Frontline Response: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Stalking Behaviours.

COVID-19 pandemic lockdown changed the way in which we engage with others and our ability to enjoy free movement away from the confinement of our own homes. Whilst this dramatic change affected everyone, it constituted something much more threatening for victims of stalking, repeatedly targeted by those with an obsessive and fixated behaviour. Whilst we know more about the impact of lockdown stalking behaviour, very little is known about how the police and frontline workers are responding to this challenge. This research aims to increase an understanding of stalking in this context. Firstly, it presents a quantitative examination of recorded data on stalking offences provided by all 43 police forces across England and Wales. In addition, it explores the experiences of those working on the frontline who respond to reports of stalking made by victims. A total of 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve police officers from three forces in England, as well as three advocates of victims from two national stalking services. Analyses show that stalking behaviour has increased and evolved to use accessible channels alongside the COVID restrictions. In conclusion, considerable pressure has been placed on frontline workers to adapt and respond not only to increased incidents but also the changes in the nature of stalking behaviour.

Fish in a Barrel: Police Targeting of Brisbane's Ephemeral Gay Spaces in the Pre-Decriminalization Era.

Across history, and particularly in periods of criminalization, the gay community have often been forced to resort to public spaces-"beats"-to clandestinely seek out anonymized sex with partners who share their sexual preference. This article reframes the construction of gay beats as ephemeral spaces that prevails in existing sexuality literature. Instead, it shows that Brisbane's beats were semi-permanent spaces with subcultural meaning to the local gay community-a fact that was used by police to target gay men during law enforcement's attempts to reestablish a moral order in the postwar era. Using a combination of archival material, personal narratives and secondary sources, this article effectively reframes the concept of gay beats as transitory spaces, and instead argues that it was their permanence and resilience in Brisbane's gay subculture that made them a perfect hunting ground for police looking to target a vulnerable homosexual community.