Gay ed for Surry Hills cops

Gay ed for Surry Hills cops

Police are looking to improve relations with the gay and lesbian community in Surry Hills with a pilot project to provide training to the entire Local Area Command.

Developed in consultation with the Anti-Violence Project, the one-day course covers issues affecting the gay and lesbian community and homophobic crime.

AVP’s Carl Harris said the underreporting of homophobic crime was a problem well documented in a 2003 attorney-general’s report titled You shouldn’t have to hide to feel safe and welcomed the initiative to educate all LAC officers.

The underreporting of homophobic crime, or Sexual Preference Prejudice in police terminology, is well known according to acting sergeant Brad Scanlan.

Scanlan, a former prosecutor and one of the first Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers, was recently assigned to the gay, lesbian and transgender program as an additional resource and tasked to manage and assess the course.

The training is designed to increase police awareness of gay hate crimes, and improve police responses to crimes of this nature, he said.

Scanlan said it was more than just sensitivity training, and would ensure all police recognised the importance of identifying homophobic crime and had the tools and knowledge to respond accordingly.

It’s about recognising the indicators and recording them appropriately, investigating the crimes and supporting victims of those crimes, he said.

Stressing the importance of recording an SPP incident, Scanlan said those statistics are needed so LACs understand the needs of their community.

Victims also need to come part of the way in providing those SPP indicators to the police.

That would be the words used by the perpetrators, for example, or it may be the location of where it happened, like a beat, Scanlan said.

We might make an assessment, for example, that here’s a man at a beat, at 3 in the morning and gets beaten up. Depending on the words used we could say it’s possibly SPP-related.

The training will remind police that victims of homophobic crime can also be heterosexual, but presumed to be gay or lesbian by the perpetrator.

An incident report marked SPP doesn’t reflect on the victim at all. It describes the nature of the offence and those records are kept confidential, Scanlan said.

Although intended to improve relations between police and the community, Scanlan said gay and lesbian people can already have confidence in the on-duty police and need not wait for a GLLO.

Don’t hesitate. Most police are natural fixers; they want to help people. The force is very attuned to these issues and we’re just trying to improve it -“ especially in Surry Hills, he said.

We’re not perfect but we’re trying to meet all the needs of the state -“ GLBT is just one of them.

Around 30 officers have already received the one-day training, with remaining officers set to follow over in three or four sessions by June.

While not the full-time GLLO position at Surry Hills that the AVP had hoped would be made available, Scanlan represents an additional 12-month full-time position allocated to the gay, lesbian and transgender program.

Scanlan said GLLOs don’t have to be gay to be of value to the gay and lesbian community and come from all backgrounds, gay and straight. His own experience in a variety of LACs and as a prosecutor is more important than his sexuality.

When I signed up in 1989 I thought I was the only gay in the force, he said. Now that he is just one of many GLLOs, he said the value of the program is easy to see.

In terms of getting people to come in and give evidence, the GLLO program has been exceptional, like a welcome mat thrown out to say, come and use the services that the state provides, he said.

Karen Webb, police corporate spokesperson on gay, lesbian and transgender issues, said the one-day training wasn’t designed to replace the GLLO program.

Indeed, this course has generated some interest for people to undergo the full GLLO, so we’re keen to schedule another five-day program, she said.

We’re still seeing the GLLOs as a critical part of any LAC, especially one like Surry Hills, because it’s right in there in the gay and lesbian community.

But Webb said the pilot program had the potential for wider application beyond what the GLLO could provide, and the team had presented their work to the commissioner and his team.

They are interested in having seen something that has value to all communities and their issues, she said.

Kings Cross is already interested in a one-day package for some of the similar issues but also with transgender issues.

You May Also Like

Comments are closed.