Police organisation and trans inclusion – How does a systemically binary institution deal with a diverse world?

Police[1] organisation still today follows a quasi-military approach. Individuals are defined by clear classifications: force, rank, number, gender. Furthermore, policing as a task is defined by classifications. These are often binary: legal-illegal, relevant-irrelevant, police-offender, using force – de-escalating.

Within this framework police must carry out their daily tasks. Police organisational logics do seldom allow for grey areas – this also reflects in police work culture, communal mentality, and interpersonal communication.  

But how does this binary framework reflect lived experiences of police officers as living, breathing, socially situated individuals? Historically speaking, the Queer community and the police seem opposed to each other – one only has to remember the Stonewall Riots and the police raid that caused them. Moreover, diversity as well as lack of conformity to normative standards characterise the Queer community.

Not unlike debates around People of Colour or diversity as such, Queer issues seem to only have started getting a foothold in Austrian police. This can be seen most prominently by the failed integration of trans officers as exemplified by the issue surrounding the occupational fitness test – which as of yet, does not include official guidelines for trans officers. Equally the police have so far not issued guidelines on how to interact with trans citizens. According to Holzleithner, it can be argued that the inherent bias of such binary tests and regulations lead to systemic discrimination towards trans and intergender people.

In contrast, all UK police forces follow established guidelines, detailing the inclusion of trans officers as well as raising awareness around the issue (Trans Guidance for the Policing Sector). The practical implementation of these guidelines is yet to be evaluated. Based on my previous research (Reiter 2022) as well as the Baroness Casey Review 2023, I expect the inclusion of trans police officers to face similar challenges as the integration of female and non-white officers. In this regard, policies and guidelines are merely combating symptoms instead of addressing causes. The structural change enforced by these legal policies is (predicted to be) stagnating while sidelining discursive and cultural change.

Of course, regulations on gender-neutral bathrooms or abolishing gender specific uniform codes can aid in including trans people in the organisation. It does not change the organisation at its core. Similar to critique of gender equality policies, one can argue that these regulations do little to change the underlying white, heteronormative, patriarchal nature of the police as an institution. Nonetheless, they may be seen as a first step – at the symbolic level.

The feasibility of quota rules and other equality policies in aiding the path to a more equal workspace for all officers remains uncertain. Their potential is often diminished by poor execution and failed integration in the field. Nevertheless, law can make an important contribution to equality – but it cannot and should not be the only contribution. Policing appears no different from any other public service, in that it is resistant to change. This resistance to external irritations, while being a defining feature of a modern bureaucracy, at the same time poses a serious problem for any cultural innovation.

Police forces traditionally rely on homogeneity for their functioning. Marketable terms such as diversity bear little impact on police culture. As research proves, it is rather the inherent culture that shapes police officers’ behaviours of any social standing and background. This, however, must not be misunderstood as a reason to roll back policies aiming to include and support every person wishing to join the police force. As I previously demonstrated, legal measures or organisational guidelines only go so far (Reiter 2022). In order to facilitate real change and transform the police as an institution, it first needs to be critiqued as an institution. Such a holistic approach should raise questions around the nature of policing, its place in contemporary society, as well as broader issues including criminalisation and punishment.

[1] This text deals with the question of “diversity” within policing and the police organisation. It does explicitly not refer to the broader context of policing in a liberal-democratic constitutional state and its many pitfalls regarding the (over-)policing of people belonging to marginalised societal groups.