Page 19 - WMPF Federation Aug-Sept 2017

treatment from the police. He says there is create safe and inclusive workplaces across
also still a perception among many older the organisation.
LGBT+ people that the police service is As the Force does not officially have gay
institutionally homophobic and transphobic. and lesbian liaison officers, Gary introduced
Outside the Force, part of his work is this role under the staff network.
about educating the LGBT+ community that “These officers act as a bridge between
culturally the Force has changed as an the organisation and those LGBT+ people
organisation. who may be a bit reticent about coming
“I am putting myself out there as a visible forward and talking to us. Some of
example of how LGBT+ people make positive these interactions take place during
contributions to policing every day,” Gary says. duty time – but most of them are
Another element is focussed on educating outside of it,” he points out.
LGBT+ people about taking responsibility for And, as if Gary does not already
themselves, providing advice and guidance on have a wide remit, he and his
how to avoid becoming a crime statistic, and counterparts across the country are
how to stay within the law when using focussing on a campaign calling for
dating and lifestyle apps or making use of reform of current hate crime
public sex environments. legislation, which is not currently
For example, he has delivered a tailored equal for LGBT+ or disabled people
input to an older LGBT+ people’s community compared to the legislation
group – tailored because older LGBT+ people surrounding race and religion hate
are less likely to have children and more likely crime.
to experience isolation and loneliness than Though, as with so many other
their heterosexual counterparts, and are matters, the current political turmoil is not
more likely to become victims of hate crime or helpful.
experience vulnerable adult abuse. “It’s very much taken a back
But it’s not just about educating the burner within Government
LGBT+ communities, Gary is also breaking though, as has a lot of
down barriers within the Force. other legislative reform
Gary highlights the fact that there are still due to the Brexit
a few Force policies that indirectly debacle,” he says.
discriminate against transgender colleagues. l Gary will be
However, he is keen to point out that the presented with his
Force is keen to improve. medal on 12
“There is such a strong desire at the top of September at the
the organisation to get better, and I’m only Council House by
the current guardian of this work – the legacy Prince Edward,
of which must be credited to earlier pioneers Duke of Kent.
like retired PC Jim Field-Evans who chaired the
rainbow network for 10 years,” Gary explains.
“Since taking over, I’ve taken the group in
a different direction, more outward facing
and more engaged with the community but
modern policing is experiencing so much
competing demand from different priorities
that it’s not possible to do much of this stuff
during duty time. Hence why the vast
majority of the work I do is done outside of
working hours.
“My work is about influencing and
effecting change internally – working with
colleagues to educate and inform about the
unique challenges LGBT+ people face in their
everyday lives – like coming out every time
you meet someone new and the importance
of being able to bring your whole self to
work.”
A cornerstone of this work has been the
introduction of LGBT Allies, a scheme Gary
decided to implement across the Force as
chair of the LGBT Network. The scheme has
seen a huge number of the Force’s workforce
sign up and wear a rainbow lanyard in place
of their ordinary one. The objective is to

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