The Occupational Experiences of LGB Police Officers
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Undergraduate Diversity, Crime and Criminal Justice (Sexuality) Mapa Mental sobre The Occupational Experiences of LGB Police Officers, criado por Laura Phillips em 23-05-2014.
The Occupational Experiences
of LGB Police Officers
BACKGROUND
Proliferation of minority research;
focus on race and sex (Brown &
Heidensohn, 1992; Holdaway,1996,
1997; Smith, 1997)
Occupational culture -
hegemonic white masculinity
(Jones, 1987; Heidensohn,
1992; Brown and
Fielding,1993)
Lack of research into
sexuality; Mark Burke
(1993) 'Coming Out of
the Blue'. Sexual
orientation at odds with
'the job'
Police antithetical to
homosexuality (Burke, 1993);
homosexuality threat to
masculine subculture;
criminalisation of homosexuality
Burke (1993) 'Coming Out of the Blue';
Leinin (1993) 'Gay Cops'; Pratt and
Tuffin (1996) 'Police discourses of
homosexual men in New Zealand' -
hostile, negative and stereotyped views
about non-heterosexual people.
Occupational culture -
negative attitudes
(Burke, 1993);
hegemonic
masculinity; resistance
to 'difference';
decrease in respect
for the police
EXPERIENCES OF LGB OFFICERS
Harassment and discrimination in deployment, recruitment and promotion
(Belkin & McNichol, 2002; Miller et al, 2003); gay men restricted in
duties(not appropriate for them to carry out certain police roles?); lesbians
exhibiting masculine traits deployed differently from heterosexual women;
lesbian officers - sexism AND homophobia; fear of bias in the application
of criminal law to LGBT community (Bennett, 1991)
Psychological consequences; double lives, 'dual
persona' (Burke, 1993); difficulties with
relationships; inability to give maximum attention to
police duties; stress and damage to mental health;
high levels of withdrawal from the police before
pensionable age due to psychological breakdown
Pressure to conform;
non-heterosexuals
'out-machoed' the
straights (Myers et al,
2004)
LGB can bring
unique qualities to
the table - improving
relations with the
LGB community;
understanding and
compassion
CHANGING CLIMATES
Macpherson Report (1999); extrapolated
to include police policy and practices in
relation to all minority communities
nationally; including a period of
'institutional reflection'
Legal
protection
Private provisions e.g. the Civil
Partnership Act 2002, the
Humann Rights Act 1998, the
Adoption Act 2005
Revised regulation of police conduct standards
- The Police (Conduct) Regulations 2008.
Diversity as a key professional expectation;
respect, honesty, integrity, lawfulness at the
heart of police organisational ethics; platform
and process through which officers can
formally record discriminatory behaviour
Formal recognition of diversity
as an organisational priority.
Investment in several LGB
initiatives including -
establishment of diversity as a
central performance indicator;
the allocation of budgets to
market police recruitment to
LGB communities; making
diversity training compulsory
for all officers
Police reform agenda. Initiatives to increase LGB representation - the active
recruitment of LGB candidates; the expansion of the national GPA; the
establishment of regional Gay Staff Associations; the establishment of LGB and
transgender liaison officers
IS ALL WELL IN THE
WORKING LIVES OF LGB
OFFICERS?
Morris Inquiry (2004) - ticking boxes / lacking any real substance
Home Office (2005) - still evidence of explicit homophobia
Twenty Years On: The Experiences of LGB Police Officers in E&W (Jones and
Williams, 2013) - 836 police officers from all 43 police forces across E&W filled in
online survey; over 3/4 disclosed their sexual orientation at work; experience of
occupational discriminatory acts (training, deployment, promotion)
17% experienced
discrimination in the
workplace; 10%
deployment; 9%
training; 4% promotion;
12% experienced one
type; 6% experienced
more than one type;
24% officially reported
their discrimination
More likely to experience discrimination: small and
large force; senior rank; length of tenure; gay men;
LGB and ethnic minority; being out at work
SUMMARY
Occupational
culture
LGB officers
experience
harassment and
discrimination