For the first time in Wales, people who have suffered a hate crime in Gwent, because they identify themselves as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender will now be given specialist support and advice by specially trained police officers and staff.
LGB&T Liaison Officers have been specially trained to provide victims with additional support throughout the investigative process. It is hoped this additional resource available to victims will encourage those who have experienced a hate crime to have more confidence in reporting it.
Fourteen officers and staff members from across the force have been identified as LGB&T liaison officers and more will be trained in six months time. Any victim of an LGB&T hate crime will be offered the assistance of one of the officers alongside the investigating officer. The main duties of the LGB&T officer include liaison with the LGB&T communities; to give information, support and advice to victims and witnesses of crimes and incidents; to signpost victims to other support agencies; give support and advice to officers dealing with homophobic incidents; promote an understanding amongst colleagues about the needs of local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities and to offer support and advice to police officers and staff.
A survey conducted by Gwent Police at the Mardi Gras (held in Cardiff in September) showed that 96 % of the 46 people questioned said that having an LGB&T Liaison Officer would be a good idea and 42 out of those people surveyed said that having a LGB&T Liaison Officer would encourage them to report incidents.
The posts were open to all officers and police staff and was not limited to those who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The officers received two days of training from officers from Hampshire Constabulary who have had LGB&T Liaison officers since 1996.
Assistant Chief Constable Simon Prince said:
“It is estimated that one in 12 people in Gwent classes him or herself as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender which is a significant number of people in our force area. Not only do we want to provide the best service to the greatest number, what matters is being able to represent and give the best possible support to each and every member of the community. We hope that the introduction of LGB&T liaison officers will encourage members of the community to report hate crimes which are traditionally under reported. If we can encourage greater reporting it will enable us to gain a greater understanding of hate crime and the extent to which people are suffering but also to better enable us to tackle it”
