Taylor Swan is a Diversity Liaison Officer and Dispatcher for NZ Police’s Emergency Communication Centre. He talks to Oliver Hall about the Rainbow inclusive changes NZ Police are making and his experience of physically transitioning while working there.
WHY DID YOU INITIALLY WANT TO JOIN NZ POLICE?
Like many kids growing up, being a police officer was a desirable career option. I’d ride my BMX ‘patrolling’ the suburb of Thorndon, Wellington as a self-appointed ‘Chips’ highway patrol cop. Emerging into adulthood, my path took a different turn.
I was midway through post-graduate study in sociology and gender studies when an opportunity presented to join the Police Emergency Communication Centre (ECC) team. I was driven to help people, in particular our vulnerable communities, which remains ever present. I planned for Comms to be the start of my police journey, before eventually heading to police college.
But here I am. I am now approaching 25 years working in the ECC, as a dispatcher. In the past three years, I have held the additional portfolio of, Diversity Liaison Officer (DLO).
HOW WAS YOUR WORK ENVIRONMENT AS A QUEER PERSON? DID IT TAKE YOU LONG TO FEEL COMFORTABLE BEING OUT AT WORK?
In 1998, there was no acknowledgement of queer police members within the organisation, which surprised me. I was fortunate to befriend one of the few openly gay police officers at the time, and he was and still is, one of my biggest cheerleaders.
It took a while to feel comfortable around my colleagues. Once I had formed friendships and knew that I was appreciated and respected as an individual, I began to open-up about my queer identity.
This was usually met with either acceptance or indifference. I never felt unsafe around my peers, but I also knew that there was a long way to go before I could bring my differences to work and have them celebrated.
YOU TRANSITIONED WHILE WORKING FOR NZ POLICE – CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHAT THAT EXPERIENCE WAS LIKE FOR YOU?
I made the decision to physically transition (f2m) 20 years into my policing career.
This was daunting and scary for me. There had been little trans representation in the police. I felt that each physical change I went through would be monitored and either vocally or silently critiqued. The metaphor that rang true to me at the time was ‘A fish in a glass fishbowl’.
I didn’t want that. I wanted privacy and wanted to be assured that I was safe. The only option, I felt, was to leave the police. I purchased a gym in Auckland with the intention of resigning from the police prior to starting hormone replacement therapy. As the date to relocate drew closer, I experienced lengthy periods of sadness, which often lasted days.
The sadness I had about leaving my life in Christchurch resulted in me waking one morning adamant that I could not leave. I went to work tearful and physically shaking, with thoughts of the conversation ahead.
I sought out my supervisors and told them that I needed to speak to them urgently. In one very rushed emotional sentence, I said. “I am transitioning to male, and I had planned to resign because I don’t think I can do that and stay here”, I then cried.
There was no hesitation in their response, and they replied “You are not leaving. We’re not going to let you leave. We will support you. What do you need us to do?”.
The relief was immediate. There was no precedent for transitioning at work, as to my knowledge, there was only one other person who had done so.
My supervisors asked me to guide them through the support that I required; it was a case of building the spaceship as it flew. I told them and continued to tell them what I needed to feel safe; this included how I would come out to colleagues. They listened and they implemented.
Overall, my transition while working in the police was supported. There were speedbumps which included incorrect pronoun use and dead naming; this was distressing. Over time the dead naming and incorrect pronoun use has lessened. A lot of learning took place for myself and my colleagues.
For most people, I was the first trans person they had knowingly met. When I reflect, I acknowledge my own bravery and resilience but also acknowledge those three supervisors that sat across from me the day I ‘came out’ to them. Without that support, I would have felt I had no other option than to leave the police.
WHY DID YOU WANT TO BECOME A DIVERSITY LIAISON OFFICER (DLO) FOR NZ POLICE?
Historically, and particularly with reference to the era predating the Homosexual Law Reform Bill 1985, the police failed our rainbow communities through victimisation based on the previous 1961 Crimes Act which deemed homosexual acts as criminal. This caused a severe (and justified) long-lasting relationship breakdown between the police and those impacted in the community. This rift is still prominent today, for both the historical breakdown and from incidents that have taken place, both here and overseas, that have caused rainbow communities to lose faith.
It is the responsibility of the police to rebuild that lost trust and confidence.
I am a trans male, and my lifework has been as a member of the police. How could I not want to help create rainbow-positive cultural change? The rainbow community is so broad, covering gender-based diversity and sexuality diversity.
Rainbow makes up a good portion of our population, they are vulnerable, and DLO’s are imperative to making our rainbow community feel safe. Any opportunity where I can help bridge relationships or build trust and confidence in the police or facilitate meaningful engagement to influence police practice, I’m here for!
WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU ABOUT THE DLO ROLE?
