British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) Source: Google /images

The British Association for Women in Policing (BAWP) which is affiliated to the International Association of Women Police was founded in 1987. It is a partly self- funded organisation supported by the Home Office and run by an Executive Committee consisting of former and serving police officers from around the United Kingdom. The Association's main objective is to enhance the role and understanding of the specific needs of women who are employed in the police service. Members of BAWP include both female and male police officers from not only the 'geographical' police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland but also from police forces such as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police, Royal Air Force Police and others.

The Association helps raise awareness and understanding of issues affecting women police officers with the Home Office, is an associate member of the Women's National Commission and has links with the Equal Opportunities Commission. The BAWP organises training on a variety of topics affecting women in uniform and has well established working relationships with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), Police Federation of England and Wales, Police Superintendents Association, National Black Police Association and the Gay Police Association. The BAWP has piloted a specially designed management and leadership development course for women police officers, which has been absorbed at the Central Police Training and Development Authority (CENTREX), Bramshill (U.K) and helps organise seminars and workshops on issues revolving around women in policing, in addition to publishing a magazine titled 'Grapevine'. Most significantly, the BAWP played an important part in developing the 'Gender Agenda', which was launched on August 21, 2001 and has been adopted by the U.K Home Office.

The Gender Agenda

The Gender Agenda seeks to achieve fair treatment for women police officers particularly through equal representation of women and men in public appointments, appointment on merit, using fair selection procedures. Training is a critical issue identified by the Gender Agenda which is intended to be a living document to enable women achieve their potential within the police force in terms of rank and role. It aims to fulfil the following long term objectives:

• For the Service to demonstrate consistently that it values women officers;
• To achieve a gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation balance across the rank, structure and specialisms consistent with the proportion of women in the economically active population;
• To have a woman's voice in influential policy for a focusing on both internal and external service delivery;
• To develop an understanding of the competing demands in achieving a work/life balance and a successful police career; and
• To have a working environment and equipment of the right quality and standards to enable women officers to do their job professionally.

Results of the First British National Survey on how police forces are implementing the recommendations of the Gender Agenda have been tabulated.

Joining BAWP

Full membership is open to all serving and retired police officers and police support staff in the United Kingdom. However, associate membership is available to others with a professional interest in criminal justice and for members of police forces outside the United Kingdom. In addition, BAWP offers corporate membership to any organisation wishing to demonstrate that it supports the aims and objectives of the association.

The BAWP can be contacted at P.O Box 999, Camberley GU 15 9L (U.K) or by visiting its website www.bawp.org.