Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Since it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in recruitment the LGBT community has full equality and protection under the law. So, why is the PSNI falling over itself to pander to this selected group in society? Having already endorsed their campaign for Same Sex Marriage hasn’t the PSNI done enough genuflecting already?
“Recruitment must solely be on merit. That is a principle which cannot be tamed or directed to boost any community.
“In actively seeking LGBT recruits the PSNI claims their under representation. How has this been measured and against what is it being benchmarked? Is the PSNI now swallowing the exaggerated claims of their partner in this recruitment drive, the Rainbow Project, as to the level of LGBT people in society? What percentage of the PSNI is the Chief Constable hoping to attain for LGBT officers?
“Many would believe that the LGBT community already gets special treatment from the PSNI. I don’t recall them painting any land-rovers in the colours of the Loyal Orders for the 12th – in spite of the fact that the Order’s halls are regularly subject to hate attacks in a way which would make U.K. wide news if they were directed against the LGBT community. There have been 655 Orange Halls attacked since 1970, 450 of these since 1998 of which 62 have been completely destroyed.
“Nor do I recall the Chief Constable employing politically loaded language like “equal marriage” when talking about other controversial issues.
“Did the PSNI provide funding to this year’s Belfast Pride event and if so how much? How does that compare with other events?
“This outreach is also aimed at recruiting transgender people. Given that the PSNI say that they are underrepresented in terms of women will biological men claiming to be women be at an advantage in the recruitment process? This also raises serious issues in relation to female privacy. Will biological men end up searching female suspects? Will female suspects have a right to object? Or are we all in a crazy world where even such questions are dismissed as “transphobic”?
“Will those officers who claim to be non-binary be provided with both a male and female uniform, to accommodate their gender choice on the day? Indeed, has this already happened, either with recruits or in the ranks? Maybe, the Chief Constable would like to be transparent on this issue.
“People claim that this is about equality and equal treatment. In reality, it seems that the LGBT lobby get special treatment and that their Rainbow Flag is a symbol of immunity, meaning that any criticism aimed at them is immediately dismissed.”