The Public Services know the legal and humanitarian rights that protect citizens and promote diversity. Human rights promote diversity; e.g. United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Geneva Convention, European Convention on Human Rights, Human Rights Act 1998.
How organisations (Public Services) view citizenship:
Each one of us plays a role which contributes to society so therefore makes us citizens. The Public Service workers have to act as model citizens when dealing with the general public. When recruiting, the senior police officers look for these citizenship qualities which are: flexibility, teamwork, diplomacy, management skills and determination. To become a police officer there are national requirements. Recruits must be British citizens, EC/EEA national or Commonwealth citizens or foreign nationals with no restrictions on their stay in the U.K
Leicester is the most diverse city in the U.K and Europe. Below are some facts about Leicester.
1. Ethnicity
Approximately 40% of Leicester’s population has an ethnic minority background and the city is projected to have a non-white majority population sometime after 2011 (LCC estimates)
Most, 28%, of Leicester’s minority ethnic population are Gujarati Indians, originally either from East Africa, especially Uganda and Kenya, or from Gujarat, India
Other smaller communities in the city include the African Caribbean and Somali communities, both at around 3% each, as well as Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, other African and a Chinese community
54% of Leicester’s school pupils have an ethnic minority background.
2. Age and Gender
Leicester has a relatively young population as 45% of residents are under 29 years old
52% of Leicester population is female, 48% is male
the number of people over 60 in Leicester is declining as older residents move to the neighbouring areas in the county
Nearly a quarter of older people in Leicester are from Black and ethnic minority communities.
There are substantially greater proportions of women aged 20 -35 and over 65.
However, when compared to the national community in the U.K, The following stats are:
white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%,
Black 2%
Indian 1.8%
Pakistani 1.3%
mixed 1.2%
Other 1.6% (2001 census)
Benefits of being a good citizen:
Being a good citizen and volunteering looks impressive on your C.V, gains new experience and knowledge and can be very rewarding.
Volunteering in the UPS is very helpful as there resources are not stretched. For example, ST Johns ambulance goes to football matches so it doesn’t waste ambulances which are needed elsewhere, and helps the cost for the government for the UPS.
Volunteers in the community is helpful for the charity shops, volunteer workshops for the community etc. and helps show that you are a good citizen and wants to help and improve deprived communities or help fundraising for charities. It also makes you as a person looks good and also may make you feel good.
Protecting the environment is important as more trees and natural wildlife are in decline due to the expansion of cities, roads and rising pollution. Global Warming is happening quicker and things like using the car less, using public transport, energy efficient appliances, turning off lights when not needed, buying local produce can all contribute to the reduction of global warming and help protect your children’s future. Doing this is an example of a good citizen.
Standing up for injustice and what is right and wrong is seen as a good citizen and will get praised for by others. By making a positive difference in the communities you can help society to become better and fairer and you will be recognised for the good you have done. This is beneficial and the Public Services look at these citizens as beneficial to them and are ideal role models, and getting a job would be made easier. Wanting to improve society also shows the ambition, dedication and determination most employers look for and want in their employees.
Good citizenship is important to the public services as they need to be able to integrate with different ethnic origins and communities, especially in Leicester. They need to acknowledge that people have different views and not to be narrow minded as they work with the community on a daily basis. They also need to give equal opportunities when recruiting as they need people from different backgrounds/religions to interact and socialise with the communities of the same background/religion and makes the public service look good and helpful. Furthermore, Public service workers need to be good citizens as they need to respect society and diversity and have an open mind when interacting with different cultures and have positive characteristics. Among these characteristics are consideration for others, living responsibly and strong work ethic. However, there are weaknesses as most do prejudge without realising it which then effects how you treat the person and your attitude towards them. To get round this you would have to practise and learn when you know you are prejudging someone and stop yourself.
Good citizens need to help the public services erase bad issues of equality and diversity. There is still racism in society, especially at the moment with football. E.g. the John Terry saga or the Suarez saga where they supposedly said a racist comment to a different ethnic origin footballer and now Suarez is on an 8 match ban. Good citizens need to stick up for diversity and report any racist behaviour and back campaigns of against racism etc. Personally, the advantages of good citizenship are that you can get a sense of achievement and can really help the communities or people that are in need of help and a lift to get them back on track in life. Helping charity shops/organisations is very good as you never know if you may need one of those organisations to help you in the future, so there survival is important. If it weren’t for people volunteering then there would be a lot more problems in society and life would be much tougher for some people. I think that these points make volunteering have a good worth and are very significant. However, the disadvantages of being a good citizen is that it can be very challenging and stressful and may put too much pressure on you and it may affect your life in a bad way and could affect the people who you are close to you. And with the situations you may come across or have to deal with can be very tough mentally and it may be hard to leave it away from the home.
The implications for the public services and society of people who are not playing the role of good citizens is that it leaves the problems unanswered and then they get worse overtime until they may become unsolvable and out of control. And the people who are not good citizens could be the ones doing the crimes and being anti-sociable which causes problems for the police as they have more crimes and stuff to deal with, but it also effects the society as they have to live the aftermath or damage caused by these bad citizens. Also, it then has a chain reaction on the taxpayer who has to pay more policing fees and prison fees as it uses up resources. So the worth of being a bad citizen is worthless and affects a lot of people, including you.
