Seven male police officers in Australia are suspected of fraudulently claiming to be non-binary in order to receive a higher expenses allowance for clothing.

Under Victoria State’s civilian clothing scheme for the police, female and gender-neutral officers can claim about 1,300 dollars more per year than their male colleagues. As it turned out, several police officers falsely claimed to be non-binary in order to cheat the system, but a major crackdown is now underway targeting those exploiting the scheme.

„Investigators have so far interviewed seven male officers in relation to the matter over the past several weeks and a search warrant was also executed at a Southern Region police station on 21 July as part of the investigation,”

Victoria Police’s Chief Commissioner Shane Patton opened an investigation into the suspected fraud after a big rise in the number of officers identifying as non-binary.

In an internal message, Commissioner Patton said that „conduct of this sort, if validated, is not acceptable and falls far short of the standards I expect from Victoria Police members”.

The self-describing of an officer’s gender was introduced three years ago to support gender diverse employees. However, from now on, those who want to keep getting the extra allowance now have to make a sworn statement that they are non-binary.

Chief Commissioner Patton also told reporters that officers who committed serious misconduct could face dismissal.

Mr Patton told reporters that officers engaging in serious misconduct should expect to be sacked.

„I don’t step away from this. I make no apologies,” the commissioner said, adding that „it sounds severe, but it is severe because we as an organisation can’t afford to have our reputation tarnished by a very small few, and I know that the police officers, the vast majority, are very much behind me on this”.

In February, a Catholic police officer who spent 36 years with Victoria Police was sacked for “disgraceful or improper conduct” after posting online comments that allegedly disparaged the LGBTQ community.

Sergeant Bruno Staffieri was found guilty of the misconduct charges by Victoria Police’s internal disciplinary panel. At the time, the 62-year-old released a statement to The Age, which said he would consider appealing the decision, but would never resile from his faith.

“I’m obviously disappointed that I was dismissed after years of impeccable service, but I stand by my Christian beliefs,” the statement said.

Mr Staffieri was investigated over 10 comments made on social media and the force’s internal communication platform, known as Yammer, some of which were allegedly critical of Victoria Police’s campaign to promote workplace equality for LGBTQ members.

Mr Staffieri also found himself in hot water over his public criticism of the Andrews government’s decision to cancel Australia Day and Anzac Day celebrations in 2021, but allow the Gay Pride March in St Kilda to proceed.

The veteran officer had also infuriated Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson, the state’s second-highest ranking officer, who posted on Yammer in June 2021 that Victoria Police was proud to have been recognised as a silver employer at the 2021 Australian LGBTQ+ inclusion awards. In response, Mr Staffieri shared a post saying “Yes I agree. Great achievement. But if the public knew how much time, effort and taxpayer dollars went into this, they would also be demanding why we didn’t get a gold”.

While LGBTQ rights are a clear priority for Victoria Police, crime rates have surged in the state.

Victoria Police registered 361,140 criminal offences in the twelve months to 31 March 2023, up 5.6 per cent from 342,098 incidents recorded in the same period last year. Most recent criminal statistics reveal an 86.7 per cent increase in the number of burglaries committed by young people, which has driven a 30 per cent jump in the overall number of aggravated burglaries (those committed when the home’s occupant is present), ABC News wrote.

The most common age group responsible for committing aggravated home burglaries were young offenders aged 15 to 17.

Offenders will often steal cars from homes they have burgled, endangering the public as they drive the often high-powered stolen cars at high speed down public roads.