Two officers from Northamptonshire Police have featured in a video as part of the global campaign to end homophobic hate and reduce suicide among young gay people.
The ‘It Gets Better’ video was organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and The College of Policing and was released on International Day Against Homophobia, on Friday.
For the first time, 36 lesbian, gay and bisexual police officers and staff from 16 UK police forces tell their stories, providing a message of transformation, hope and encouragement to vulnerable young gay people.
They included Sergeant Sam Dobbs, from the Daventry Safer Community Team, and DC Rob Smith, from the force’s hate crime unit
DC Smith, said: “A lot of things are very different for young people who think they may be LGBTQ in this day and age. One thing that is and has always been the same though is bullying.”
“I was aware of the Its Gets Better campaign via the internet and YouTube, so when I was asked if I wanted to be involved, I was very keen to be able to play a small part in trying to help young LGBTQ people who may be going through a tough time because of who they are, or what others perceive them to be.”
Officers involved in the production of the video hope it will encourage young gay people to see the police as approachable.
Sergeant Dobbs added: “Being young and gay is very hard and we want people to know that the police family is a very approachable and tolerant one.
“Police officers are not a group of cold people who have no understanding of what others are living with, we are all human and have all been through very different experiences in our lives, enabling us to empathise with others, including young, gay people.”