C. Bond1, A. Dwyer2*, M. Ball3, M. Lee4, T. Crofts5
1 School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University
2 School of Social Science, University of Tasmania
3 School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology
4 Sydney Institute of Criminology, University of Sydney
5 Sydney Institute of Criminology, University of Sydney
*Angela Dwyer: angela.dwyer@utas.edu.au
LGBTI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex) police liaison programs have become the key model for building relationships between police and LGBTI communities, dominating other approaches towards managing relationships LGBTI communities and police. Interestingly, while this model is the preferred approach of policing services, research on the effectiveness of this model, and the services that align with it, is limited. This paper discusses the preliminary results of an online questionnaire asking LGBTI people about their contact with LGBTI police liaison officers in Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia. This questionnaire is part of a broader study of LGBTI police liaison services, which includes qualitative interviews with LGBTI police liaison officers and LGBTI people about the issues they think impact upon contact between these groups. The paper will present some key bivariate patterns in respondents’ assessment of these police liaison services. In particular, the paper will examine respondents’ views of how we might potentially improve support provided to LGBTI people using these police programs.
Biography
Dr Christine Bond is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Griffith University. Her research focuses on criminal justice decision-making, sentencing, race/ethnicity and gender, youth, crime and justice, and quantitative research methods. Christine’s research received a high commendation by the Allen Austin Bartholomew Prize Committee awarded by the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology in 2010.