Annual purchases of LGBT merchandise

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.026201

I note you seek access to the following information:

This is an information request relating to purchases of LGBT merchandise, visits to LGBT pride parades, and the wrapping of police vehicles in rainbow decorations

Please include the information for each of the following periods; 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22:
• Annual purchases of LGBT+ merchandise (for example, rainbow flags, bunting, lanyards, wristbands, stickers, balloons, pins) including the total quantity of LGBT+ merchandise purchased and the expenditure. Please provide a breakdown of what was purchased
• Annual expenditure on wrapping police vehicles in rainbow decorations and the number of vehicles wrapped. Please provide pictures if possible
• Whether or not the police force has attended any Pride events in the mentioned financial years, including which events, the number of officers which attended the events, and how much was spent attending each event

CLARIFICATION -
Regarding question 3, I am referring to officers taking part in Pride events as part of community engagement and outreach, not policing Pride events.

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Due to COVID no events took place over the 2019-2021 period. The only event on the calendar is the main London pride event held in central London 2022 we are therefore only able to provide information for this year.

Q1 - Annual purchases of LGBT+ merchandise (for example, rainbow flags, bunting, lanyards, wristbands, stickers, balloons, pins) including the total quantity of LGBT+ merchandise purchased and the expenditure. Please provide a breakdown of what was purchased.

The total spent on merchandise for Pride 2022 is £1354.77. This was for 60 x small packs children’s colouring pencils, 60 x hand held progress pride flags and 2000 x Wristbands.

Q2 - Annual expenditure on wrapping police vehicles in rainbow decorations and the number of vehicles wrapped. Please provide pictures if possible.

There was no cost for Pride 2020 or 2021 as it was cancelled due to COVID. No vehicles were used for Pride 2022 and therefore none were wrapped.

Q3 - Whether or not the police force has attended any Pride events in the mentioned financial years, including which events, the number of officers which attended the events, and how much was spent attending each event. I am referring to officers taking part in Pride events as part of community engagement and outreach, not policing Pride events.

The information provided below refers to officers taking part in Pride events as part of community engagement and outreach, not policing Pride events.
There were a number of engagement teams deployed on the day which are outlined below. Pride in London sees approximately one million people attend Central London and this is a key opportunity to engage with members of the public (not all of whom may identify as LGBT+). Community engagement is a core policing activity.

LGBT+ Liaison: In total 1-4-10 officers (1 Inspector 4 Sergeants 10 PC’s) were deployed as LGBT+ Liaison Officers.
They were deployed to engage with Pride participants and to assist respond to any relevant incidents. These officers work in the central London area already and have strong and established community policing links in the event footprint.

Outreach and Crime Prevention: our Outreach teams are already in place to work to increase representation of black community members and women through recruitment. We also have Designing Out Crime Officers who are specialists in delivering crime prevention advice (including hate crime). A number of Outreach and Designing Out Crime Officers were deployed to 3 stands located around the footprint of the event. These included the main stage area in Trafalgar Square and the Women’s Stage in Leicester Square. The third stand was in the family zone where we also had a team of Safer Schools Officers providing advice and engagement with young people and families. Each stand had to be staffed throughout the event so we planned for 1 PS and 6 PCs on each stall to provide this level of cover. Officers on these stands provided crime prevention materials/advice, discussed community concerns about policing, gave advice on recruitment and engaged with young people. Community engagement is a core community policing activity.
The cost of stands at these events was £3000 (each stand costing £1000 – the standard fee charged by Pride in London to organisations wanting stands).