Differing Perspectives on a Police Force's Equal Opportunities Grievance Procedure: Viewpoints of Police Managers and Front-Line Personnel
| Author | Jennifer Brown,Michael Gillick |
| DOI | 10.1177/146135579900100203 |
| Published date | 01 May 1998 |
| Date | 01 May 1998 |
| Subject Matter | Theoretical Review Paper |
International Journal of Police Science &Management Volume 1 Number 2
Differing perspectives on a police force's
equal opportunities grievance procedure:
Viewpoints of police managers and
front-line personnel
Jennifer Brown and Michael Gillick
Jennifer Brown, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 5XH,
Tel: 01483 300800 ext. 2896; e-mail: jennifer.brown@surrey.ac.uk
Received (in revised form): 13th May, 1998
InternationalJournal of Police
Science and Management,
Vol. 1
No.2,
1998, pp. 122-132.
©Henry
Stewart Publications,
136(}-8576
Page 122
Jennifer Brown was formerly the head
of
the Research Department at the Hampshire
Constabulary
and
is currently aSenior Lec-
turer
and
Director
of
the Forensic Psychology
Masters Programme at the University
of
Sur-
rey.
Michael Gillick is aserving police Inspector
currently working as a
Sector
Commander at
Sedgley Police Station. The research reported
in the present
paper
was
completed
as
part
of
his
MSc
in Criminal Justice undertaken
at the Institute
of
Police
and
Criminological
Studies, University
of
Portsmouth.
ABSTRACT
Comparable surveys
oj
civilian staff and
police
personnel
were
conducted
to evaluate the
workings oj a
grievance
procedure
within a
British metropolitan
[orce.
Differing
assessments
were
Jound Jrom the front-line
workJorce
(n =217),
supervisors
(n =289) and com-
plainants (n =53) in
terms
oj
confidence
in
the
process,
beliets
about managers'
competency
in
grievance
handling and satisfaaion with
grievance
resolution,
These
differences
are
discussed
in light
oj
the
radical
and
liberal
philosophies underlying equal opportunities
policies,
The
percentages
oj
women
c!fficers
and
their
occupancy
oj
seniorrank
are
also
discussed
as
outcomes
oj
equality
policies,
Finally,
suggestions
are
madeJor an integrated dispute
resolution
system combining
local
grievance
handling with an
overseeing,
centralised
unit.
Keywords: Equal opportunities,
grievance procedures
INTRODUCTION
This
paper
reports
the
results
of
one
of
the
few
systematic surveys
evaluat-
ing
aspects
of
equal
opportunities
policies
implemented
within
the
police
service
in
Britain.
The
study
focuses
on
the
proce-
dure
adopted
by
one
large,
metropolitan
police
force to
handle
grievances arising
from
breaches
of
the
force's
equal
oppor-
tunities
policy
and
has a particular interest
in
gender
differences. In
order
to
provide
a
context
for
the
study
and
help
in
the
interpretation
of
results, a
brief
account
of
the
establishing legislation is
given
as is a
description
of
the
philosophies
underpin-
ning
equal
opportunities
policies.
British
anti-discrimination
legislation
governing
fairness
in
employment
oppor-
tunities dates
from
the
1970s
with
the
Equal
Pay
Act
of
1972,
the
1975
Sex
Discrimination
Act
(SDA)
and
the
Race
Discrimination
Act
passed
in
the
follow-
ing
year.
Despite
this raft
of
legislation,
the
development
of
procedures
to
imple-
ment
equal
opportunities
policies varies
between
organisations in
terms
of
speed,
detail
and
enthusiasm.
Some,
such
as
the
National
Health
Service
(NHS),
engaged
in an active
implementation
programme
exemplified
by
the
setting
up
of
a
women's
unit,
and
the
creative
career
path
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