Gender parity is important
Last week saw us celebrate International Woman’s Day which takes place each year on March 8.
The theme for 2022 is #Breakthebias, calling for a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
This marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
International Women’s Day has been observed for well over a century, with the first gathering held in 1911.
Today, significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements, or rally for women’s equality.
Do we still need an International Women’s Day? Yes.
There’s no place for complacency. According to the World Economic Forum, sadly we will not see gender parity in our lifetimes, nor will the next generation.
Gender parity will not be attained for almost a century.
There’s urgent work to do – and we can all play a part.
Police Scotland has a duty and opportunity to lead changes which improve the lives and experiences of all our communities, including our own officers and staff.
This is vital to maintain and build the bond of trust from which we draw legitimacy, so it is both an operational necessity and morally the right thing to do.
It is encouraging that the number of woman joining the service is increasing. The proportion of our officers who are female has increased to around one third of the overall total, and, importantly, it’s also risen in senior ranks since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.
At the same time, we have improved how we consider the needs of officers and staff to balance their professional and personal lives, including significant work to improve how we respond to requests for flexible working arrangements.
On March 8, a male attended at a store in Lanark and allegedly produced a bladed article towards the female store assistant before demanding money from the till. He then left the store without managing to obtain any monies and made off on foot.
Local community officers immediately attended and carried out enquiries which led to a suspect being identified for the alleged offence shortly afterwards.
A 31-year-old male was thereafter arrested and charged with assault with intent to rob, possession of a bladed article and drug offences.
He was held in custody to appear at court the following day.
On March 10, officers were on patrol in the Crossford area where they observed a motor vehicle travelling in the opposite direction which matched the description of a vehicle which had been stolen in the Wishaw area.
Officers instructed the driver to stop to which he exited the vehicle and allegedly made off on foot before being apprehended by the officers following a foot chase.
A 33-year-old male was arrested for theft of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest before being held in custody to appear at court the following day.
Members of the public are reminded to remain vigilant in regard to vehicle crime which continues to be prevalent.
If you have any relevant information or matters you feel should be reported to the police, you can do so by calling 101 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.