David's Daily Diversions

Cops Out of the Closet

Police officers in this coutry are to be surveyed concerning their sexual orientation. According to The Sunday Times, "New recruits and officers seeking promotion will be asked to state whether they are straight, gay or bisexual. Where the number of gay officers is found wanting, “gay-friendly” recruitment campaigns will be launched to boost numbers." If you want to join up or hope to move up the ladder, it pays to be gay.

The goal, which has been agreed by the Gay Police Association and the Association of Chief Police Officers, is to make sure that at least 10% of the coppers in this country are gay or lesbian. Apparently this is because 6% of the general population is believed to be gay, though it may be as high as 10% in London.

New laws introduced last month explicitly prohibit discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in employment. Though clearly not what was intended, it may be that heterosexuals will have to avail themselves of redress through this legislation.

Greater Manchester police has expressed an interest in taking part but has yet to confirm its participation. They are probably still busy trying to get rid of all their officers who were shown on television bragging about beating up Asians. They might find difficulty in meeting quotas for gays.

This new quota system is going to place a strain on the general public. As the number of homosexual police officers increases, confusion will reign in terms of perjorative slang. (The use of which I would never condone - I'm merely observing sociological phenomenon.) The same term is used in this country for both homosexuals and crooked policemen. Given that 10% will be gay and 10% are honest, and there is no guarantee it will be the exact same 10%, how can this problem be solved without adjectival redundancy?