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This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Official Information request 'Policy and Training regarding LGBTIQ+, Takatāpui, queer people'.























IR-01-22-21566 
17 August 2022 
Rob Sewell 
[email address] 
Dear Rob 
Request for information 
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 22 July 2022 in which 
you asked for the fol owing information: 
1. Al  New Zealand Police policies relating to gender diverse and sexually diverse
(LGBTIQ+, Takatāpui, queer) people appearing as defendants, witnesses and/or
complainants in Police prosecuted criminal court cases.
2. Al  New Zealand Police training policies relating to staff interactions (including
examination and cross-examination) with gender diverse and sexually diverse
(LGBTIQ+, Takatāpui, queer) people.
3. Al  documents identified in relation to question 2.
Our Lead – Community Inclusion, Sharon Johnston phoned you on 5 August 2022 and 
explained that the documents containing the information you have requested do not exist. 
As such, your request is refused under section 18(e) of the OIA. 
To assist you with your Master’s study she advised the following: 
•
Currently the majority of our Custody training around the LGBTQIA+ is more in
relation to searching of the detainee. It is based on what gender they identify
with, and they have the choice which gender officer they want to be searched by.
We also segregate transgender detainees, where identified or made known, from
detainees whose gender they do not identify with. The general rule is you deal
with the detainee based on how they identify.
•
Police has partnered with Diversity Works New Zealand to deliver Introduction to
Workplace Diversity and Inclusion training to staff across the country. This
training introduces the concepts of diversity, inclusion, equity and equality,
privilege, unconscious bias, and cultural intelligence.
•
Al  recruits undertake Valuing Diversity training while at the Royal New Zealand
Police College. This covers definitions of diversity, discusses individual examples
of diversity, and encourages critical thinking and debate around topics related to
diversity. Concepts and topics related to diversity are also woven through the
recruit curriculum, but not necessarily covered as standalone subjects.
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand. 
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz 

























•
In development, we have an online Rainbow 101 module, which we will have
critiqued by InsideOUT and Gender Minorities Aotearoa before going live.
•
Shortly, we will roll out Police Rainbow pins for those constabulary and non-
constabulary staff who can be identified as being able to provide a safe space to
assist people from Rainbow communities.
•
Nationally we have 93 Diversity Liaison officers (DLOs) and 31 volunteers across
12 districts and services centres. The DLO portfolio is held by staff that volunteer
to take up the role. A role which may be summed up as being one where we are
an advocacy and support network. Working to support, advise, and guide Police
staff on Rainbow matters. We promote diversity and inclusion and provide a
conduit between Rainbow communities and staff. Visibility and accessibility of
Police in the Rainbow space is key.
•
In June 2022, a DLO Conference 2022 was held for 80 people, to refresh, build
and develop the Police DLO network. In order to make NZ the safest country, we
need to ensure we support and engage with all of our communities, including our
Rainbow communities. As a network, we want to continue to develop and grow
toward this vision. Prior to the conference we had 65 DLOs, we now have 93 and
growing.
•
Various DLOs across the motu (country) develop and provide ad hoc Police
district and service centre training, but we are not aware of the specifics.
•
Police is in the process of creating a national Rainbow Employee Led Network.
This will help employees to connect, support each other and share ideas, so they
can reach their potential. It will help to foster communities and a culture of
inclusion, acceptance, and mutual respect. Police is also creating a gender
diverse network, called the Next Genderation network.
•
Guidelines have recently been created for updating our National Intelligence
Application (NIA) database and providing gender diverse court templates and
alerts for NIA. This supports positive interactions with members of the Rainbow
communities, ensuring for example, that staff can refer to people by their name
(and not deadname them).
The fol owing attachment is a Police produced document that may be of interest to you: 
•
Updating NIA egs Gender Diverse Court Templates
We hope this information has been helpful and wish you the best with your studies. 
You have the right, under section 28(3) of the OIA to ask the Ombudsman to review my 
decision if you are not satisfied with the way I have responded to your request. 
Information about how to make a complaint is available at: 
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. 
Yours sincerely 
Brent Register 
Acting Director Community Partnerships and Prevention 
New Zealand Police 

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