CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In 2018, the Corpus Christi Police Department created a specific liaison for the LGBTQIA+ community to interact with, but five years later, there are still questions about the role.
CCPD Accreditation Manager Denise Pace serves as that liaison, and told 3NEWS that her designation serves a simple purpose.
"It's not a position, I just act as a liaison," she said. "I'm a point of contact. I'm available to anyone to contact if they have any kind of concerns."
Pace said that as a point of contact for the LGTBQIA+ community, there is an extra layer of trust that has to be built.
"Maybe they feel more confident and comfortable calling me, and then I can facilitate connecting them with who they need to be connected with," she said.
3NEWS spoke with members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who said they didn't even know the designation existed.
"People don't know about this role," said local queer artist Joey Gonzales. "I didn't know about this role."
Gonzales said he feels the liaison role is so unknown in the local LGBTQIA+ community that he doesn't think it's useful.
"If there is no power, then why even have this position?" he said.
CCPD Public Information Lt. Michael Peña said the role is more about making people feel at ease.
"Some people may feel more comfortable speaking to the liaison, versus speaking to any officer," he said.
Former PRIDE Corpus Christi board member Tom Tagliabue was present when the role was initially created. He said it was meant to give the LGBTQIA+ community a new sense of security.
"It was really a breath of fresh air, because, obviously, CCPD didn't have that role for many years," he said.
Peña confirmed to 3NEWS that this year alone, only four people have contacted the liaison, with only one person reaching out during Pride month.
Tagliabue said that those numbers reflect how important outreach is to the LGBTQIA+ community.
"They want to be an important part of this community, as they are, and so there's room for improvement on all sides," he said.
Dust My Face Makeup's Evangelyn Reyes said that she feels the role has the potential to grow.
"As someone involved in the community, this role can serve as a crucial point of contact between the department and the LGBTQIA+ community," she said.
Reyes said that utilizing more modern resources could help in that outreach effort.
"Regarding those who weren't aware of the position's existence before, it shows that the department could improve its communication and outreach efforts to raise awareness about this role," she said. "They could consider implementing initiatives such as publicizing the position through social media, community forums, local LGBTQIA organizations, or even hosting events."
Peña said the department is ready to answer any questions the community may have.
"We try and be everywhere at once to be there to answer questions that people may ask, no matter what background they come from," he said. "I think we do a really good job at that."
If residents want to know more about the liaison role, click here.