Our communities:

Gwent has a population of people of ethnic heritage of around 8.6%, rising to around 14.5% in Newport. The most common languages spoken in Gwent, after English and Welsh, are Polish (0.4%) and Romanian (0.2%) followed by Bengali and Arabic (both around 0.14%).

Race/Ethnicity (Gwent)

  • 91.4% White British.
  • 2.6% Asian.
  • 1.5% Mixed.
  • 0.8% Black.
  • 0.3% Chinese.
  • 0.2% Arab.
  • 0.4% Any other ethnic group.

Religion/Belief (Gwent)

  • 49.8% No religion.
  • 40.8% Christian.
  • 6.8% Other religion.
  • 2.2% Muslim.

Sexual Orientation (Gwent)
On average, 2.1% of people aged 16 and over are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or describe their sexual orientation as other than heterosexual (straight).

Disability (Gwent)
Around 22% of the working age population of Gwent have identified as having a disability as defined under the Equality Act 2010. This is highest in Blaenau Gwent.
Around 0.02% of the population communicate using British Sign Language (BSL).

Welsh Language (Gwent)
Around 20% of the population of Gwent can speak Welsh compared to 29.6% across Wales. Welsh language ability is highest in the Caerphilly Borough.

The Police and Crime Commissioner

The Police and Crime Commissioner, together with the Chief Constable, is responsible for policing in Gwent. The Commissioner ensures that Gwent Police is efficient and effective and seeks to improve performance and standards of the local policing services delivered to our communities. Part of the Commissioner’s role is to make sure that local people have a say in how their area is policed and to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of these services.

The Commissioner has several statutory responsibilities which are listed on the website - Responsibilities | Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (pcc.police.uk). In addition, the Commissioner is also responsible for holding the Chief Constable to account for the performance of Gwent Police’s officers and staff, including any duties relating to equality and diversity.

Every four years, the Commissioner publishes a Police and Crime Plan which sets out their priorities for policing and tackling crime. In a break from tradition, the new plan includes a focus on strengthening and improving the local criminal justice system - Police, Crime and Justice Plan | Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner. Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion is strengthened through the Police, Crime and Justice Plan 2025-2029, which together with the Strategic Equality Plan provides a framework for how we will conduct our business and the outcomes we want to achieve.

Our current status

As previously stated, in publishing this plan, we are moving away from our former joint arrangements with Gwent Police. This will enable the OPCC to develop a more enhanced and focused strategic view and governance of our own commitments for equality, diversity, and inclusion while effectively overseeing how Gwent Police delivers against its own priorities.

While specific to the OPCC, the new Strategic Equality Plan 2025-2029 recognises and reflects the common challenges and ambitions for us and Gwent Police, and the partnership work that will continue in order to make best use of our resources and collaborative opportunities.

Our Equality Annual report covering 2023/24 and 2024/25 formed part of the progress review the previous Plan and contributed to the baseline assessment for the 2025-29 Delivery Plan Framework. Equality Annual Reports are published on our website Strategic Equality Plan and Objectives Annual Reports | Gwent Police and Crime Commissioner (pcc.police.uk).

Our Equality Priorities and Objectives

OBJECTIVE 1 – INCREASED CONFIDENCE AND TRUST IN POLICING for marginalised and minoritised communities, with a specific focus on race, disability, gender, and sexual orientation.

Desired Outcomes:

  • Communities report higher levels of satisfaction and positive feelings towards policing in Gwent.
  • Diverse communities feel more empowered to engage with us on the issues that matter to them.
  • Increased levels of reporting of hate crime into Gwent Police.
  • Reduced levels of disproportionality in policing practice (such as stop and search, court/out of court disposals, etc.).

Within two years, we will commit to:

  • Undertake specific deep dive scrutiny activity into Gwent Police's hate crime performance and processes.
  • Introduce a new process for scrutinising Gwent Police’s performance, including representatives from the above groups.
  • Implement a new, independent external scrutiny process for the OPCC’s Strategic Equality Plan delivery.
  • Assign appropriate resource (funding and people) to deliver relevant shared endeavours across policing, criminal justice, and our wider partnerships.

OBJECTIVE 2 - DEVELOP OUR ORGANISATION AND CULTURE with a specific focus on delivering an inclusive culture with well-informed people and accredited practices.

