I was already familiar with the long run of murders and gruesome near-murders that gripped gay Sydney in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
Officially just over 80 solved murders, 30 unsolved murders and countless violent attacks, the true number of murders and assaults will never be known.
Now 60 Minutes Australia’s Undercover Investigations unit has a new report out that links many of those murders and attacks to the New South Wales police department, where some officers actually took part in the attacks, while much of the rest of the department simply refused to investigate when the victims were gay men.
They hunted in packs and stalked their prey like a blood sport, terrorizing the gay community for more than two decades. But incredibly, on the frontline of the thugs were NSW police officers. On Under Investigation, Liz Hayes and her team of experts expose one of the most disgraceful chapters in NSW police history.
There have been other documentaries about the attacks, including this Crime Investigation Australia report, and Deep Water: The Real Story, a 2-hour documentary.
But the 60 Minutes Australia report is the first one I’ve seen that delves so deeply into police involvement in the crimes.
You can watch the entire report below.