20 Nov

Dedicated LGBT case worker for Brighton neighbourhood policing team

Posted by Susan Luxford

Brighton and Hove is welcoming a new member to the LGBT policing team. Clare Briscoe has been introducing herself to members of the community and to partner organisations in her new role as LGBT Case Worker. Clare is working within the neighbourhood policing team and as a result is working closely with officers on the beat to tackle LGBT hate crime and hate incidents. She joins full-time dedicated LGBT officer PC Rachel Piggott, PC Rich Bridger and Sergeant Alex Evans.

 

 

Chief Superintendent Graham Bartlett said: “We are delighted to have Clare join us as the LGBT case worker. This post has been vacant for some time as it was critical that we find the right person who has the skills to provide the best possible service to the LGBT communities in Brighton and Hove. Clare joins a strong team in Alex, Rachel and Rich and I look forward to the impact she will have in making people’s lives safer.”

Alex has been a police officer for 12 years, previously working as a Response Sergeant supervising a team of PCs responding to emergency calls. He now works as both the Sergeant for Kemp Town and for the LGBT community across Brighton. Alex said: “I am delighted that Clare has joined the team and she will enhance the work that both Rachel and Rich do in tackling hate crime within the city and looking at ways to enhance the service that we provide to all people that either identify or don’t identify themselves as member of the LGBT community. I want my team to be able to reach and be accessible to anyone that needs our support.

“We warmly welcome anyone to contact us through Facebook, twitter, email, on the telephone or in person. The LGBT has a dedicated email address and all contact will be treated in the strictest confidence.”

Prior to joining the neighbourhood policing team in Kemp Town, Clare answered 999 calls and non-emergency calls from the public. In her spare time Clare volunteers as a Special Constable in Lewes, having previously volunteered in Brighton for over three years.

Clare said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the team in Brighton. Rachel and Rich have built up great relationships within the community over the last year and I’m looking forward to building on the great work they have done to engender trust and confidence in both the communuity and with the agencies we work in partnership with.

“Our team is determined to encourage all victims of LGBT hate crimes and hate incidents to speak out and it report it, whether that be to us or in confidence to a third-party organisation they’re familiar with. We’re looking at ways of raising awareness of the continued specialist support available to victims, but are also finding innovative new ways of enabling victims to get in touch.

“We know that it can be daunting for people reporting incidents and people may prefer the anonymity of speaking to me, Rachel or Rich online. This is why we are introducing online chats as an alternative to traditional face-to-face meetings. Members of the community will still be able to meet with us regularly, but we’re now considering a variety of venues that reflect the diversity of the LGBT community. Not everyone will feel comfortable visiting a town hall, which is why we’ll be having our monthly meetings at popular spots in the area, ranging from the Jubilee library to Kemp Town clubs. It’s about making our services as accessible and welcoming as possible.”

Rachel has been a police officer for eight years and part of the Kemp Town neighbourhood policing team for the last four, gaining first-hand experience of frontline policing within the LGBT community. Rich is a fellow member of the Kemp Town neighbourhood policing team (NPT) and shares his work between NPT and LGBT. He supports Rachel, covering any periods of absence to ensure continuity of service for the LGBT community.

The work of the team receives considerable support from partner organisations in the LGBT community.

Stephanie Scott from the Clare Project, a local group for safe and confidential support for transgender, transsexual and gender dysphoric people, said: “This is a positive move which will help reduce hate crime. Hopefully this, alongside other partnership work between trans groups and the police, will enable the LGBT community to look upon the police as being there to protect us and not hassle us. The Clare Project especially appreciates the efforts this team makes to help reduce the transphobia that many encounter as part of their everyday life.” Visit www.clareproject.org.uk for further confidential support.

If you’d like to chat with Clare, Rachel or Rich, send them a tweet @policeLBGT on Twitter, drop them an email at LGBT@sussex.pnn.police.uk or call 01273 665657. They’re always happy to chat, whatever your concerns or questions. They also hold regular monthly Drop-In’s at the Kemptown Crypt Community Centre, St Georges Road. You can find out when these are taking place on the Zhoosh Events Guide

You can also contact the LGBT community safety officer on 01273 294638 and the Brighton and Hove LGBT switchboard on 01273 204050.

They are there for you.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 20th, 2011 at 8:25 pm and is filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.