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Honors San Diego's Police Chief |
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Compiled By GayToday
In conjunction with the award, CSSMM will release its newest study, which assesses the long-term effects of the San Diego Police Department's integration of openly gay and lesbian officers. The study, titled Pink and Blue: Outcomes associated with the integration of open gay and lesbian personnel in the San Diego Police Department was written by Aaron Belkin and Jason McNichol. Belkin is Director of the CSSMM and McNichol is a Doctoral student in sociology at UC Berkeley. According to Belkin, Director of CSSMM: "Our research shows that gays and lesbians do not undermine police performance, and in fact, they strengthen relations with the community and increase police effectiveness." Belkin and McNichol evaluated information from 328 documents, including press coverage, scholarly studies, and government documents, as well as in-depth interviews with twenty-nine informed observers drawn from the department, public agencies, and community organizations. Their study is available at www.gaymilitary.ucsb.edu. The award will be presented at 12:00 noon (PT) today, at the Park Manor Suites in San Diego. Representatives from the San Diego Police Department, City of San Diego, Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military, and San Diego GLBT organizations will be present, including Police Chief David Bejarano, Assembly member Christine Kehoe, and City Council member Toni Atkins. |
