The officer helping to change the conversation around HIV

“I am aware of the stigma and discrimination people living with HIV still sadly face, both within policing and in the wider community. I wanted to raise awareness to help colleagues challenge stigma and understand how effective modern treatments are.”​ 

Drawing on the leadership skills encouraged at Police Now’s Academy, Casey worked with HIV peer support network Positive Plus to develop a training presentation that has since been independently reviewed by both the Met’s Chief Medical Officer and the National AIDS Trust.

 “At the Police Now Academy they encourage you to make the change you want to see in the world and make a difference,” he said.  

“When I first landed on borough, I had no idea who to speak to or how to go through the right channels to get this initiative moving in the right direction.

“I worked with the founder of Positive Plus to create a presentation, which I’ve now delivered to 120 police officers.”

Annie Howard, Senior Programme Manager for HIV Confident at the National AIDS Trust, welcomed Casey’s efforts to improve understanding of HIV among officers. She said:

“We absolutely welcome Casey’s commitment to roll out this training to all officers, so they can be empowered to challenge stigma and create respectful, welcoming experiences for the people they serve. We look forward to a future where HIV is treated like any other long-term condition and is no longer seen as a barrier to safe interactions within our communities.”

Since developing the initiative, Casey has become a co-chair of Positive Plus and helped expand it from a Met-based support network into a national community for police officers and staff living with or affected by HIV. He is also working with the Police Federation to explore opportunities for introducing formal HIV training across policing nationwide.

“Officers are grateful for the increased awareness this initiative has created. That demonstrates its value and why I believe it should be made mandatory across the country,” he said.

A key focus of the programme is helping officers understand the realities of living with HIV today and challenging persistent misconceptions about transmission.

“It’s not to shame anyone. I like to create a safe space for people to discuss it,” Casey said.

“Officers have also shared concerns about situations they encounter on duty, from stop and search interactions to incidents where someone has threatened to spit at them while claiming to have HIV.

“I’ve said to these officers that if someone says that to them, it’s very unlikely to be true because HIV isn’t transmitted through saliva.”

For Casey the work is about creating a more inclusive police service for both colleagues and communities.

“Having these conversations is vital. There aren’t many health conditions that still carry the same level of stigma and discrimination as HIV.

“And there are police officers from different forces living with HIV who feel like they haven’t got anyone to speak to. And so, I think it’s absolutely incredible that we’re now making our peer support network national.”

Day-to-day, Casey works in domestic abuse in Croydon and is also an LGBT+ Voluntary Community Liaison Officer.