Male Victoria Police officers charged with pretending to be non-binary so they can claim $1,300 expense allowance for women’s clothing
- Gender-neutral officers can claim an additional $1,300 per year
- Seven officers suspected of having corrupted 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 obtain an expense allowance for women’s clothing.
Under Victoria Police’s civilian clothes scheme, female and gender-neutral officers can claim about $1,300 more a year than their male colleagues.
But a major crackdown is currently underway targeting those exploiting the scheme with investigators executing a search warrant at Frankston station in Melbourne’s south.
“Detectives from Professional Standards Command are investigating fraudulent claims for civilian clothing allowance,” Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.
“Investigators have so far questioned seven male officers about the matter over the past few weeks and a search warrant was also executed at a Southern Region police station on July 21 as part of the investigation.”
Seven male police officers are suspected of fraudulently pretending to be non-binary in order to pay an expense allowance for women’s clothing (stock image)
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has launched an investigation into the rort after a surge in the number of officers identifying as non-binary.
In an internal message, Commissioner Patton said that “conduct of this type, if validated, is not acceptable and falls far short of the standards I expect of members of Victoria Police”. age reported.
An agent’s gender self-description was introduced three years ago to support employees of diverse gender identities.
“This behavior has had a significant impact on our heterogeneous employees and on our reputation within the Victorian LGBTIQ+ community,” the commissioner said.
“If validated, I will find it highly disappointing that these employees have engaged in such conduct, exploiting a right for those who identify as gender diverse.”
Those who want to continue to receive the additional allowance per fortnight must now make a declaration on their honor indicating that they are not binary.
“As investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” the spokesperson said.
In March, Commissioner Patton said 17 officers had been fired for misconduct in the previous year and 31 others had resigned during the investigation.
He told reporters that officers who commit serious misconduct should expect to be fired except in very limited circumstances.
‘I’m not walking away from that. I make no apologies,” the commissioner said.
“It sounds serious, but it is serious because we as an organization cannot afford to have our reputation tarnished by a very few, and I know that the police, the vast majority, are very much behind me about it.”
