Experiences of Being a GLBTI Police Liaison Officer: Results from Interviews with GLBTI Police Liaison Officers in Queensland, New South Wales, and Western Australia

Angela Dwyer and Mathew Ball report some of the first results of their Criminology Research Council funded study of LGBTIQ police liaison officers, in two separate papers. Read more…

Police liaison programs that support GLBTI (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people might go by many names (including GLLOs, LGBTI police liaison officers, etc), but they have become the key model for building relationships between police and GLBTI communities. These programs now dominate other approaches used to manage relationships between GLBTI communities and police. Interestingly, although this form of support is popular, research on the effectiveness of these programs, and the services that align with them, is limited. This paper examines interview data from GLBTI police liaison officers in three states in Australia. The interviews were part of a broader study of GLBTI police liaison programs, which includes a survey of and interviews with GLBTI people about the issues they think impact upon police liaison programs. The analysis demonstrates the key issues that impact the role of GLBTI police liaison officers in doing this role in addition to their other duties and how we might potentially improve support provided to GLBTI people using these police programs.