Staffordshire police issues formal apology for historic treatment of LGBTQ+ community

Staffordshire Police’s Acting Chief Constable has issued a formal apology for the force’s historic treatment of LGBTQ+ people, responding to the Peter Tatchell Foundation’s “Apologise Now!” campaign.

In a letter to the Foundation, Acting Chief Constable Becky Riggs acknowledged that while officers were required to enforce the laws in place at the time, “some individuals in policing acted in ways that went beyond what the law required and caused harm”.

She wrote: “The manner in which certain laws were enforced prior to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 2003 was, in many cases, inappropriate, discriminatory, and fell short of the standards the public should expect.

“On behalf of Staffordshire Police, I want to express sincere regret and offer a heartfelt apology for the actions and behaviours that led to ill-treatment or harm experienced by members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“Thankfully, we have come a long way since then and we are now a much more inclusive and diverse organisation that plays an active role in engaging positively with our LGBTQ+ community, both internally and externally.”

Riggs said the force is actively encouraging the reporting of hate crime, with third-party reporting centres introduced to improve access. “I am pleased that more people are now reporting hate crime than ever before, and, in turn, we now see more prosecutions for hate crime,” she added.

Every team within Staffordshire Police now has a designated hate crime champion, and the force’s LGBTQ+ network runs the ‘Hate Crime Spotlight’ initiative to support local teams in responding to and investigating hate-motivated offences.

“While I am proud of our progress, there is still more work to do, and I always welcome the feedback of the LGBTQ+ communities on how we can improve our service,” Riggs said.

Peter Tatchell described the apology as “a much-appreciated acknowledgement of the suffering caused by decades of discriminatory policing”.

“We are pleased to see that Staffordshire Police are committed to match their words with sustained action nowadays to ensure LGBT+ people are protected, respected and treated equally,” he said.

Tatchell noted that 22 police forces across the UK, including London’s Metropolitan Police, have now issued similar apologies following pressure from the Peter Tatchell Foundation. “This is many times more police apologies than in any other country in the world,” he said.

He added that the Foundation is continuing to press the remaining 23 Chief Constables to follow suit, highlighting West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Northern Ireland as forces that have so far refused to apologise despite what he described as some of the worst records of historic homophobic policing.

Tatchell said Staffordshire’s move is an important step in addressing historic injustice and stressed that rebuilding trust with LGBTQ+ communities depends on both accountability for past actions and sustained commitment to equality today.