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Metropolitan Police Service
LGBT+ Community Liaison Officers
After several years of catastrophic mishandling, it's welcome news MPS is restoring LGBT+ liaison officers as full-time paid positions. This is due, in no small part, to the efforts of the LGBT+ Independent Advisory Group. Now titled LGBT+ Community Liaison Officer, their role is to:
- Provide a consistent point of contact for LGBT+ people and organisations
- Improve engagement between police and members of the LGBT+ community
- Support LGBT+ victims of crime
- Provide advice and support to investigations
- Provide crime prevention advice especially to prevent homophobia, transphobia, biphobia and other forms of hate crime and intersectionality
- Support LGBT+ community events
- Support incidents impacting LGBT+ communities
- Raise awareness and understanding of LGBT+ community issues within the Met (MPS)
MPS says they are "...by a network of volunteer liaison officers who are police officers or members of police staff who perform the liaison role in addition to other duties. Many are passionate about supporting LGBT+ communities, have strong existing local connections and an understanding of historic community issues in their local area."
LGBT+ community liaison officers | MPS
Contact your LGBT+ Community Liaison Officer (LGBT+ CLO)
If you want to search for your LGBT+ CLO by Basic Command Unit, click here. Otherwise, below is a list of LGBT+ CLO email addresses by London Borough alphabetically. Ideally, there would also be names and phone numbers, but the MPS is a sprawling organisation, and officers move on. However, we have email, which is more than LGBT+ Londoners had a few months ago!
Barking and Dagenham | Email East Area BCU
Barnet | Email North West BCU
Bexley | Email South East BCU
Brent | Email North West BCU
Bromley | Email South Area BCU
Camden | Email Central North BCU
Croydon | Email South Area BCU
Ealing | Email West Area BCU
Enfield | Email North Area BCU
Greenwich | Email South East BCU
Hackney | Email Central East BCU
Hammersmith and Fulham | Email Central West BCU
Haringey | Email North Area BCU
Harrow | Email North West BCU
Havering | Email East Area BCU
Hillingdon | Email West Area BCU
Hounslow | Email West Area BCU
Islington | Email Central North BCU
Kensington and Chelsea | Email Central West BCU
Kingston | Email South West BCU
Lambeth | Email Central South BCU
Lewisham | Email South East BCU
Merton | Email South West BCU
Newham | Email North East BCU
Redbridge | Email East Area BCU
Richmond | Email South West BCU
Southwark | Email Central South BCU
Sutton | Email South Area BCU
Tower Hamlets | Email Central East BCU
Waltham Forest | Email North East BCU
Wandsworth | Email South West BCU
Westminster | Email Central West BCU
Historical content before 2023
The Met goes on to say they complement the work of Hate Crime Outcome and Performance Officers, whilst elsewhere they help increase awareness and provide advice and information. Under the auspices of the Met’s staff support association LGBT+ Network, the role is voluntary and must be carried out in addition to a person’s current position. It is open for all officers and staff, including Specials and volunteers. It is not necessary that an individual identifies as LGBT+ and they are not required to declare their sexuality or gender, including gender identity and expression. We continue to seek to build on the commitment and expertise amongst our existing cohort of colleagues across BCUs and Commands, along with harnessing offers from new volunteers, who may consider themselves Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and therefore capable of being an LGBT+ Adviser.
Short film about MPS LGBT+ Advisors | MPS LGBT+ Network | 29 Dec 2021 | 2m 1s
How many Advisers are they and where are they located?
It's been a struggle to tally the number of Advisers and where they're located (until a recent FOI) mostly because there has been so little information about them,
- 19 November 2020 - 16 March 2021
A question to the Mayor of London answered 16 March 2021 said the Met was "appointing 250 advisers" specialising in LGBT+ hate crime. The Mayor's response did not dispute this figure. - 10 December 2021
Following the conclusion of the East London Inquests into the deaths of Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor, the Met said in a statement "we have 125 volunteer LGBT+ advisers across the Met". - January 2022
In response to a Freedom of Information request (01.FOI.21.022447) by MENRUS.CO.UK, the MPS said it has 132 LGBT+ Advisers - 80 across the 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs) with 52 located in other business areas and commands.
Using data from the FOI, the list below shows where the 80 BCU Advisers are located - assuming these are probably front line/ beat officers. We are awaiting further clarification as to where the 52 Advisers are located in "other business areas and commands".
- Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster
Central West BCU (AW): 10 Advisers - Kingston, Merton, Richmond and Wandsworth
South West BCU (SW): 6 Advisers - Bromley, Croydon and Sutton
South Area BCU (SN): 4 Advisers
- Bexley, Greenwich and Lewisham
South East BCU (SE): 7 Advisers - Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge
East Area BCU (EA): 5 Advisers - Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow
West Area BCU (WA): 3 Advisers - Lambeth and Southwark
Central South BCU (AS): 12 Advisers - Enfield and Haringey
North Area BCU (NA): 6 Advisers - Hackney and Tower Hamlets
Central East BCU (CE): 11 Advisers - Camden and Islington
Central North BCU (CN): 5 Advisers - Barnet, Brent and Harrow
North West BCU (NW): 3 Advisers - Newham and Waltham Forest
North East BCU (NE): 8 Advisers
How does the LGBT+ community contact LGBT+ Advisors? The short answer is you can't.
From time to time, some of our volunteers have tried to reach out to LGBT+ Advisers but there's nothing on the MPS website and the response from 111 was not helpful. From what we can ascertain, an LGBT+ person cannot contact a local LGBT+ Adviser directly which is disappointing. If Advisers proactively work to prevent crime and encourage active citizenship and build trust and confidence - as the MPS wants us to believe - knowing where they are and how to contact them might be a good start?
It's doubly frustrating because, answering a question about LGBT+ Advisers (25/01/22), Commissioner Dick said "They're a brilliant bunch. If anybody wants to come and meet them, they're a fantastic group of people. And they're very active. And they are there to advise their colleagues and to support the BCU commander and any SIOs and anyone else who needs advice and support. And to reach out into communities."
How many LGBT+ Liasion Officers/ LGBT+ Advisers are there? | Police and Crime Committee | London Assembly | 25 Jan 2022 | 4m 48s
Transcript of Q&A | PDF
Police and Crime Committee | London Assembly/ Mayor of London | 25 Jan 2022
LGBT+ Advisers FOI | MPS | 12 Jan 2022
Met LGBT+ Advisors | Question and Answer | Mayor of London | 19 Nov 2020/ 16 Mar 2021
Metropolitan Police Service: Business Plan progress report | Quarter 3 2019-20
page 6: "The role of an LGBT+ Advisers will, complement the work of Hate Crime Co-ordinators in BCU Partnership & Prevention Hubs. LGBT+ Advisers will be embedded in other commands, in order to create a broad representation; and be a source of advice and information."
MET LGBT+ Network | @MetLGBTNetwork
