SWAMPSCOTT — The Police Department finalized a new policy on Monday, which provides officers with guidance on professional and courteous interactions with members of the public and fellow employees who are part of the LGBTQ community and, especially, transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals.
Swampscott Interim Police Chief David Kurz said that a committee he had formed to review the department’s policies had identified that this topic needed an official written guidance.
“One of the benefits of having a policy in place is not only to highlight issues that officers should be aware of but also maybe those things that we don’t deal with very often that we can refer to when it does occur,” said Kurz. “Most police departments’ goal is not to arrest people, but when we have to, we don’t want to agitate the situation any more than necessary.”
Swampscott police officers have received some training related to the LGBTQ community before, but didn’t have formal guidelines, said Police Capt. Joseph Kable.
Kurz reached out to the North Shore Alliance of GLBTQ Youth (NAGLY), a Salem-based nonprofit that worked extensively with the Salem Police Department, to help the Swampscott Police Department (SPD) in crafting the policy. Kurz said that staff at NAGLY offered a lot of insight and were very engaging.
“We were delighted to be able to work with the Swampscott Police Department, said James Giessler, executive director of NAGLY. “I think it is to everyone’s benefit when the LGBTQ community has a close relationship with police departments.”
NAGLY staff and the police department had a Zoom call where they discussed the language in the LGBTQ community and the wording of the policy. NAGLY staff gave SPD the terms they should know — for example, what the term “dead name” means.
“A good number of transgender people will refer to their birth name as their “dead name,” said Giessler.
Giessler has also reviewed the final version of the document.
The new policy is aimed at fostering partnerships with the LGBTQ community and dissolving suspicion, misunderstanding, direct and indirect bigotry and ignorance. The document explains such terms as gender identity, designated sex, gender nonconforming, transgender, gender-affirming surgery, intersex and others.
The document directs the police officers to treat members of the LGBTQ community as any other member of the community; however, to also take steps to ensure that individuals are treated in a manner appropriate to the individual’s gender identity, which may be different from the sex that the individual was assigned at birth or listed on their official government-issued identification.
Officers are encouraged not to assume anything and take steps to ensure that all individuals’ rights are carefully guarded against harassment or discrimination. If a person discloses their transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming identity, officers are directed to honor that or respectfully ask how the individual identifies and use proper pronouns.
Although police have to use an individual’s sex and name as listed on their official government-issued identification for written documents when interacting with a transgender, intersex or gender nonconforming arrestee, victim, witness, reporting party or any other individual, officers are asked to address these individuals by their chosen name. The chosen name will be recorded as an alias and can be used throughout the report.
“As police, if someone is in fact arrested we need to go by the official documents,” said Kurz. “That does cause us a dilemma but in the interim while we walk up to that ‘why,’ we certainly can do it the best way we possibly can.”
The policy also outlines procedures for arrests and booking rooms and removal of items related to gender identity, such as chest binders, packers, wigs and clothing.
“There are a lot of people struggling with their identity. That must be hard as it is,” said Kurz. “Our goal is not to arrest anybody, but if it were to occur I think it is important for us to understand the nuances involved.”
The document reiterates SPD’s commitment to employ qualified people regardless of sexual orientation, identification or expression.
All department members will receive training on the new policy’s contents and intent as well as revisit it annually during roll-call training sessions.
