As part of the Police Uplift Programme to attract new officers representing our diverse communities, the Disabled Police Association is delighted to announce that a recruitment video featuring a disabled officer has been released on joiningthepolice.co.uk, the applications portal for police forces in England and Wales.

The DPA’s film features Keyur Patel, an Acting Inspector with the Metropolitan Police who was diagnosed with leukaemia. Cancer is an example of an illness that is treated as a disability due to the impact that it has on day-to-day life.

Tracy Betts, DPA President, said: “It is great to see disability featured in a national police recruitment campaign, and we are grateful to Keyur for sharing his story. We would urge anyone with a disability who is looking for a challenging and rewarding career to look at the options available for joining the police service.”

For more information, click on the link to go to the DPA page on the Joining The Police
website. ∎

To celebrate the start of UK Disability History Month, the Disabled Police Association is proud to announce the first ever police national hearing survey.

The survey has been created to ensure we are aware of how many officers, staff, or volunteers having a hearing condition to ensure support is available to them. Data will be used to drive forward essential work and projects in relation to hearing on a national level.

The DPA would like to thank our colleagues in Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and Greater Manchester Police for creating the survey, and the Police Federation and Unison for supporting the project.

The survey is open to all officers, staff, volunteers including Specials, cadets, contractors etc. with hearing loss or a hearing related condition.

The survey link will be circulated to Force disability support networks. The link can also be accessed from our website Members’ Area (password required). ∎

The Disabled Police Association held its third Annual Conference on the 20^th and 21^st September 2023 at the Leonardo Hotel, Hinckley Island.

The event was attended by representatives from police forces and the criminal justice community across the UK. Guest speakers included Tom Pursglove MP, Minister of State for Disabled People, Health & Work, and Derbyshire Constabulary Assistant Chief Officer Andrew Price, NPCC Lead for Disability, who opened the conference.

A ceremony was held on the evening of the first day to present awards to colleagues nominated for their work in championing and supporting disability in policing.

DPA President Tracy Betts said: “It was fantastic to see so many people coming together to recognise the ability and determination of our disabled workforce. On behalf of the DPA I would like to congratulate our award winners, and I extend my thanks to our guest speakers for giving their time to speak to us, and to the unsung heroes who demonstrate their talent and commitment every day and who made the conference possible.”

Click on the link for a review of the Conference by Police Oracle (registration required). ∎