Desired Outcomes

  • Increased diversity of OPCC staff and volunteers.
  • Increased opportunities for staff learning and development on equality, diversity, and inclusion matters.
  • Business processes and practices take greater account of equality, diversity, and inclusion.
  • Greater wellbeing offer to staff specifically in relation to disability and neurodiversity.

Within two years, we will commit to:

  • Introduce a new Positive Action policy for the OPCC in readiness for recruitment opportunities.
  • Focus our scrutiny of Gwent Police on effective data collection and recording of protected characteristics.
  • Fund equality, diversity, and inclusion training and awareness sessions for staff, managers, and leaders (such as reverse mentoring).
  • Embed a whole-organisation approach to equality, diversity, and inclusion governance for the OPCC.
  • Achieve accreditation in national equality, diversity, and inclusion standards for the OPCC.
  • Revising our funding and commissioning intentions and activity so that they are informed by under- or disproportionately represented diverse groups.

OBJECTIVE 3 – ENHANCE OUR ENGAGEMENT APPROACHES to strengthen social cohesion and develop more resilient communities.

Desired Outcomes

  • Increased social cohesion within the different communities across Gwent.
  • Greater representation of marginalised and minoritised communities throughout our engagement activity.
  • Effective partnership activity to understand and address community cohesion issues.
  • Diverse communities feel more informed about our work and are aware and assured of how their feedback has been used.

Within two years, we will commit to:

  • Identify funding opportunities to support local groups and activities that promote and contribute to improving community cohesion.
  • Regular meaningful engagement with the different communities and groups in Gwent, using their views to inform our work and decision-making.
  • Identify and implement new engagement opportunities for disabled and LGB+ and Transgender communities and groups to ensure their views and experiences are heard.
  • Work with policing and partners to understand and improve community cohesion, ensuring an appropriate response to community issues and concerns.
  • Provide information to communities on our work and what we have done in response to their feedback.

Other partner strategies we continue to actively deliver

This plan also considers a range of other strategies and arrangements with relevance to equality, diversity, and inclusion matters and policing. We will play our role in supporting and delivering the activities set out in these plans and partnerships and reflect the outcomes within our annual reporting. Such partner strategies include:

  • Welsh Government Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, which contains obligations for policing in Wales under the areas of criminal justice, tackling hate crime, community cohesion, workforce representation and leadership [Anti-racist Wales Action Plan | GOV.WALES].
  • Welsh Government LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales, which sets out obligations for policing bodies to involve LGBTQ+ people and recognise trans and non-binary people in service and policy design; remove barriers to LGBTQ+ people reporting hate crime; improve the relationship of LGBTQ+ people with policing; target violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence in LGBTQ+ communities; and include LGBTQ+ training as part of other equality training in the workplace [LGBTQ+ Action Plan for Wales | GOV.WALES].
  • Welsh Government Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Strategy contains six objectives under which the Welsh Government, public services and non-devolved organisations such as the police, will work to tackle violence against women and girls, domestic abuse and sexual violence [Violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence: strategy 2022 to 2026 [HTML] | GOV.WALES].
  • The Youth Justice Blueprint for Wales seeks to develop a youth justice system which treats children with fairness and respect and helps them to build on their strengths and to make positive changes and choices in their lives, while reducing re-offending and strengthening partnership approaches [youth-justice-blueprint_0.pdf (gov.wales)].
  • The Female Offending Blueprint for Wales sets out the ambitions for the treatment of women in the criminal justice system, including to supporting women to live crime free, positive and healthy lives, and reducing the number of women in the system through earlier intervention [female-offending-blueprint_3.pdf (gov.wales)].
  • Welsh Government Disability Strategic Action Plan and Action on Disability: the right to independent living framework and action plan set out goals for greater inclusion for disabled and learning-disabled people. Areas in which policing can contribute include employment, involvement of disabled people in work to tackle VAWDASV, tackling disability hate crime and harassment, and working in line with the social mode of disability which states that barriers to inclusion are environmental rather then in the person’s impairment [Learning Disability Strategic Action Plan 2022 to 2026 [HTML] | GOV.WALES]; [action-on-disability-the-right-to-independent-living-framework-and-action-plan.pdf (gov.wales)].

These plans set out the Welsh Government’s vision for Wales – in specific sectors, and as the culture of a nation – and the obligations placed on policing will help to ensure we are contributing to the future of Wales as a diverse, inclusive, welcoming nation.

