A "prevailing acceptance of and indifference" to violence against gay men in the NSW community and police force led to a failure of justice and protection of victims prior to the mid-1990s, an inquiry has found.
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The interim parliamentary report into gay and transgender hate crimes in NSW between 1970 and 2010 was released on Wednesday and found past attacks on the LGBTIQ community were "shocking, abhorrent and all too common".
The report made four recommendations, including that NSW Police ensure all officers have the skills to engage with the LGBTIQ community respectfully and equally.
The inquiry delved into several suspicious deaths or disappearances of gay men in the 1980s and 1990s, including the death of American man Scott Johnson, whose body was found at the base of cliffs at North Head in Manly in 1988.
No evidence or crime scene photographs were taken by police, who treated the death as a suicide and closed the case a day later, the report said.
"The ensuing violence and crime against gay and transgender people, particularly in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, was shocking, abhorrent and all too common," the report said.
The report recommended the inquiry resume after the March 23 election.
Australian Associated Press
