Battling The Bias

Burying the hatchet:

How many gay cops are there in San Diego? "I don't know and it doesn't matter," says Police Chief Bob Burgreen. San Diego police built their reputation for good relations with gays by initiating a few simple reforms. Gay leaders are guest lecturers at the police academy, and police recruits are required to do volunteer work at social-service agencies including the AIDS Foundation and the Gay and Lesbian Center. Two SDPD officers have come out of the closet without being taunted by colleagues. In New York City, where openly gay officers serve throughout the department, homosexual cops have formed their own Gay Officers Action League. "We've gotten nearly every demand we've made," says Sam Ciccone, the group's executive director. The police academy expanded its gay-studies course, and gay officers played a major role in revising the department's AIDS handbook. These may be small victories, but they are steps in a formidable task: to undo years of mutual distrust nurtured by both gays and cops.

CRIMES OF PREJUDICE

Monitoring of incidents in six major cities showed that bias crimes against homosexuals jumped by 42 percent between 1989 and 1990.