'I was the Met Police's first openly gay, Black officer and nearly broke me' - MyLondon

Contents:

• FIRST GAY POLICE CHIEF LLS FOR MORE ‘VISIBLE ROLE MOLS’ TO ATTRACT DIVERSE RECS
• 'I WAS THE MET POLICE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY, BLACK OFFICER AND NEARLY BROKE ME'GAMAL 'G' TURAWA SPENT S SILENCE THE METROPOLAN POLICE BUT N NOW SPEAK EELYGETWTLONDONBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYJOSIAH MORTIMERCY HALL EDOR06:00, 12 MAR 2022UPDATED08:15, 12 MAR 2022BOOKMARKBEG A POLICE OFFICER WAS PART OF "FTG " FOR GAMAL TURAWA - WHILE BURYG HIS INTY (IMAGE: GAMAL)SIGN UP FOR NEWS AND FEATUR OM OUR DIVERSE MUNI MORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 SIGN UP FOR NEWS AND FEATUR OM OUR DIVERSE MUNI INVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
• GAY POLICE OFFICER 'DISAPPOTED' ABOUT BEG UNABLE TO MARCH UNIFORM AT PRI LONDON PARA
• GAY NEW LONDON POLICE OFFICER CELEBRAT PRI, REFLECTS ON 'HOW FAR WE'VE E'
• GAY MOSW · CY GUI

FIRST GAY POLICE CHIEF LLS FOR MORE ‘VISIBLE ROLE MOLS’ TO ATTRACT DIVERSE RECS

Watch: ITV News Meridian’s K Bradshaw jos senr officer Adrian Hanstock on his fal patrol before retirement to discs diversy the police service The first openly gay chief nstable has lled for more "visible role mols" policg to help addrs the "ongog challenge" of attractg recs om diverse backgrounds. “It was a risk, back the mid-80s, anybody who was different – my se beg gay – was jt never somethg that matched policg, ” Mr Hanstock said. ” Adrian Hanstock joed officers and staff at London Bridge railway statn last week, ahead of his retirement om Brish Transport Hanstock, who liv near Tunbridge Wells Kent, is thought to have bee the first openly gay man to hold the rank of chief nstable the UK, when he took charge of the Brish Transport Police (BTP) Febary 2021, on a temporary began his reer as a filg clerk wh Nottghamshire Constabulary, before he beme a nstable 1985.

Watch: Adrian Hanstock discs the ‘overt homophobia’ of the 1980s and how greater diversy n create a more ‘reprentative and profsnal’ police cultureA filg clerk was Mr Hanstock's first job policg Nottghamshire the '80s. Cred: Adrian Hanstock / BTP“Overt homophobia” was monplace when he started out as a PC, and spe big improvements lleagu wh “extreme views” are still a challenge today, acrdg to Mr Hanstock.

“Our role now, and particularly those of who have learship rponsibily, is to tackle that head on, to set the culture and tone, by beg visible role mols; whether you’re gay or a woman policg or black or mory ethnic, all of the factors help create a more reprentative culture but a more profsnal culture. 7% gay or lbian, 2. Araf Rahman, who is a Police Communy Support Officer (PCSO) wh BTP, is of Asian herage and also gay.

'I WAS THE MET POLICE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY, BLACK OFFICER AND NEARLY BROKE ME'GAMAL 'G' TURAWA SPENT S SILENCE THE METROPOLAN POLICE BUT N NOW SPEAK EELYGETWTLONDONBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYJOSIAH MORTIMERCY HALL EDOR06:00, 12 MAR 2022UPDATED08:15, 12 MAR 2022BOOKMARKBEG A POLICE OFFICER WAS PART OF "FTG " FOR GAMAL TURAWA - WHILE BURYG HIS INTY (IMAGE: GAMAL)SIGN UP FOR NEWS AND FEATUR OM OUR DIVERSE MUNI MORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 SIGN UP FOR NEWS AND FEATUR OM OUR DIVERSE MUNI INVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

” Reflectg on his 37-year reer policg, Mr Hanstock said: “When I joed there were no gay people policg full stop, let alone learship rol, so the thought of beg a chief officer never entered my md... Pri London says uniformed officers should not march the para, followg lls om LGBTQ+ mpaigners to bar them due to Stland Yard’s “homophobic” handlg of the vtigatn to the serial killer Stephen move me after the human rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell said the se, which the pennt police watchdog recently announced was revtigatg, showed that “stutnal homophobia is alive and kickg the Metropolan police”.

Tatchell add that the se, as well as other recent revelatns of homophobia, racism and misogyny the force, meant Pri London need to take a stand on police officers’ participatn the said if the Met police had nducted a proper vtigatn after the murr of Port’s first victim, Anthony Walgate, the three other young gay men Port subsequently killed would still be alive.

”The Gay Liberatn Front, which anised the first Pri march 1972, has also signed an open letter llg for an end to not only police takg part the para but also patrollg the letter, anised by Lbians and Gays Support the Migrants, stat: “The anised prence of police at Pri en masse provis a platform to an stutn that reprs . “Back 1972, we would have never accepted the police marchg the para, bee they were wch-huntg , ” he programme for the 1972 march began by listg recent prosecutns of several gay men for sex public toilets, known as ttagg, havg been arrted by “placloth pigs”.

GAY POLICE OFFICER 'DISAPPOTED' ABOUT BEG UNABLE TO MARCH UNIFORM AT PRI LONDON PARA

Some of the police shoved and a few ma homophobic remarks.

”Later that day when marchers arrived at Hy Park and held a piic, lled a Gay Day, Tatchell said police watched them same-sex kissg, which was then an arrtable offence.

” And the homophobic on, too: “Gayyyyyy”, “You f***g gay! And for Gamal 'G' Turawa, the Met Police’s first openly gay, Black officer, they me as no surprise.

GAY NEW LONDON POLICE OFFICER CELEBRAT PRI, REFLECTS ON 'HOW FAR WE'VE E'

I had grown up believg beg gay was wrong, evil and a s. Gamal ('G') at a gay pri event after beg the first openly-gay black Met Police officer. Jt over 20 years ago, I worked for what was then known as the Gay London Policg Group, or Galop.

Others were om men and women who'd been the victim of what we would now ll homophobic hate crime and who were reluctant to go to the police, for fear that they wouldn't receive fair was also volved police liaison. We tried to te new recs at Hendon about homophobia, though the nteen culture of the time meant that this was often an uphill stggle.

GAY MOSW · CY GUI

And 1991 we were stmental settg up the London Lbian and Gay Policg Iniative – a aln of reprentativ om var muny groups who met wh officers at New Stland Yard to discs ncerns about policg practice the me for some heavy cricism for this.

Tal of police entrapment and a poor clear-up rate for anti-gay crime had done ltle to enar the Met to a muny which felt that was unfairly treated.