Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Here's something interesting from 365gay.com – Britain's most gay-friendly workplace is a POLICE department.

(London)  Less than a decade ago Staffordshire police were rated the most homophobic force in the country after going on a clandestine operation to arrest gays suspected of having public sex.

Today, the force is being honored as the most gay-friendly force in the country and the best place in Britain for gays and lesbians to work.

The honor was bestowed on the force by Stonewall, Britain's largest LGBT rights organization.

I hope Chief Costa is reading this announcement. 

Pittsburgh's force may have made some gains in LGBT sensitivity but it is a FAR cry from being gay-friendly.  And given that Mayor O'Conner did not conduct a search to find the best candidate, instead appointing a politically connected crony, I doubt change is on the way.  Click here to read what the 2003 LGBT Needs Assessment has to say about Pittsburgh Police Force and the local LGBT community.

The 365gay.com reports goes on

It adopted a policy of hiring gay officers and fast tracking the best to senior positions on the force. Today one in 10 of the force’s 2,309 police officers is gay.

Officers are entitled to have paid parenting leave if they or their partners adopted a child, and they are allowed to attend up to three gay pride festivals a year on paid time. 

I'm fairly confident that there are no “out” cops in the local police force, probably in any local police force.  I'm equally sure that there are, in fact, gay cops working in those police forces. 

There's a long way to go.  This report, at the very least, demonstrates that it is possible to get there.