Police introduced the rainbow car to be used throughout the Auckland and Wellington Pride festivals earlier this year.

Police paid $10,000 for rainbow stripes on a car, to be used in conjunction with the Wellington and Auckland Pride festivals.

When it was introduced earlier this year, the rainbow car was criticised by Auckland Pride Festival board co-chair Lexie Matheson, who said it was was merely a "cynical, two weeks-long PR stunt".

Police have now revealed that the rainbow livery was paid for out of the recruitment marketing budget to attract more LGBT+ recruits into the force.

NZ POLICE/SUPPLIED The design and application cost $10,000 and was developed to encourage more recruits from the rainbow community.

Its media reach had been "invaluable", with a record number of likes on the police Instagram account, police public affairs acting chief executive Jane Archibald said.

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The cost was "balanced by the value and level of engagement with the rainbow community".

SUPPLIED Auckland Pride Festival board co-chair Lexie Matheson previously criticised the rainbow car as a "cynical, two weeks-long PR stunt". (File photo)

She said the car was developed with a "clear and positive message about inclusiveness and acceptance within police", and to publicly celebrate diversity as "a key value" of the force.

She could not say whether the campaign had resulted in more rainbow recruits, as information around gender identity or sexual orientation was private, and was not asked of staff or recruit applicants.

The rainbow car built on the relationship between 68 diversity liaison officers, the rainbow community and the wider police force. It will stay on permanently as a community patrol vehicle, mainly around Auckland.

ANNA LOREN/STUFF Tāmaki Makaurau rainbow connections diversity liaison officer Inspector Tracy Phillips said the initiative would bring more trust and confidence in police from rainbow communities. (File photo)

Police are also looking to introduce a third gender on forms, information systems and databases for those who do not identify with the traditional options of male and female.

Tāmaki Makaurau rainbow connections diversity liaison officer Inspector Tracy Phillips said the initiative would bring more trust and confidence in police from rainbow communities.

"Imagine if we had a choice of only two ethnicities on our forms. No-one would think that's OK. Similarly, we accept that not everyone fits into the 'male' or 'female' box," she told Ten One magazine last month.

Police already had a policy relating to searches of transgender or intersex people in custody, stating that staff should respect the way the person described themselves, and their preferred pronoun.

Preferred pronouns are not captured on police databases, which could lead to problems.

A paper presented by Phillips to top police brass cited a case in which victims were recorded as men, with nothing showing they were transgender, resulting in confusion for staff and an "insulting and disrespectful" experience for the victims.