Police investigate copycat homophobic posters
Lancashire Police is investigating homophobic posters in Glasgow which claims to be part of a recruitment campaign for the force.
Police in Lancashire are treating it as a “homophobic incident” and are stressing the force has nothing to do with the posters.
Insp Ian McCann, from Lancashire Police’s diversity unit, told the Lancashire Evening Post, “During the last few days we have become aware of posters that have been found in and around the Glasgow area that purport to be from Lancashire Constabulary. These are based on a previous Lancashire recruiting campaign from 2001.”
“The words initially read as per the recruitment campaign, before it was changed into an anti-police message, suggesting that certain people should not join the police service.”
“We consider the bogus poster to be a homophobic incident.”
“While the production quality of the adverts does not appear to be of the usual standard, some people may be duped into thinking these are official Constabulary posters. We wish to state that these posters are nothing to do with the Constabulary and the message is totally contrary to our stance on diversity.”
The posters have been condemned by lesbian, gay and bisexual support groups.
A spokesman from OutRage!, a national organisation which aims to fight homophobia, said: “As far as we are concerned, whoever is distributing them is being totally irresponsible.”
“It can’t in any way improve relationships between the police, gay people and citizens in general, so whoever is circulating them is either stupid or down right wicked.
“It’s a totally pointless exercise. Someone has more money and time on their hands than they have sense. We fail to see what point there is in circulating the posters like that.”
