Police recruit perception of transgender officers: inclusion, diversity and transgender people

Abstract

Purpose The reality of policing in the twenty-first century is that most officers identify as white, heterosexual and cisgender (or identifying with the sex assigned to them at birth) and outnumber officers from diverse groups. Whilst many diverse officers are employed by police organisations, there is a lack of evidence to suggest transgender people seek employment in policing or (following strategic recruitment drives) are actively recruited by police organisations. This raises questions regarding the factors which constrain or facilitate employment of transgender people into policing and whether strategic recruitment drives targeting transgender people work. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Following a recruitment drive targeting diverse community members, an online survey was administered to police recruits in one of Australia’s smaller state based police organisations (n=742) to determine if recruits self-identity as transgender or cisgender, and whether or not self-identified cisgender or transgender recruits would be willing to work alongside one another. Findings The results indicated that all the recruits in this study identified as cisgender. Whilst transgender recruits may have participated in the research, none of the recruits identified openly as transgender in the survey. Consequently, there was a significant association between the recruit’s gender and sexuality, and their perceptions of working alongside transgender officers, with almost all recruits stating that they would prefer to work with cisgender officers. Practical implications The findings of this research contribute original knowledge to the extant body of policing literature regarding police recruit perceptions of working alongside transgender officers. Originality/value This type of research has not been conducted in an Australian context before.

Promoting the police: A thematic analysis of the New Zealand Police recruitment campaigns and the construction of officers’ identities

“…However, the suggestion from this research is campaigns that highlight diversity can work in tandem alongside affirmative action campaigns (Ward et al, 2020) to encourage women, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ + to consider policing roles regardless of geographical location. Such campaigns can assist in breaking down stigmas and challenging stereotypes that have previously shut groups out of the predominantly white, male workplace (Clinkinbeard et al, 2021; Miles-Johnson, 2020). Such messaging and its potential to increase representation may mean that greater effort is placed on ensuring those policing the citizenry also reflect the makeup of society.…”