Abstract
This issue of the Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice (JCCJ) is devoted to “Emerging Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice for LGBTQ+ People.” In this issue, we showcase strong empirical studies that explore a number of important issues concerning how the criminal justice system interacts with people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Specifically, Val Jenness and Julie Gerlinger present their findings of an original study on how Californian men’s prisons shape gender among incarcerated transgender women; Brendan Lantz reports on differential responses to same-sex intimate partner violence; Doug Meyer analyzes how queer males perceive negative experiences with the police; Toby Miles-Johnson offers insights into how police officers’ sexual orientation influences their perceptions of policing LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning) people; and Angela Dwyer and Matthew J. Ball examine the complexities of navigating identity and visibility for law enforcement personnel who work in LGBTQ+ police liaison programs. 1
We want to express our sincere gratitude to all of the people who served as peer reviewers for the articles in this volume, especially since many of them reviewed manuscripts under tight time constraints. Without the thoughtful insights the following people shared, this volume would not have been possible: Nicole Asquith (Western Sydney University), Tod Burke (Radford University), Alesha Durfee (Arizona State University), Jenna Calton (George Mason University), Roddrick Colvin (San Diego State University), Lisa Dario (Florida Atlantic University), Courtenay Daum (Colorado State University), Bianca Fileborn (The University of Melbourne), Kate Fox (Arizona State University), Brian Frederick (University of Gloucestershire), Heather Hlavka (Marquette University), Matthew Jones (The Open University), Heather Littleton (East Carolina University), Doug Meyer (University of Virginia), Barbara Owen (California State University, Fresno), Steven Owen (Radford University), Lisa Pasko (University of Denver), James Pickles (Sheffield Hallam University), Emma Russell (La Trobe University), John Shjarback (Rowan University), Danielle Slakoff (Loyola University New Orleans), Mary Stohr (Washington State University), Jace Valcore (University of Houston–Downtown), Megan Verhagan (Arizona State University), and Allyn Walker (Old Dominion University).
We thank Dr. Chris Eskridge, the Editor-in-Chief of the JCCJ, for his support for this issue. And we also thank all of the people who submitted manuscripts that were not ultimately accepted for publication. Indeed, we were fortunate to receive many fine submissions. Space limitations, however, prevented the publication of several pieces of scholarship that clearly are worthy of publication. Thankfully, though, Dr. Richard Tewksbury, the Editor-in-Chief of Criminal Justice Studies, graciously offered us the opportunity to publish some of the other fantastic submissions in a special issue of that journal that we expect will be available in late 2020.
Finally, although there is clearly more research relevant to sexual orientation and gender identity that needs to be addressed beyond what the five articles in this volume can do, we believe this issue of the JCCJ is a step in the right direction. But special issues of journals ought not to be the routine way in which these critical lines of scholarly inquiry are presented. Criminology and criminal justice lag behind other social sciences and the humanities in incorporating sexual orientation and gender identity into research. We call on our colleagues to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their research. And we call on peer reviewers and journal editors to insist that these vitally important dimensions of people’s identities are not ignored in mainstream criminological scholarship.