Police expressed concern about academics connected to ‘gay community’ | MWhitbourn
NSW Police warned academics who submitted tenders to scrutinise their review of deaths suspected to be gay-hate crimes that many researchers in the field were “connected to the ‘gay community’ and may not be as independent as desirable”.
Assistant Commissioner Anthony Crandell, who headed the strike force, wrote in an internal email shown at the inquiry that the involvement of academics was designed to “introduce a degree of independence to the position of the NSWPF”.He added that “although there is some way to go investigatively” he believed there was “clear contrary evidence” to work by academics including NSW-based criminology Professor Stephen Tomsen “that assert prevalence of gay-hate crimes and inactivity” by police.
Crandell was asked repeatedly why police made those statements, including asserting that “many researchers in this area are connected to the ‘gay community’ and may not be as independent as desirable”. Crandell said later that he did not think the document sent “an unfortunate message” but indicated “challenges that may or may not exist”.
Crandell said the Adelaide-based Flinders University team had “no connection at all” with the LGBTIQ community in NSW, and he saw this as a factor enhancing their objectivity.
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