Male Victoria police officers accused of pretending to be non-binary so they can claim $1,300 women’s clothing expenses
- Gender neutral officers can claim $1,300 more per year
- Seven agents suspected of interfering with the system
- An investigation is underway and a search warrant has been issued
Seven male police officers are suspected of fraudulently claiming to be non-binary in order to extract an expense allowance for women’s clothing.
Under the Victorian Police’s plainclothes scheme, female and gender-neutral officers can claim about $1,300 more annually than their male colleagues.
But a major crackdown is now underway against those exploiting the scheme, with investigators executing a search warrant at Frankston station in Melbourne’s south.
“Investigators from the Professional Standards Command are conducting an investigation into fraudulent plainclothes claims,” Victorian Police told the Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
“Detectives have so far questioned seven male officers in connection with the case in recent weeks and a search warrant was also executed on July 21 at a police station in the Southern Region as part of the investigation.”
Seven male police officers are suspected of fraudulently being non-binary in order to get an expense allowance for women’s clothing (stock image)
Victoria Police Commissioner Shane Patton opened an investigation into the matter following a large surge in officers identifying as non-binary.
In an internal message, Commissioner Patton said that “this kind of behaviour, if validated, is not acceptable and falls far short of the standards I expect from Victoria Police members”, The age reported.
Self-describing an officer’s gender was introduced three years ago to support gender-diverse employees.
“This behavior has had a significant impact on our gender diverse workforce and our reputation with the Victorian LGBTIQ+ community,” said the commissioner.
“If validated, I will find it very disappointing that those employees have engaged in such behavior and are abusing a right for those who identify as gender diverse.”
Those who want to continue to receive the extra biweekly allowance must now declare under oath that they are non-binary.
“As the investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” the spokesman said.
In March, Commissioner Patton said 17 officers had been fired for misconduct in the previous year and 31 others had resigned during an investigation.
He told reporters that officers engaged in serious misconduct should expect to be fired except in very limited circumstances.
‘I’m not running away from this. I make no apologies,” said the Commissioner.
“It sounds strict, but it is strict because as an organization we cannot afford to have our reputation tarnished by a small number, and I know the police officers, the vast majority, are very supportive of me on this.”