NCJ Number
89100
Date Published
1981
Length
194 pages
Annotation
Major causes of poor relations between police and the gay community in Toronto, Ontario, include lack of communication, stereotyped police attitudes toward homosexuals, abusive and provocative behavior on both sides, and antiquated laws regarding sexual practices among adults.
Abstract
Bathhouse raids by the Toronto police in 1981 followed by protest demonstrations prompted the city government to commission this study. Completed in 60 days, the project relied on personal interviews, a literature review, and visits to two cities with similar problems. The report first discusses areas of the law where the police and homosexuals frequently clash -- the offenses of buggery and gross indecency and bawdy house laws. A profile of the gay community emphasizes that it is a diverse, but well-organized group with an increasingly sophisticated system of interaction and communication, growing in economic and political strength. Also considered are reasons underlying homosexuality, the gay community's size, places for sexual activity, lesbians, and gay youth. The next section addresses police organization, intelligence operations, education, and training, noting that police efforts to improve relations with the community and recruit minorities have excluded gays. Moreover, the Police Association is opposed to hiring homosexual police officers, and many officers feel that homosexuals attract crime. A strongly moralistic view of the homosexual lifestyle prevails among junior and senior police officers. While Ontario has a human rights code, it excludes sexual orientation as an unlawful ground for discrimination. The history of relations between police and the gay community examines the controversial bathhouse raid as well as charges of police harassment and brutality against homosexuals. Police have complained that gays are abusive and totally negative toward the police. The report also surveys police-gay community relations in Vancouver and San Francisco. Recommendations include establishing a police/gay dialog committee, recognizing homosexuals as a legitimate minority, issuing a police directive against abusive language, instituting a gay awareness program for police, legal reforms, and recruiting homosexual police officers. A chronology is appended.