Apologise Now

Conference notes the Apologise Now campaign launched by the Peter Tatchell Foundation

in June 2023, which seeks to obtain apologies from all UK Chief Constables for the

disproportionate application of laws which negatively impacted on the lives of Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual and Trans plus (LGBT+) people.

Merseyside Police issued an apology on the 5th of June 2024 and was reported as being the

twentieth police service in the United Kingdom to apologise. Of note, the Merseyside Police

apology was delivered by the Chief Constable at an event made up of staff and community

members following an in-depth consultation exercise, to make sure that senior leaders knew

what they were apologising for.

Conference recognises that many LGBT+ people, including UNISON members working in

the Police and Justice sector, may have had negative historic experiences with the police,

and notes that in some areas, there continues to be a gap between LGBT+ people and the

wider public on how much confidence they have that the police will treat them fairly and

equally.

Conference also recognises the work that UNISON Police and Justice branches put into

bargaining for better working conditions for LGBT+ staff, including negotiating for trans and

LGBT+ inclusion policies within workplaces and marking the Year of LGBT+ Workers in their

branches.

Conference believes that all police services should engage in the Apologise Now campaign,

consult with their LGBT+ staff and communities, consider making a meaningful apology and

commit to actions to improve relationships between the police and LGBT+ communities,

including LGBT+ people working for the police.

Conference therefore calls on the Police and Justice Service Group Executive to

1)Promote and publicise the Apologise Now campaign to local police and justice

branches.

2. Encourage all police and justice branches to engage with their Chief Constable over

the campaign, seeking to understand either whether they intend to apologise, or why

they did or did not apologise, and what, if anything, they intend to do following an

apology to improve the relationship between the police and LGBT+ people.

3. Work with the UNISON National LGBT+ Committee to seek to incorporate a range of

diverse voices into the We are Police Staff campaign.