Firstly, the sense of belonging and kinship it has provided me with. When you feel valued and celebrated, you thrive and want to do more. Having the network has provided an opportunity to meet so many other like-minded people within the police. Meeting other trans and gender-diverse police members, forming new connections and friendships with other rainbow staff and allies has been a beautiful experience. Equally, representing police and having the opportunity to have meaningful engagement with the communities is a privilege.
It is mahi that I care about, and it has been an unplanned highlight of my career.
IN JULY, THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION URGED NZ POLICE TO ADDRESS THEIR TREATMENT OF TRANS PEOPLE AFTER ACKNOWLEDGING ACCUSATIONS OF MISGENDERING AND EXCESSIVE FORCE BY OFFICERS DEALING WITH MEMBERS OF THE TRANS COMMUNITY. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT?
As a trans person, foremost, I was enraged and hurt. As a member of police, I was deeply embarrassed and disappointed. The Human Rights Commission mentions concern that transphobia in police could be a systemic issue.
I don’t believe this to be true, but I certainly acknowledge that we can do much better, and there is still a lot of work to do.
In February 2022, a working group was established to present a briefing paper to the police executive, seeking executive-level support for an Employee Led Network (ELN) for our transgender, nonbinary and gender-diverse members. We presented this paper to the Organisational Culture Governance Group at Police National Headquarters in October, and it was met with overwhelming and unanimous support and approval.
It is still early days, but this will allow us to implement formal strategies within the workforce that will ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all gender-diverse members of the police, as well as having a strong voice in the design and implementation of training, infrastructure and processes such as a transitioning at work guide. This ELN will benefit the police and the communities.
DO YOU BELIEVE THERE IS CURRENTLY ADEQUATE TRAINING FOR OFFICERS AROUND RAINBOW COMMUNITY NEEDS, PARTICULARLY THE NEEDS OF TRANS AND GENDER-DIVERSE COMMUNITIES?
There absolutely needs to be more comprehensive training and it is in the works. Gender and sexuality training was first delivered to frontline police staff in the coastal Otago District, as a trial, in 2019.
The training was well received, and approval was given to roll it out in Canterbury District in 2021. It has been decided that it will be more efficient to disseminate a more uniform approach to this training nationally, so a rainbow 101 training module is being developed. The first draft was presented to the DLO networks some months ago for consultation.
WHAT DOES THAT TRAINING CURRENTLY LOOK LIKE?
The Rainbow 101 training is an introduction to rainbow terms and reference, outlining the difference between gender and sexuality. Education around inclusive language and pronoun use.
The training includes examples of police scenarios where police are interacting with trans/gender-diverse individuals. It is very policing-specific, and the intention is to upskill our people to provide a service to our communities that they expect and deserve.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GIVE THE TRANS COMMUNITY GREATER FAITH IN NZ POLICE?
Restoring faith won’t occur overnight; there is a long way to go. The recent agreement to establish the soon-to-be-launched police gender-diverse ELN will pave a positive path forward. The ELN will be the key police advisory group, providing the voice for establishing any process or system that is gender-based. The ELN will show other staff and individuals thinking of joining the police that you can come to work as your authentic self and be safe in doing so. Greater gender-diverse visibility and representation from within the organisation will attract more gender-diverse recruits. This will allow for more meaningful engagement within the rainbow communities through our member’s own self-awareness of trans-based issues and the empathy that has been inherited through our own journeys navigating the world. We understand that each individual’s experience is unique and acknowledge the importance that comes from listening to our communities without drawing our own assumptions on how best to create a positive culture that is inclusive.
DO THE POLICE HAVE AN INTERNAL RAINBOW NETWORK?
There is no internal rainbow network currently; the gender-diverse network will be the first of its kind, becoming the sixth police employee-led network ever established.
ARE YOUR POSITIVE EXPERIENCES, BEING PART OF NZ POLICE GENERALLY ECHOED BY YOUR RAINBOW COLLEAGUES?
It should be noted that not all queer-identifying police members are part of the Police DLO network, nor have they all introduced themselves as Rainbow, so the size of the rainbow community in police remains unknown.
The DLO network does communicate regularly by online forums and has met once, face to face, in my time as a DLO. We regularly share stories, concerns, information through these means and the dialogue is positive and clearly leans toward examples that indicate that the organisation is moving in the right direction. The establishment of the ELN for gender-diverse staff will enhance the knowledge and experiences of NZ, which will be positive for our communities.
Being a DLO has allowed me to meet so many new people, who I now consider friends and part of my family. The journey I have been on as part of the working group for the gender-diverse ELN has really cemented how supportive the police can be. Having a captive audience of police executives, which included a Deputy Commissioner and about 8 individuals from the next tier down, has given me confidence that we are heading on a positive trajectory within the police.
If you want to make contact with a DLO in your area, you can email: DLOs@police.govt.nz
