Queering Police Administration: How Policing Administration Complicates LGBTIQ–Police Relations

Abstract

This article argues administration of police organizations may create barriers and facilitators for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer (LGBTIQ) and/or questioning those seeking police support. With research to date focused on frontline LGBTIQ–police experiences, we are yet to examine the influence of administration. This article begins this conversation using data from research projects documenting policing experiences of LGBTIQ people in Australia to show how we may need to queer police administrative systems to better support LGBTIQ people. The data discussed demonstrates the need for further research exploring how administration of police organizations can complicate supportive LGBTIQ–police relationships.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Criminology Research Advisory Council, Australian Institute of Criminology.

Notes on contributors

Angela Dwyer

Angela Dwyer is an Associate Professor in Police Studies and Emergency Management, School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania. Previously, she was a Senior Lecturer in the School of Justice, Faculty of Law, at the Queensland University of Technology. Angela conducts research on the intersection between sexuality, gender diversity, and criminal justice, and is lead editor of Queering Criminology, edited with Matthew Ball and Thomas Crofts, and published with Palgrave.