Policing across England and Wales has also agreed priorities under various action plans set out by the College of Policing, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCCs), and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

Why do we need this plan?

The social and national context

Since the publication of the previous joint Strategic Equality Plan in 2020, there has been a seismic awareness of the impact of systemic inequality and toxic cultures, both within society and policing. The past few years have been marked by several significant, high-profile events, both in the UK and abroad. These have provided a catalyst for systemic and policy changes within policing, criminal justice, and the wider public sector. We continue to witness harm to communities, inflamed by challenging and changing societal, legal and political landscapes across the globe.

With this Strategic Equality Plan we will build on our existing commitments as a public body. We will work to create more positive experiences and outcomes for marginalised and minoritised people in Gwent. We will increase trust in our services, fostering involvement and building real connections with our communities. We want people to feel safer, with more resilient and cohesive communities, confident in the policing service they will receive, should they need it.

The foundations of the Police, Crime and Justice Plan will support and strengthen our success in achieving the commitments set out in this plan.

Legislation

Alongside our underpinning commitments to improve policing culture, rebuild public trust and reduce or explain disproportionality, there are UK and Wales-wide laws which, as a public body, the Police and Crime Commissioner must comply with.

The Equality Act (2010)

The Equality Act protects everyone with a protected characteristic – age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation – from discrimination, harassment, or victimisation [Equality Act 2010: guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)].

Discrimination means treating someone with a protected characteristic less favourably than someone without. This can be direct (for example, refusing to employ someone as a police officer because they are disabled) or indirect (such as requiring all staff to work the same shift pattern, which disadvantages parents of young children or carers of elderly parents).

Harassment means creating an environment which violates a person’s dignity, or is intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive: for example, a culture of “banter” in the workplace which is sexist and creates a degrading atmosphere for women.

Victimisation means receiving negative treatment due to being involved with a discrimination or harassment complaint.

It is important to note that a person can be the victim of discrimination, harassment, and victimisation whether they actually hold a protected characteristic, or whether they are perceived to. For example, a Sikh person who is thought to be Muslim and receives Islamophobic abuse as a result, is still the victim of discrimination.
You can also be the victim of discrimination, harassment ,and victimisation if you are associated with someone who has a protected characteristic. For example, if you are a man who witnesses sexist behaviour aimed at women in the workplace, this is harassment because the atmosphere is degrading for you too.

Public Sector Equality Duty (2011)

The Public Sector Equality Duty means that public bodies such as police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners must consider all individuals when carrying out their day-to-day work – in shaping policy, in delivering services and in relation to their own employees.

It also requires that public bodies have due regard to the need to:

Under this duty, public bodies must also report to the public on what they have been doing in respect of each of the three equality duties above.

Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015)

The Wellbeing of Future Generations Act sets out seven areas to improve the social, economic, environmental, and cultural well-being of Wales. These are:

  • A prosperous Wales
  • A resilient Wales
  • A healthier Wales
  • A more equal Wales
  • A Wales of cohesive communities
  • A Wales of vibrant culture and thriving Welsh language
  • A globally responsible Wales

Under this legislation, the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable have been invited to sit on a Public Services Board, where they aim to improve the economic, social, environmental, and cultural well-being of Gwent by working to achieve the seven goals set out above [Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015: the essentials [HTML] | GOV.WALES].

Welsh Language

The Commissioner has set out a commitment to the Welsh language and compliance with the Welsh Language Standards. The Standards aim to promote and facilitate the use of the Welsh language, ensuring that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than the English language.

We will work to deliver three key priorities:

  • To improve the range of Welsh Language services offered.
  • To increase the number of Welsh speakers and learners employed
  • To use information obtained from monitoring and tracking to identify areas for improvement.

While there is separate and distinct legislation for Welsh language, we consider it as an extension of our equality duties. Compliance with the Standards and progress against the priorities is reported separately; however, Welsh language is included within our Equality Impact Assessment processes and alongside our Equality Delivery Plan Framework to ensure that consideration is given to advancing equality of opportunity and promoting use of Welsh as part of our daily business.

Who this plan is for?

