Case Study: Policing sexualities

Some of the models of policing outlined in this chapter, while certainly useful, have been criticised for 'over-policing' (White & Perrone 2005) diverse social groups, leading to their over-representation in criminal justice processes (Williams & Murphy 1990; Kennison 2002). Researchers argue that police may target these groups as 'deviant' and in need of regulation. One example is the relationship between queer communities and police, a relationship characterised as both supportive (McGhee 2003; Baird 1997), and antagonistic (Burke 1992; Radford, Betts & Ostermeyer 2006; Thompson 1997). A range of political, social and legal factors have informed this, particularly the historical criminalisation of homosexuality (Richardson, Smith & Alexander 1997; Smith 1988). These factors have shaped how queer communities are policed: when homosexuality is criminalised, police constitute the initial point of suspicion, intervention and apprehension of 'offenders' (Williams & Robinson 2004). Two examples of policing sexualities in Australia will be used here to demonstrate the effect that two different models of policing can have on communities in practice: the Tasty Night Club raid in Melbourne in 1994, and the Walksafe Anti-Violence project instituted in Brisbane in 2004.