THE GAY Police Association said yesterday it would welcome the setting up of a drop-in centre for gay and lesbian officers in Tayside.

A spokesman for the association was speaking after Tayside deputy chief constable Ian Gordon said, “If there is a need for that type of centre in Tayside, there is no reason why there should not be one here.”

A drop-in centre for gay and lesbian officers has already been set up by the Lothian and Borders force in Edinburgh, and another one is about to be opened in Glasgow for officers in Strathclyde.

Mr Gordon said the issue had to be seen in the context of the diversity of society, and he stated, “It is important that the police service reflects the community that we serve.”

The police had to respond to racial and gender issues, and it was right that they also had to be alert to the issue of homophobia.

Mr Gordon explained, “In the past there was a perception that some members of the community were not comfortable reporting issues like these to the police, but we are now actively encouraging the reporting of these incidents so that we can do something about them.

“We recognise the importance of looking at racial incidents and racial hatred, and we monitor and investigate these incidents. It is exactly the same with homophobic incidents. We have to be aware that they exist and we have to monitor and investigate them.”

Mr Gordon said the Tayside force encouraged the entry of ethnic minorities into the recruitment process to help the force reflect the society it served, and people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual were encouraged to pursue police careers for the same reason.

A homophobic incident would not necessarily be investigated by a homosexual officer, but he said everyone in the force from the chief constable down to the cleaners had to be aware and responsive to homophobia wherever it was encountered as part of the policy to acknowledge and reflect diversity.

Within the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland, Paddy Tompkins, the chief constable of Lothian and Borders, is chairing a committee looking at homosexual issues.

There are 30 openly gay police officers in Scotland and about 1000 in England and Wales, according to the latest estimates.

Gay rights groups say there are over 1500 serving officers who may be gay but haven’t admitted to being so, for fear of encountering homophobia.

The GPA spokesman said it was encouraged by Mr Gordon’s comments about the attitude of his force towards what had become a sensitive issue.”

He continued, “To set up a centre, we need an officer in the force who will agree to become the co-ordinator—someone who has come out as a homosexual who can take the lead and give the confidence to others to come forward.

“We hope there is such a person in the Tayside force and we would welcome and encourage the setting up of a centre there.”

The spokesman said a drop-in centre would take the form of forum convening about once a month at a venue away from a police station.

“In other force areas it has been in a gay-friendly pub, and it is an opportunity for gay police officers to meet, discuss common issues and share best practice about developments in their areas,” he explained.

“We would very much like there to be more drop-in centres in Scotland because that is a part of Britain where, by its geography, gay police officers may feel more isolated and be in more need of help and support.”

Gay officers regularly encountered homophobia, which the spokesman said existed mainly in areas where there were strong conservative or religious views in society.