Victoria Police’s ‘Pride Patrols’ Visit LGBT Venues In Melbourne
Image: Victoria Police Officers at The Laird, Melbourne. Image: The Laird Instagram page
Ahead of the Midsumma festival, LGBTIQ+ Liaison Officers of Victoria Police visited some LGBTQI venues in Melbourne last weekend.
A Victoria Police spokesperson told Star Observer that the visits, which happen once a month, were a way to build trust with the LGBTQI community.
“Victoria Police engages regularly with LGBTIQ+ event venues and organisers across the state to ensure our police presence meets the needs of the community and prevents homophobic, biphobic and transphobic incidents and crimes,” said the spokesperson.
Pride Patrols To Deter Anti Social Behaviour
“Our LGBTIQ+ Liaison Officers (LLOs) provide a highly visible police presence around LGBTIQ+ venues in Melbourne, Yarra, and Port Phillip PSAs, particularly on weekends over summer. The focus of these proactive ‘pride patrols’ is deterring anti-social behaviour, providing reassurance to the LGBTIQ+ community and responding swiftly where needed,” the spokesperson said.
The police and the LGBTQI community have historically shared a complicated relationship. In the past, this has been characterised by instances of entrapment of gay men, raids at queer venues and anti-LGBTQI attitudes of some officers.
A strategy paper issued by the Victorian government in 2020 had acknowledged “low levels of trust” that the community had in Victoria Police. A 2016 survey revealed that over 51% of young LGBTQI+ persons were unlikely to report a hate crime to the police.
“This is a trend we are working hard to change and our LLOs are at the forefront of this change,” said the spokesperson, adding, “We want to continue building trust with the LGBTIQ+ community so that, when they are victims of crime, they feel safe in reporting to and interacting with police.”
Creating Mutual Trust
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The Laird was one of the venues that Victoria Police’s Pride Patrol visited. The police officers even sang a couple of songs before the Sing Stud event on December 13.
“The LLOs attend venues and engage with patrons with the venue’s permission, as they work to create mutual trust between police & our LGBTIQ+ communities,” the venue said in a post on Instagram.
“No one is pretending that their isn’t complex and difficult history between our communities and the police force – but for that to change we need to find pathways to communicate and engage with each other, and the LLOs are a part of that,” the Laird added.
The DT’s also posted a photo of the Pride Patrol visiting the venue. “We tried everything we could to have them do a number, but instead they let the stars of the show Ruby Slippers, Gina Stirling and Aboleth Addams strut their Hot Gay Stuff!,” the venue posted on Facebook.
