Sargeant Sandra Smith and Samantha Alexander (Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire Women of Colour in Policing Movement) will share their success in running listening circles with police and marginalised groups, specifically women and girls from minority groups who have been affected by male violence against women and girls.

Sandra and Samantha will discuss how to use circles to foster dialogue and create better relationships between marginalised groups and the police, including the steps they took to ensure that the circles worked well and were a safe space for the people involved to talk about their lived experiences. They will also share what they have learned through the process and the impact the circles have had on relationships, police policy and culture, and the women involved.

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This online event will be held on Zoom. You can register on Eventbrite, with variable ticket prices available. Please pay as you are able so that we have the resources to continue to hold these types of events:

£10 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£5 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

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Sergeant Sandra Smith is founder of Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) and is Bedfordshire Police’s Staff Officer to Director of Strategic Services Improvement Command (SSID). Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) started life as a movement for women from ethnic minority backgrounds as well as their allies, whether they are officers, staff, volunteers, or retired working in policing. The movement which started in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire is now national and international. 

The Women of Colour in Policing (WoCiP) movement aims to elevate and champion women from all ethnic minority backgrounds to develop and progress in their careers. The movement is open to all women of colour and works to increase knowledge and understanding of the lived experiences of women from ethnic minority communities. It also addresses issues regarding intersectionality. 

Sam Alexander is a Cultural Intelligence Lead/Inspector Staff Equivalent with Bedfordshire Police and has been a Fingerprint Identification Officer for over 20 years. Sam speaks passionately about being a Black woman with a disability. She talks candidly about her lived experience of navigating a world that is not always accessible.

Sam has made strides across the three forces to bring this important work to the forefront of people’s minds and has started conversations around intersectionality which she believes is instrumental in becoming an inclusive workforce. Sam co-created the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire (BCH) Inclusion and Race programme which calls on the three forces to be actively anti-racist and to hold Listening Circles with colleagues to demonstrate this authentic action. She has also coordinated the three forces submission to become nationally accredited Disability Confident Leaders.