Overview
- Acting Chief Constable Scott Green issued a formal letter apologising for historic policing that used laws to target gay and bisexual men and said those actions 'ruined lives' with lasting harm.
- Birmingham Pride accepted the apology and called it a significant step, while director Lawrence Barton said many in the community still feel unsafe and face rising hate crime.
- The force pledged to seek to rebuild relationships and to 'police without fear or favour,' and Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster publicly welcomed the acknowledgment as necessary for restoring trust.
- Campaigners said the apology follows years of campaigning after two previous chief constables declined to apologise, making this acknowledgement the result of sustained local pressure.
- Reporters placed the apology in a longer history of criminalisation that produced arrests and convictions up to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and campaigners are demanding concrete measures and protections to turn acknowledgement into safer lives.