As part of our 12 Point Action Plan, we celebrate where we have got it right by publicly championing supervisors and managers who show a real commitment to diversity and inclusion, and how this enhances job satisfaction and improves service delivery.
This extends to championing police forces, and we therefore ask colleagues across the UK and internationally to share one thing they are proud of surrounding diversity and disability.
To start the celebrations, we are sharing with you the highlights video of our recent Disability in Policing national conference in September.
We were so proud to see representation from every police force in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, in person and online. A first for the DPA!
We would like to ask you to please share this video to inspire others to champion diversity and disability. ∎
by James Bird Deputy Secretary | Disabled Police Association
As part of UK Disability History Month, I wanted to turn the attention onto the often overlooked but profoundly impactful contributions of neurodiversity, in particular dyslexic people throughout history.
Dyslexia, often seen just as a reading difficulty, carries with it an extraordinary strength: the ability to think in three dimensions. This unique cognitive wiring has shaped our world through the revolutionary ideas and innovations of dyslexic minds.
Throughout history, individuals who ‘think differently’ have propelled innovation forward, and their stories reveal the transformative power of dyslexic thinking.
The unseen legacy of dyslexic innovators For centuries, dyslexic people have faced immense challenges, from a lack of understanding about their differences to societal structures that cater to direct, language-based thinking.
Yet, despite these barriers, dyslexic thinkers have given the world some of the most profound breakthroughs in science, art, and technology, driven by their exceptional visual-spatial reasoning, and an ability to perceive complex relationships between ideas in ways that others cannot.
By using this visualisation to rehearse and imagine success, it gives them an enhanced focus and confidence by picturing themselves achieving these goals.
There are so many incredible, ground-breaking people I could’ve chosen from, but I had to narrow it down, so here are the ones I personally selected.
Albert Einstein: the physics revolutionary Albert Einstein, one of the most celebrated scientific minds of the 20th century, had a learning profile often associated with dyslexia. As a child, he struggled with traditional schooling, delayed speech, and difficulty with repetitive memorisation. But his mind was a powerhouse of imagination and three-dimensional visualisation. Einstein described his thought process as deeply intuitive, relying on images rather than words.
Albert Einstein
This ability to conceptualise abstract theories visually was crucial in developing his theory of relativity, which forever altered our understanding of time and space. Einstein’s visual thinking enabled him to perceive the universe in ways that others couldn’t fathom, proving that the very traits labelled as shortcomings in childhood became the start of a scientific revolution.
Pablo Picasso: master of artistic perception Art history offers another vivid example of dyslexic brilliance: Pablo Picasso. The Spanish painter and sculptor, considered one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, revolutionised the art world with Cubism. This radical movement broke objects down into geometric shapes, presenting them from multiple perspectives simultaneously. Picasso’s art demonstrated an unusual grasp of three-dimensionality, as he reconstructed how people saw and experienced the world.
His dyslexic mind allowed him to think in shapes and forms rather than in linguistic terms, which directly influenced his ground-breaking artistic techniques. While others perceived reality in flat, conventional ways, Picasso’s neurodivergent brain deconstructed and reimagined it, shifting our entire understanding of visual art.
Salvador Dalí: surrealism and the dyslexic dreamscape Another giant of artistic innovation, Salvador Dalí, exhibited the signs of dyslexia, evident in his eccentric and highly visual approach to the surreal. Dalí’s paintings, infused with dreamlike distortions and impossible landscapes, captured the fluidity of thought and imagination that dyslexic individuals often experience. He had an extraordinary ability to render vivid, multi-layered scenes that defied logic but communicated profound emotional truths.
Dalí’s dyslexia may have contributed to his surrealist vision, allowing him to connect unequal ideas in ways that others found bewildering but mesmerising. His masterpieces, from ‘The Persistence of Memory’ with its melting clocks to other iconic dreamscapes, revealed the depths of his spatial thinking and his gift for turning intangible concepts into unforgettable visual experiences.
Muhammad Ali: champion of visualisation Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers in history, was not just a master in the ring but also a master of his own mind. Growing up with undiagnosed dyslexia, Ali struggled academically, often feeling the stigma of being labelled slow or unteachable. Yet, his neurodivergent brain gave him a unique edge: a powerful ability to visualise his success and his strategies vividly. Ali’s dyslexia likely contributed to his exceptional spatial awareness and the way he could mentally rehearse fights, seeing each movement and outcome with striking clarity.
Muhammad Ali
This skill of mental visualisation became one of his most potent weapons. Ali would famously predict his victories in poetic terms, seeing himself defeating his opponents in detail, long before he stepped into the ring. His pre-fight visualisations, combined with his unconventional footwork and fight tactics, allowed him to anticipate and adapt to his opponents’ moves in real time. Ali’s story demonstrates how dyslexic strengths, like vivid imagination and spatial thinking, can fuel extraordinary accomplishments, changing struggles into sources of greatness.
The Wright Brothers: pioneers of flight The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, changed the world with the first successful airplane, and their dyslexic thinking played a pivotal role in this achievement. Struggling with traditional education, they developed exceptional visual-spatial skills, which enabled them to intuitively understand mechanics and aerodynamics. Instead of relying solely on theoretical models, they closely observed the flight patterns of birds and experimented relentlessly, visualising the complexities of flight in three dimensions.
Their breakthrough came with the invention of the three-axis control system: pitch, roll, and yaw, allowing for stable and controlled flight. This innovation laid the groundwork for all future aircraft designs. The Wright brothers’ ability to think dynamically and spatially, combined with their determination, exemplifies how neurodivergent minds can revolutionise entire fields and make the seemingly impossible a reality.
