Positive relations between the police and gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people are crucial if the police are to build safer, more stable communities.

Website: Somerset Police - Sexual Orientation  

A homophobic incident (which is also referred Hate Incidents and Crime) can be defined as any incident which appears to any person to be motivated by homophobia. Incidents that can be regarded as homophobic include:

• verbal abuse; assaults accompanied by verbal abuse, damage to property outside gay venues (e.g. cars) or to the premises; burglary accompanied by graffiti
• attacks where the perpetrator’s actions or words display a homophobic motive
• incidents in which heterosexual people mistaken for or associated with homosexual or bisexual people are subjected to homophobic abuse, harassment or attacks
• domestic violence for example, when someone has “come out” to a partner or member of the family

The Force seeks to:

• deal promptly and effectively with reported incidents of homophobia
• work in partnership with members of, and groups within, lesbian and gay communities and any other interested agencies to provide an effective problem-solving approach (for example IAGs, the EAG and voluntary sector organisations) who promote and facilitate the reporting of homophobic hate incidents or crime.
• provide the necessary training to increase the awareness of Force members to homophobia issues and ensure the appropriate levels of sensitivity are applied to police inquiries
• reduce the incidence of homophobically-motivated attacks and other related incidents
• reassure gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the community that we are committed to providing an effective response to their requests for police assistance