Police apologise to LGBTQ+ community for prejudice

Sussex Police said it had one of the highest proportion of LGBTQ+ officers and staff of any police force in the UK

The chief constable of Sussex Police has made a "full and unreserved apology" to the LGBTQ+ community for "historical prejudice and ill treatment".

In a letter to LGBTQ+ rights activist Peter Tatchell, Jo Shiner said it was "crucial to address past injustices and acknowledge the harm caused to individuals and minority groups".

Mr Tatchell said it was a "moving, generous apology" that did Sussex police proud.

Sussex Police is the second force to respond to Mr Tatchell's campaign calling on all UK police chiefs to apologise for "decades-long victimisation".

Peter Tatchell has been a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights for decades

In June, the Metropolitan Police chief Sir Mark Rowley acknowledged that systems and processes in place had "led to bias and discrimination in the way we have policed London's communities, and in the way we have treated our officers and staff, over many decades".

The petition demanded an apology for past persecution, which included "raiding bars, clubs, saunas and even private birthday parties".

"Officers arrested same-sex couples for mere kissing, cuddling and holding hands," it said.

Ms Shiner said Sussex was "a very different police force today" but that those actions "diminished trust in the police and led to feelings of injustice that persist among some".

Sussex Police's remit includes the city of Brighton and Hove, which has one of the highest proportions of LGBT+ people in the UK.

Peter Tatchell's petition garnered support from Kent resident Paul O'Grady before his death in March.

Speaking about a police raid on a London LGBT+ venue, Mr O'Grady said: "It was disgusting; it was just offensive.

"We were being treated like animals," he added.

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