This plan has been developed for:

  • Our communities – to cultivate public trust and confidence in policing in Gwent by acting fairly, professionally, inclusively, and responsively, and build positive relationships with our diverse and marginalised communities.
  • Our staff – to create a truly inclusive culture that respects and values diversity and challenges inappropriate behaviour, fostering greater trust in our staff and attracting and retaining a more diverse workforce.
  • Our leaders – to provide effective and transparent leadership that sets the standard for policing in Gwent, visibly demonstrating to our communities and staff a commitment to bring about the changes necessary for us to realise our ambitions for our organisation.
  • Our partners – to set out how we will work with our partners, across policing and other sectors, on equality, diversity, and inclusion policies and strategies, to improve the experiences and outcomes for our communities.

How this plan was made

In preparing for this plan, we undertook an extensive review and analysis of the current landscape for equality, diversity and inclusion which included:

Community engagement:

  • Public survey questions on equality, diversity, and inclusion matters.
  • Feedback from surveys and engagement with children.
  • Engagement with members of the Gwent Police’s Independent Advisory Group (IAG) Independent Advisory Group | Gwent Police.
  • Feedback on policing and wider criminal justice through the Welsh Government Disability Rights Taskforce: Access to Justice Working Group.
  • Feedback from the Criminal Justice Wales Community Engagement Network.

Staff engagement:

  • Results from staff surveys.
  • Survey responses from Staff Networks.
  • Feedback on microaggressions in the workplace.
  • Engagement with Staff Network Chairs.
  • Engagement with OPCC staff.

Review of OPCC progress against the Strategic Equality Plan 2020-24:

  • Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Strategic Assessment Paper.
  • Review of OPCC Equality Annual Reports and current position.
  • Mapping of the OPCC’s equality, diversity, and inclusion-related activity.

Review of plans and policies for equality, diversity, and inclusion responsibilities:

  • Criminal Justice Wales Anti-Racism Action Plan.
  • Child Centred Policing Strategy.
  • APCC Equality Framework.
  • Welsh Government plans:
    o Anti-Racist Wales.
    o LGBTQ+ Action Plan.
    o Disability Action Plan.
    o Youth Justice and Female Offending Blueprints.
    o Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse, and Sexual Violence Strategy.

Other influences:

  • Gwent Police Culture Strategy.
  • NPCC Policing Vision 2030.#
  • Gwent Police values.
  • NPCC Police Race Action Plan.
  • High profile thematic reviews such as Baroness Casey’s Review of the Metropolitan Police.
  • The principles set out on the Code of Ethics.

How we will deliver, monitor, and measure this plan

Making improvements to our governance of this plan is a specific commitment within our objectives. To provide oversight and ensure that progress is made under each of the commitment areas, we will:

  • At OPCC governance meetings, consider and provide feedback on regular updates against the activities and actions in the Delivery Plan and Framework.
  • Support and develop independent scrutiny activity and involvement for any matters which would benefit from external oversight.
  • Consider related feedback gained through regular community engagement and surveys.
  • Consider the outcomes of staff surveys and engagement with the Staff Support Networks.
  • Publish an Annual Report to demonstrate our progress and areas for focus for the following year.
  • Share Annual Reports with the Police and Crime Panel for Gwent and consider any feedback on the progress achieved.

How we will monitor Gwent Police

To fulfil the duties on the Commissioner in respect of holding to account Gwent Police’s performance against its own Strategic Equality Plan, objectives, and activities, and ensure effective oversight and scrutiny of progress and outcomes, we will:

  • Agree an appropriate level of OPCC representation at Gwent Police’s meetings as set out within its governance structure.
  • Engage with any community scrutiny activity implemented and maintained by Gwent Police, providing appropriate support and challenge to ensure effectiveness and progress.
  • Monitor and scrutinise performance information relating to measures and outcomes set out in Gwent Police’s Delivery Plan and related reports, taking appropriate action in respect of the results of our scrutiny activity.
  • Use engagement with staff and communities from diverse backgrounds to understand whether they are experiencing positive change resulting from Gwent Police’s approaches to equality, diversity, and inclusion.
  • Hold Gwent Police to account for progress made against the commitments set out in its Strategic Equality Plan, specifically in relation to monitoring and scrutiny of its Annual Report, providing feedback on the achievements reported and/or recommendations for improvement as appropriate.

Conclusion

While we have achieved much in the last four years there is still more to be done and we remain passionate about making positive changes for our communities. Consequently, this plan is not static and will be reviewed and developed as needed to ensure that we are responsive to the information and feedback we receive from communities, partners, and our staff.