Daniel Smith: Positive step to see NSW police still seen at Sydney Mardi Gras

It was encouraging to see New South Wales Police officers maintain a presence in this weekend’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, even if it was out of uniform.

NSW Police had originally been uninvited, following the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, allegedly at the hands of a serving officer.

To understand the depth of feelings on this issue, it is important to remember that police officers were put in the position of enforcing discriminatory laws against LGBTQIA+ Australians for many years.

Last year’s findings of an inquiry into historical gay hate crimes in NSW, which found police bias to be a factor in many unsolved suspected murders, was triggering for many.

As was NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb labelling the deaths of Mr Baird and Mr Davies a “crime of passion”. These days, it is hard to imagine the murder of a woman at the hands of a former male partner being described in this way.

A lot of work, on both sides, has gone into building trust between the police and the LGBTQIA+ community in recent decades, with the marching of officers in events like Mardi Gras and Perth’s Pride Parade seen as major milestones.

But journeys like these are never over, with a renewed commitment to education and understanding critical to the building and maintenance of trust between police and the queer community.

The welcoming of a lower-key and respectful NSW Police Mardi Gras entry, which included many LGBTQIA+ officers, was a positive step.