Gay policeman speaks out for LGBT History Month

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • February 5, 2007 - 14:05

When Insp. Moore first became a police officer he did not feel confident enough to come out.

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A gay police officer has given a newspaper interview about his sexuality in an effort to make the force more accessible to Bexley's gay community.

40-year-old Phil Moore is an inspector responsible for 20 neighbourhood officers in the Bexley area of London.

Moore joined the Metropolitan Police as constable in 1988 but did not tell his colleagues that he was gay until 10 years later, he told newsshopper.co.uk

Now he is using LGBT History Month to promote more inclusive policing in Bexley.

He said: "I was looking at how I could do something, as part of the police's strategy to make ourselves available to all kinds of different groups," he said.

"In places such as Soho it is simple because there are bars or cafes where it is easy to reach the gay community, but in Bexley there are none which I am aware of.

"So this is a message to gay people that if they come to the police because they are a victim of crime or harassment, or have issues with the police, they wl get a sympathetic hearing."

When Insp. Moore first became a police officer he did not feel confident enough to come out.

"I had lived in denial. I wasn't just scared about coming out in the police but in society in general."

When he was attacked by a knife-wielding criminal in 1998, he realised that life was too short to continue to hide his sexuality.

The inspector maintains that he is first and foremost a police officer and not an activist:

"I am not a campaigner. There are people who make issues such as this their life's work.

"But I and some other gay officers fought hard not to be pigeonholed.

"I don't want to be just a gays' liaison officer; just writing policy on gay issues. Catching criminals is far more important. Gay stereotypes are not me."

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