The Metropolitan Police has more than 33,000 officers, and just four are openly trans
A police officer wearing rainbow epaulettes at Pride in London. (Getty/ Chris J Ratcliffe)
Out of more than 33,000 officers in the Met Police, just four are openly trans, according to new figures.
The data was obtained by the Press Association through a series of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests on the number of LGBT+ officers in police forces across the country.
Of the 40 regional forces that received requests, just 26 were able to provide this data.
Less than half (40.1 per cent) of Met Police opted to have their sexual orientation recorded.
Of the 33,654 Met Police officers, just four were openly transgender (0.01 per cent), 629 were openly gay or lesbian (5.1 per cent), and 281 (2.1 per cent) were bisexual.
Almost three quarters (70 per cent) of the Met Police is male.
It is hardly surprising that the Metropolitan Police struggles with diversity, as the force has been plagued by allegations of racism, homophobia, bullying and misogyny.
A recent report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), following a years-long investigation, showed the extent of the discrimination and harassment that Met Police officers took part in.
The Operation Hotton learning report, published 1 February, revealed that officers had sent homophobic messages to each other like “you f**king gay” and “f**k you bender”, as well as a male officer threatening to “rape”, “chloroform” and “hate f**k” a female officer.
It also found that these kinds of comments were often dismissed as “laddish banter”.
IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said at the time that “these issues are not isolated or historic”, and urged the force to “tackle underlying cultural issues”.
He added: “The MPS has to enjoy the trust and confidence of its own officers from diverse communities before it can hope to bridge the gap in trust and confidence with the communities it serves.”
Cressida Dick was forced to step down as Met Police commissioner earlier this month over the report, with London mayor Sadiq Khan describing himself as “furious” about the revelations.
Just a few months before the release of the Operation Hotton report, inquests found that Metropolitan Police failings “probably” contributed to the deaths of gay men brutally murdered by serial killer Stephen Port in 2014 and 2015.
The Metropolitan Police declined to comment.
