Sussex Police support Trans* Pride in Brighton

Sussex Police and Brighton’s LGBT Police Liaison Team will be supporting Trans Pride in Brighton on Saturday (July 26).

LGBT liaison officer Rory Smith and PC Rich Bridger of the Brighton LGBT team will be manning an information stall in partnership with the ‘Safe In The City’ community safety team to provide practical information about keeping safe and reporting transphobic hate incidents and anti-social behaviour to either Sussex Police or Brighton and Hove City Council.

Police officers who are working on the day will have received a trans awareness briefing from Rory Smith of the LGBT liaison team. To show their support for the event, the Kemptown neighbourhood police team will be wearing the Trans Pride ribbon and the Trans flag will be flown from John Street police station throughout the weekend.

The policing of Trans Pride is to support the event and make it a safe and enjoyable event for all.

PC Rich Bridger, also of the Kemptown team, said: “Not only do we have a duty to serve and protect the public, which very much includes people who identify with one of the many different trans identities, but we support the event for our own personal reasons. The trans community have faced years of oppression and Trans Pride is a fantastic celebration bringing the community together.”

Sussex Police have been working hard in the past few years to improve the way it works with members of the public who are trans identified.

Force trans champion, Acting Chief Inspector Martin Pattenden, explains: “We have created a new trans awareness video for all members of Sussex Police to watch to learn the some of the essentials about working with transgender people, including good communication skills.

“This training package was developed with support and guidance by members of the trans community. We also run a trans reference group whereby we can discuss the concerns of the trans community and receive feedback directly from them. We haven’t always got it right in the past, but we are significantly changing the way we work with the trans community throughout Sussex and those who visit the area.”

Rory Smith added: “Please come and speak to us on the day. We’re really keen to hear your feedback about how we go about our daily business of policing Sussex. There’s still much for us to improve on but you also might be surprised about the things that have changed!”