Technical appendix: Staff survey on inappropriate and prejudicial behaviours

Published on: 2 November 2022

Rationale

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) carried out a thematic inspection of police vetting and counter corruption arrangements in England and Wales. This included improper and prejudicial behaviour and misconduct. Given the sensitivity of the topic, we used an anonymous online survey to gather a range of attitudes across the workforce and to identify potential participants for anonymous interview.

The inspection addressed the following questions:

  1. How effective are current vetting standards? How well do forces identify the correct vetting levels of officers and staff? And how well do forces vet and re-vet officers and staff in accordance with the requirements of their roles?
  2. How effective are the vetting arrangements for officers and staff seeking to transfer from one force to another?
  3. How effectively do forces prevent, manage, understand and investigate potential corruption among their police officers and staff?
  4. How effectively do forces identify, prevent, detect and deal with prejudicial and improper behaviour based on gender by their officers and staff?

This appendix sets out the results of the survey, which we carried out to support the inspection. The survey touched on policies and processes for all the questions above, but it focused on question 4, particularly whether respondents perceived any problems and, if so, their force’s approach.

Please note: When we list percentages or cover them in a graph, the remainder of respondents preferred not to say. Total percentages may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.

Demographics

In total, we received 11,277 responses to the survey. All questions were voluntary, so not everyone responded to every question. We received responses from all Home Office forces.

Respondents were more likely to identify as a woman (46 percent of total respondents to the survey, n = 5,195) than as a man (42 percent of total respondents to the survey, n = 4,745). A small proportion of respondents answered, ‘I prefer not to say’, and a smaller proportion chose to self-define their gender.

Women were most likely to define their job role as ‘police staff’ (58 percent, n = 2,971). Men were most likely to define their job role as ‘officer’ (67 percent, n = 3,126). A larger proportion of men identified as a ‘line manager’ (35 percent, n = 1,653) when compared to women (27 percent, n = 1,389).

Most respondents were between 35 and 50 years of age. For women, the most common reported age bracket was 45 to 49 years (16 percent, n = 810) whilst men were more likely report being 50 to 54 years old (17 percent, n = 803).

Most men and women (89 percent and 87 percent of respondents, respectively) defined their sexual orientation as heterosexual.

Most women and men (95 percent and 93 percent of respondents, respectively) defined their ethnicity as white. This is in line with national averages for police officers but below the national average for police staff. The number of people responding ‘I prefer not to say’ in relation to their ethnicity was greater than for any one ethnic minority group.

Training

This section covers the training respondents said they had received and how useful they found it. We found that 73 percent of women and 70 percent of men responding to the survey had attended training or received guidance on unconscious bias and found it useful.

Figure 1: Have you accessed training or guidance on sexual misconduct, and if so, has it been useful to you?

Among men, 31% found the training wholly useful, 38% found it partially useful and 12% found it not useful at all. Among women, 31% found the training wholly useful, 33% found it partially useful and 6% found it not useful at all.

Figure 2: Have you accessed training or guidance on abuse of position for a sexual purpose, and if so, has it been useful to you?

Among men, 34% found the training wholly useful, 36% found it partially useful and 13% found it not useful at all. Among women, 33% found the training wholly useful, 32% found it partially useful and 7% found it not useful at all.

Attitudes and behaviours

We asked respondents to rate statements on attitudes and behaviours on a scale of ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’.

More than 90 percent of respondents, regardless of gender, agreed with the following statements:

  • ‘I recognise sexism when I see it’;
  • ‘I know how to report improper behaviour and attitudes’; and
  • ‘I know what the force expects of me in my personal use of social media and messaging’.

We found that 70 percent of women and 79 percent of men who responded agreed with the statement, ‘My force’s culture discourages improper and prejudicial behaviour and attitudes based on gender’. We also found that 74 percent of women and 80 percent of men who responded agreed with the statement, ‘I can raise improper and prejudicial behaviours and attitudes with employees without losing their support’.

Figure 3: I am confident that when I raise changes in my circumstances relevant to my vetting clearance, I will be dealt with fairly

Among men, 68% agreed with the statement, 8% disagreed, and 24% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 72% agreed with the statement, 5% disagreed and 23% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 4: I know what changes in circumstances I have to report for vetting purposes

Among men, 75% agreed with the statement, 13% disagreed, and 12% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 77% agreed with the statement, 12% disagreed, and 11% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 5: I know where to find misconduct hearing outcomes on the intranet

Among men, 52% agreed with the statement, 35% disagreed, and 13% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 47% agreed with the statement, 40% disagreed, and 13% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 6: I have seen guidance on improper and prejudicial behaviour and attitudes in the workplace

Among men, 78% agreed with the statement, 10% disagreed, and 12% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 70% agreed with the statement, 16% disagreed, and 14% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 7: If a co-worker exhibited improper and prejudicial behaviour or attitudes, I would feel confident to report it

Among men, 85% agreed with the statement, 7% disagreed, and 7% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 74% agreed with the statement, 14% disagreed, and 11% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 8: My team would support me if I raised concerns about another team member’s behaviour and attitudes

Among men, 74% agreed with the statement, 8% disagreed, and 17% neither agreed or disagreed. Among women, 65% agreed with the statement, 13% disagreed, and 22% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Figure 9: I know what the force expects of me in my work-based use of social media and messaging

Among men, 88% agreed with the statement, 3% disagreed, and 8% neither agreed nor disagreed. Among women, 92% agreed with the statement, 2% disagreed, and 6% neither agreed nor disagreed.

We then asked respondents if they thought improper or prejudicial behaviours or attitudes had changed over time. Men (56 percent, 2,143 respondents) and women (47 percent, 1,942 respondents) were more likely to believe that improper and prejudicial behaviour or attitudes subject to this inspection had improved than had stayed the same or gotten worse over the past five years.

Reporting and complaint handling

We asked whether respondents had experienced or witnessed inappropriate and prejudicial attitudes and behaviours. We followed this by asking questions about reporting.

Sixteen percent of women and 12 percent of men who responded saying they had seen an inappropriate or prejudicial behaviour said they reported the behaviour they witnessed to their force. Nineteen percent of women and 20 percent of men who responded said they ‘did something else’. The remaining 64 percent of women and 69 percent of men who responded did not report the behaviour.

Figure 10: How clear was the process for reporting improper and prejudicial behaviour?

Among men, 51% found the process clear, 25% found it somewhat clear, 24% found it not clear, and 0.5% found it mixed. Among women, 35% found the process clear, 29% found it somewhat clear, 30% found it not clear, and 5% found it mixed.

Figure 11: Were you satisfied with the outcome of reporting?

Among men, 35% were satisfied with the outcomes, 20% were neutral, 39% were dissatisfied, and 6% said the outcomes were mixed. Among women, 28% were satisfied with the outcomes, 15% were neutral, 49% were dissatisfied, and 8% said the outcomes were mixed.

Back to publication

Technical appendix: Staff survey on inappropriate and prejudicial behaviours