Reflection Week 1

Week 1 Policing diversity

When I first started to read about the topic of police diversity I was a little unsure as to what ‘diversity’ it topic was making reference to. Was it diversity within the institution of policing or the diversity of situations, people and places police come into contact with? Both areas of diversity have an impact on how police, police.
An element of policing that until recently I had not put any real thought into was the diversity of targeted policing methods such as drug squads and RBT. Without diversity within the policing model more sophisticated crime would probably go un-policed, such as cybercrime as specialist knowledge would be needed to effectively detect and apprehend the offenders.

The range and breadth of events, people and places police come into contact with on day to day biases also highlights the diversity of situations our police encounter. Where diversity within the service/force meets the broad range positions police work in is the Police Liaison Officer. An individual who comes from a minority group is made a part of the police organisation (not having the powers of sworn officers) and used to liaise with the group they are a part of on behalf of the police.

The various assortment of Liaison Officers such as Aboriginal or GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Transgender, Intersex and Queer, even as a member of that community I am a little confused about the evolution of that acronym: may not feel that way if I was ‘Intersex’ though) is probably a good thing. However such officers make me a little nervous about the quality of the advice and mediation they would be providing due to their lack of powers and understanding of the law.