The power of thinking differently It is not just in art, science, and sports, that dyslexic thinking has changed the world. Thomas Edison, whose dyslexic brain sparked the invention of the light bulb and phonograph, was able to see failure as a series of learning steps, applying his visual-spatial reasoning to experiment creatively. Likewise, Henry Ford revolutionised manufacturing through his assembly line – another innovation embedded in simplifying complex systems into efficient, visually intuitive processes.
Steve Jobs
In modern times, dyslexic entrepreneurs like Richard Branson and Steve Jobs continued this legacy. Jobs, known for his ability to envision ground-breaking technology, once said: “Creativity is just connecting things.” His dyslexic mind made those connections in ways that others couldn’t, giving birth to the Apple system that has reshaped our digital world.
Why celebrating dyslexic innovators matters Disability History Month provides an opportunity to celebrate how neurodiversity fuels human progress. Dyslexic individuals are often natural-born innovators, problem-solvers, and creative visionaries. Their three-dimensional thinking drives them to break boundaries, challenge conventions, and bring fresh perspectives to the most complex challenges.
We have much to gain from recognising and nurturing neurodivergent strengths. When given the right tools and environments, dyslexic thinkers can reach their full potential and continue to make world-changing impacts.
The story of dyslexic innovation is testament to the strength of thinking differently.
From Einstein’s universe-altering theories to Picasso’s art that reshaped our visual world, dyslexic individuals continue to illuminate the power of diverse cognitive styles. ∎
by Tracy Betts President | Disabled Police Association
Since the last AGM in a very rainy Liverpool in 2023, the DPA has spent its time building the Committee to ensure we have good representation in terms of knowledge, lived experience of diverse abilities and also geographically, with our 17 members representing over a third of the forces in England and Wales.
Tracy Betts
Every one of those committee members has continued to work hard for YOU at all levels of our organisations, reiterating the importance and vitality a diverse workforce brings and championing the work the local Disability and Enable networks do in each force throughout the country.
With the support of our NPCC Lead for Disability, ACO Andrew Price, the DPA has kept abreast of emerging themes in our Forces. We have supported and showcased new support associations, groups and individuals, often with ground-breaking initiatives which demonstrate that wherever possible, keeping our disabled talent within policing benefits everyone, including the public we serve.
Our message is reaching the highest levels: at our DPA meeting in December, the Home Secretary, Rt. Hon. James Cleverley MP, dialled in to thank the DPA Committee personally for the work it is doing.
In the last year, the DPA 12 Point Action Plan has been ratified by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) as ‘good practice’.
The College of Policing (CoP) will be highlighting the DPA 12-Point Plan in its practice bank to support the workplace adjustments toolkit and to help Forces benchmark their progress towards disability inclusion.
DPA work on the national Disability in Policing Survey has begun in earnest, with the NPCC and CoP anxious to use the anonymous data we provide from the survey to work with the DPA in creating a national Disability in Policing strategy, the first in UK policing.
DCC Andy Prophet with DPA Vice-President (Staff) Lillie Abbott and her support dog Ignatius at the DPA AGM, Essex Police HQ, April 2024
The DPA was recently invited to the Home Office as part of the Deployability Round Table chaired by the Policing Minister, Rt. Hon. Chris Philp, and this was followed up by a series of working groups to discuss the impact of abstractions from frontline policing. I am pleased to report that due to our representations, officers and staff on adjusted duties will no longer automatically be counted as ‘non-deployable’ and are being officially recognised by the Home Office as being extremely valuable to policing.
This recognition and aspects of the DPA 12-Point Plan will be reflected in the next Policing Productivity Review report, due to be published soon.
Of course, we have been remarkably busy with ‘business as usual’ and have continued to work with the other amazing national networks and associations, gaining their expertise and support for our work and theirs, ensuring intersectionality.
As well as all the above, our committee has been working tirelessly as part of the fitness testing working group, the physical demand tactical group and with the Chief Medical Officer, Professor John Harrison at the national Police Wellbeing Service, serving as a ‘critical friend’ on the upcoming guidance for medical standards which will provide much needed clarity and consistency in the assessment of new joiners to policing.
We have been regularly engaging with other partners, such as Supt Paul Burrows, the Police Superintendents Association (PSA) representative for Disability as well as colleagues from the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW).
Most recently we supported the PFEW at the National Ethics Committee, where discussions were held on the impact of some national policies and how they do not always consider how disabled police employees may be disproportionately affected. We are excited to be partnering with academics at both John Moores Liverpool and Portsmouth Universities to corroborate empirical and anecdotal evidence of ableism with credible research.
This will not only inform and support our organisations to improve in terms of internal culture around diverse ability but also in its service provision to the disabled community.
As promised at our conference, the DPA has submitted Freedom of Information requests to all Forces, including Police Scotland and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to determine what has been spent on Employment Tribunals over the last four years. Data is already coming in which shows millions of pounds is being spent, sometimes unnecessarily on defending or settling ETs when often, the simplest of measures could have been employed, with people feeling valued, their talent retained, and public money saved.
Therefore, at the next DPA/NPCC National Conference being held on September 30th and October 1st 2024 in Leicestershire, we will focus on:
Getting it Right First Time
People Before Process
What Success Looks Like
Building on the findings of the Baroness Casey Review, this conference will help and inspire you to:
Improve workplace culture
Build trust and confidence
Develop psychological safety
Understand our people
Increase productivity
Thank you wholeheartedly for your support of the work of the Disabled Police Association. I very much look forward to seeing you at the Conference – look out for your invitation email! ∎
