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Questions and Answers from LGBT applicants

  • 19-10-2015 10:37pm
    #1
    mmaher14
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭


    LGBT
    I am gay and have been moved on to second stage of application for 2016 intake. Just wondering if there are many lgbt members in psni and what they feel like in terms of fitting within the environment etc?


Comments

  • #2
    Shield
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Help & Feedback Category Moderators Posts: 9,643 CMod ✭✭✭✭Shield


    Hello, and welcome to boards.ie

    Congratulations on being progressed to the next stage of the recruitment competition.

    Unless you're a complete drama llama about your sexuality, and you don't shove it in people's faces at every available opportunity, being a member of the LGBT community in the PSNI isn't really something that your colleagues will care too much about. The main concern we have for people coming out of Garnerville is "Can you do the job?". If you can, you'll be welcomed with open arms by the huge majority of your peers and senior officers.

    The number of people who judge Constables by their personal and private sex lives really is tiny these days by comparison to 20 years ago, and if one of these people were to try and make fun/comments/insults about you or your sexual orientation, they'd be hard pressed to find someone with their mindset on average. They just don't have the ability to accept that society and attitudes have changed enormously towards our LGBT colleagues in the past decade or two.

    In my experience, the people I refer to are ex-RUC, and are not in their 20s or 30s. Instead, their reality (based on history) tells them that this job isn't for queers. The sooner that type of person retires, the better it will be for the job, and for the communities we serve. For the record, this is not to be seen as a slight against all ex-RUC colleagues. I have worked with several ex-RUC colleagues down through the years, and they have helped me greatly in various ways, for which I am massively grateful.

    The point I'm trying to make is, all homophobic/bigoted remarks that I have heard being made down through the years (with the odd exception here and there) have been made by ex-RUC officers, but not all ex-RUC officers make homophobic/bigoted remarks.

    If you were successful in your application, and anything happened while you were either in training, or in your station, you would find that the very large majority of your colleagues (including your superior officers) would automatically jump to your defence, while as the same time, letting the offender know that their actions/comments were unacceptable, unfunny, and inappropriate.

    I hope this is helpful in some way.

    -Shield.
    mmaher14 wrote: »
    LGBT
    I am gay and have been moved on to second stage of application for 2016 intake. Just wondering if there are many lgbt members in psni and what they feel like in terms of fitting within the environment etc?


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