NCJ Number
199311
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 43 Issue: 1 Dated: Winter 2003 Pages: 102-121
Date Published
2003
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This study addressed the management of security in Toronto's gay village, a major global center of lesbian/gay community life, with security defined as the attempt to guarantee order primarily by governing space and time.
Abstract
Through interviews with community activists, business owners, and police officers, as well as analysis of criminal justice data, gay and mainstream newspapers, and the files of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, the study documented the layers of private (both formal and informal) policing that coexist with the actions of the public police and regulatory officials such as municipal licensing officers. The research site consisted of two kinds of spaces: the commercial spaces of bars and baths, which have their own distinctive systems for ensuring security for the patrons and for the premises; and the streets, notably the legal space that is created through municipal and provincial permits during Pride Day celebrations. The analysis showed a growing trend toward self-policing in both businesses and community events, along with the commercialization of security services that extends to the public police, since many public police work as "paid duty officers" and act as security guards for the organization that is promoting an event. The existence of a multiplicity of control mechanisms related to security in the gay village does not mean undue restrictions on freedom. Contrary to a popular image that security in spaces frequented by gays and lesbians necessarily involves the repression of the gay lifestyle, the security provided in the gay village is similar to that provided for any public space with a high density population frequenting bars and other commercial entertainment businesses. Public drunkenness, the public solicitation of sex, public nudity, and other laws that apply equally to the behavior of heterosexual and homosexual persons are enforced. When police have attempted to use their discretionary powers in a discriminatory way, notably in the administrative enforcement of liquor-licensing laws, the negative publicity and the willingness of involved parties to mount legal challenges are usually sufficient to deter police from discriminatory enforcement efforts. 26 references