Message from Andrew George | President of the National Black Police Association

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Racism does not exist on it’s own, we must look hard at the institutions of our society and strive to weed out all forms of discrimination within them.

We cannot truly defeat racism while other forms of intolerance run rampant. It must be remembered there are Black, Asian and minority ethnic LGBT+ people as well as those from other protected groups, who all experience intersectional discrimination. We don’t have any credibility in our struggle for a fair and equal system if we ignore the Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic people who are LGBT+ and the discrimination they face due to their intersectional characteristics.

We must show solidarity with other minority groups and we have to acknowledge the intersecting aspects of discriminatory behaviours & intolerance. We cannot tear down one wall of hatred & intolerance unless we tear them all down, together.

Police staff networks should work together in partnership to help end bias of any sort in policing and I am proud to support the National LGBT+ association in their fight for equality in policing.

 

Andrew George is an Inspector in the Police Service of Northern Ireland having completed 21 years’ service. He is also the President of the National Black Police Association which represents Black, Asian and Minority police officers and staff across the UK.

Message from the Co-Chairs

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Welcome to the National LGBT+ Police Network.

Together, we represent 43 police forces and their LGBT+ networks in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Channel Islands.  We are inclusive of other law enforcement agencies namely Ministry of defence, British transport police, National crime agency, Civil nuclear constabulary and also have a link in with the citizens in policing portfolio. This ensures that those who volunteer with our police services also have a voice around LGBT+ matters

We launched in 2015 as the National Police LGBT+ network after a few years of there not being a national group to represent LGBT+ people within the police service.

Our aim is to support our LGBT+ colleagues and better serve members of the public who identify as LGBT+. We share a common goal to create a police service that reflects our diverse communities and promotes inclusiveness and equality of opportunity for all LGBT+ colleagues.

We work with other national networks across all strands to ensure we better reflect our police family and this continues to be a really valuable way of signposting and helping those within our workplaces to be themselves and also to get the support or advice they need.

Every member of the networks we represent has their own individual reason for getting involved. For us, it was about stepping up and becoming the role models that would have made our own journeys easier when we first joined the police and to be a voice for those who do not feel able to have one

We have come a long way in accepting LGBT+ people but there is still work to be done. We are committed to making life better for all our colleagues and the public, and the resources on this website explain how we plan to do that.

Best wishes

Tracy O’Hara QPM, Merseyside Police and Clinton Blackburn, City of London Police