Police & Law Enforcement Network

Employers' Forum on Disability hosts a Police and Law Enforcement Network (PLEN) which has more than fifty members. These include the vast majority of Home Office police services throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The network also includes some Scottish forces and members from the Prison Service, the Law Society and other Law Enforcement agencies such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Richard Dixon, the national network co-ordinator, has a practical law enforcement background and is seconded to EFD until 2009. The aim of the PLEN is to spread best practice throughout the members and to act as a conduit between law enforcement bodies and other agencies both within the public sector and beyond. The network helps with advice on how disability affects the employer/employee relationship and service delivery within the sphere of law enforcement. We are now focusing on how the law enforcement community treats suspects and witnesses who have a disability, and we are working to bring together all aspects of best practice with the aim of adopting this nationally.

For more information, contact Richard Dixon: richard.dixon@efd.org.uk