City Hub
Grace Johnson
NSW Police could start implementing the recommendations from the Inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes within a month’s time, according to community members who attended an inaugural consultation with police earlier this week.
Earlier this week, the NSW Government and senior NSW Police gathered with LGBTQIA+ community stakeholders and members in Sydney for the first LGBTQIA+ Consultative Committee, held at Qtopia.
Commissioner Justice John Sackar handed down his 19 recommendations over six months ago.
Since then, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb established the Task Force Atlas, an internal group to review the recommendations and respond as appropriate. Little else has been done.
NSW Police “shouldn’t be waiting”
Barry Charles, member of the First Mardi Gras Inc., told City Hub that during the meeting, in response to community inquiry about delays, that NSW Police would be implementing the recommendations shortly.
“Unfortunately, I think the police are waiting for the government itself,” he said in conversation with City Hub.
“The actual cabinet has not considered all the recommendations, and we were assured by the minister that they would be doing that within about a month’s time.”
“My opinion is that the police shouldn’t be waiting for that, and from what we were told, and in certain areas, they are not waiting for that,” he continued.
“Police have identified the areas in which they are deficient, which were highlighted during the commission, that is in the areas of record keeping, placement of forensic evidence, and they have strongly indicated they are going overtime to totally digitise their record keeping of assaults and traces of homicide.”
City Hub contacted NSW Police for confirmation, who said there was no timeline indicated by police, but “some recommendations align closely with initiatives underway.”
What did the Special Commission ‘Inquiry into LGBTQIA+ hate crimes’ find?
The report from the Special Commission of ‘Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes’, released in December last year, was the result of an 18-month investigation suspicious deaths or unsolved murders of LGBTQIA+ people between 1970 and 2010.
Out of the 34 deaths investigated, Justice Sackar found there was “objectively reason to suspect that LGBTQIA+ bias was a factor” in 21 deaths, and that “LGBTQIA+ bias was a factor” in four deaths.
He said that the impact of the violence was exacerbated by some police officers whom he described as “indifferent, negligent, dismissive or hostile”.
He emphasised that the response to the deaths often mirrored the “shameful homophobia, transphobia, and prejudice” present in both society and the NSW Police.
NSW Police & government met with LGBTQIA+ Consultative Committee
Among others, LGBTQIA+ community stakeholders present at the meeting included:
- Alex Greenwich MP for Sydney
- First Mardi Gras’ member Barry Charles
- QTOPIA board member and Independent, Garry Wotherspoon
- CEO of Sydney Gay Lesbian Mardi Gras Chief Executive Officer, Gil Beckwith
- ACON CEO, Nicholas Parkhill
- CEO People with Disability Australia, Sebastian Zagarella
- Family Representative, Steve Johnson
Other community organisations invited included Trans Justice Project, BlaQ, Equality Australia and The Gender Centre.
