Date: Fri, 07 May 1999 13:57:52 -0700 From: Shirley Bushnell Subject: West Hollywood Sheriffs Show TG Sensitivity West Hollywood Sheriffs Show TG Sensitivity For further information contact shirley@earthlink.net The transgender community has been meeting with the West Hollywood Sheriffs Conference Committee (Lesbian and Gay Advisory Committee) for the past 6 months to talk about transgender issues and the Sheriffs Department. The Sheriffs Station is sensitive to the issues of the Gay and Lesbian community and has shown a great deal of sensitivity to the Transgender Community as well. The Transgender Community and the West Hollywood Sheriffs Department realized that the relation could be strengthened. Captain Odenthal is expanding transgender sensitivity for the West Hollywood Sheriffs Station. This will be accomplished by a series of meeting between Captain Odenthal and the Transgender Community. From these meetings ideas of presenting transgender sensitivity at rolls calls will be implemented. Plus the idea of doing `ride alongs' to places frequented by transgenders to improve relations between the police and the transgender community. Captain Odenthal of the West Hollywood Sheriffs Station made sure that transgendered people were included in the Sheriffs Hate Crime policy. This policy was in effect before the new California State Law defined gender to include transgendered persons.