Q News
Jordan Hirst
NSW Police has met with a committee of LGBTQIA+ community leaders as it considers the findings of the state’s LGBTIQ hate crime inquiry.
The 18-month Special Commission of Inquiry into gay and trans hate crimes reported in December.
Fifteen out of 19 of its recommendations relate to police. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb started Task Force Atlas to review them.
Now, NSW Police have established the LGBTQIA+ Consultative Committee to assist them with the job.
Last week, the committee met for the first time at Qtopia Sydney, the city’s LGBTQIA+ museum located at the old Darlinghurst Police Station.
At the meeting were First Mardi Gras member Barry Charles and Qtopia board member Garry Wotherspoon (above, left and right). Both men gave evidence to the hate crime inquiry.
ACON and Mardi Gras’ CEOs also attended, as did Scott Johnson’s brother Steve.
The community leaders met with top NSW Police representatives, including Commissioner Webb.
Independent MP Alex Greenwich was there too, and said the meeting at the Qtopia site was significant.
“46 years ago gay men, trans women, sex workers, LGBTIQA+ people and our allies were held in cells at the Darlinghurst Police Station,” he said.
“Today, I was joined by two men who were part of that peaceful protest that was met with police brutality, 78ers Barry Charles and Garry Wotherspoon, at the liberated former police station that’s now Qtopia, Australia’s first Queer Museum.
“A powerful reminder of the strength and determination, through adversity, of our community.”
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Hate crime inquiry reported in December
The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes investigated suspected hate crime deaths between 1970 and 2010. Commissioner Justice John Sackar released his report in December.
Of the 34 deaths investigated, Justice Sackar found there was “objectively reason to suspect that LGBTQIA+ bias was a factor” in 21 deaths. He ruled “LGBTQIA+ bias was a factor” in four.
Sackar said “indifferent, negligent, dismissive or hostile” conduct of police officers exacerbated the impact of the violence.
He found police responses to the deaths often mirrored the “shameful homophobia, transphobia, and prejudice” present in both the force and society at the time.
Sackar was also scathing of NSW Police’s approach to the inquiry. He accused the force of being “adversarial or unnecessarily defensive” during the inquiry.
‘Many years of fighting for justice’
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb (below) said the LGBTQIA+ committee will ensure the police force addresses the inquiry’s recommendations.
“While some recommendations align closely with initiatives already under way, Task Force Atlas will thoroughly assess the recommendations as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the service and accountability of the NSW Police Force,” she said.
“We continue to be committed to improving the ways the organisation responds to LGBTQIA+ concerns. Community members’ involvement in those discussions is vital.”
The committee will meet again in October.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley acknowledged “the enduring pain and suffering” experienced by hate crime victims, their families and loved ones and “their many years of fighting for justice.”
“The LGBTQIA+ Consultative Committee will enable community voices and experiences to help shape the NSW Police Force’s response to the Special Commission of Inquiry,” she said.
