Unit 3 – Citizenship, Diversity and the public services
Definitions, meanings, concepts and benefits of citizenship and diversity
Due: 29.02.2016
P3 – Assess the benefits of good citizens to the public services and society in respecting equality.
M1 – Analyse the importance to the public services of good citizens respecting equality and
supporting them by respecting the key concepts associated with diversity.
D1 – Evaluate the role of a good citizen in supporting the public services in dealing with equality
and diversity issues.
Citizenship
A citizen is someone who can legally live in a town, country or city, there for citizenship is being
able to legally live in a certain place or area. A good citizen usually takes part in a variety of
activities within the community so that they can contribute to it and make it better. Some of these
activities will include, volunteering in local shops, being part of a programme to help the elderly or
even a gardening club to help the less abled in the community keep their garden clean. As well
as volunteering in community activities a good citizen usually has certain qualities. These will
include; obeying the law, this means that they respect the authorities and follow the rules/ law to
ensure little crime or antisocial behaviour is committed. Following the law also allows them to
positively influence young members in society to follow the law and keep themselves safe and out
of trouble. Having a low crime area means that people are less likely to want to move out of the
area and people will be more willing to move in and boost the community morale. A good citizen
will also contribute to the economy not just as a volunteer to help others but to work. A working
citizen who pays taxes means that they want to help others and provide them services which are
convenient to their needs whether this is a grocery store worker or a member of the public services.
Although contributing to the economy and helping others is an important part of being a citizen, it
is also important that they show patriotism towards their country and show great support in the
decisions that are made to keep us in a stable position. Being patriotic also encourages morale so
that people become more united, one example where patriotism and morale can be boosted is in
the world cup or the Olympics where communities and individuals cheer for their country. Another
quality which a good citizen will show is courtesy and respect for the rights of others, this means
that people can practise their religion and other beliefs in peace without being judged, and they
can be treated with the same respect that anyone else would get. This also means having tolerance
and allowing those who are different from you to be involved and have their own way of life even
if you do not completely agree with it. The final quality a good citizen usually portrays is being
trustworthy and honest, this is an extremely important quality because it allows the community to
work on trust and have faith in one another. Being able to trust you neighbours/ people in the local
area means that they can all rely on one another and are aware of each other’s needs and work
together to keep the community up and running with a positive image.
The public services, whether it is the police, paramedics or any other services see everyone as
equal. When you first join a service you must be able to see everybody as then same and not
discriminate towards anyone because of their skin colour, religion, race, gender or other protected
characteristics. Members of a public service teach tolerance so they must be open to other people’s
way of living even if they do not think it is the right way. They also agree with integration as if you
look at the police force for example, they have a range of people in their line of work, white people,
black people, different races, ages, male and female’s o they need to be open to the idea of working
with other people. Everybody has the right to a fair trial and be treated the same as others when
dealing with the justice system. Without good citizens there would be uncontrollable amounts of
crime which would lead to the services not having enough members to contain it, not having ‘good’
citizens means that there is nobody there to report or give witness statements for major events.
The public services see citizenship as a good thing because it allows our country to be diverse and
for others to learn the different ways of life. Without citizens the police would have no job because
there would be nobody to protect and keep out of trouble. Although the police agree with citizenship
it can cause moral conflicts for example, if a police officer’s family member or close friend
committed a crime, the most appropriate thing to do is to act the way a policeman would do if it
1
Definitions, meanings, concepts and benefits of citizenship and diversity
Due: 29.02.2016
P3 – Assess the benefits of good citizens to the public services and society in respecting equality.
M1 – Analyse the importance to the public services of good citizens respecting equality and
supporting them by respecting the key concepts associated with diversity.
D1 – Evaluate the role of a good citizen in supporting the public services in dealing with equality
and diversity issues.
Citizenship
A citizen is someone who can legally live in a town, country or city, there for citizenship is being
able to legally live in a certain place or area. A good citizen usually takes part in a variety of
activities within the community so that they can contribute to it and make it better. Some of these
activities will include, volunteering in local shops, being part of a programme to help the elderly or
even a gardening club to help the less abled in the community keep their garden clean. As well
as volunteering in community activities a good citizen usually has certain qualities. These will
include; obeying the law, this means that they respect the authorities and follow the rules/ law to
ensure little crime or antisocial behaviour is committed. Following the law also allows them to
positively influence young members in society to follow the law and keep themselves safe and out
of trouble. Having a low crime area means that people are less likely to want to move out of the
area and people will be more willing to move in and boost the community morale. A good citizen
will also contribute to the economy not just as a volunteer to help others but to work. A working
citizen who pays taxes means that they want to help others and provide them services which are
convenient to their needs whether this is a grocery store worker or a member of the public services.
Although contributing to the economy and helping others is an important part of being a citizen, it
is also important that they show patriotism towards their country and show great support in the
decisions that are made to keep us in a stable position. Being patriotic also encourages morale so
that people become more united, one example where patriotism and morale can be boosted is in
the world cup or the Olympics where communities and individuals cheer for their country. Another
quality which a good citizen will show is courtesy and respect for the rights of others, this means
that people can practise their religion and other beliefs in peace without being judged, and they
can be treated with the same respect that anyone else would get. This also means having tolerance
and allowing those who are different from you to be involved and have their own way of life even
if you do not completely agree with it. The final quality a good citizen usually portrays is being
trustworthy and honest, this is an extremely important quality because it allows the community to
work on trust and have faith in one another. Being able to trust you neighbours/ people in the local
area means that they can all rely on one another and are aware of each other’s needs and work
together to keep the community up and running with a positive image.
The public services, whether it is the police, paramedics or any other services see everyone as
equal. When you first join a service you must be able to see everybody as then same and not
discriminate towards anyone because of their skin colour, religion, race, gender or other protected
characteristics. Members of a public service teach tolerance so they must be open to other people’s
way of living even if they do not think it is the right way. They also agree with integration as if you
look at the police force for example, they have a range of people in their line of work, white people,
black people, different races, ages, male and female’s o they need to be open to the idea of working
with other people. Everybody has the right to a fair trial and be treated the same as others when
dealing with the justice system. Without good citizens there would be uncontrollable amounts of
crime which would lead to the services not having enough members to contain it, not having ‘good’
citizens means that there is nobody there to report or give witness statements for major events.
The public services see citizenship as a good thing because it allows our country to be diverse and
for others to learn the different ways of life. Without citizens the police would have no job because
there would be nobody to protect and keep out of trouble. Although the police agree with citizenship
it can cause moral conflicts for example, if a police officer’s family member or close friend
committed a crime, the most appropriate thing to do is to act the way a policeman would do if it
1
