28th March 2020
From time to time, we receive anonymous material allegedly originating from within Victoria Police. The latest gem to fall our way is the ‘Community Web of Protection’, and we sincerely hope that this is a flight of fancy rather than a serious concept being considered to be flogged as some sort of BluePrint to protect the community.
We are mindful of the paranoia of Victoria Police to leaks, which is legendary. When it comes to operational matters, we strongly support confidentiality, however, that the paranoia extends to administrative matters borders on churlish.
The amount of resources applied to some of these administrative leaks is ridiculous and a distraction from the police core activity, something we find very hard to justify when it generally looks to be an effort to avoid accountability by the organisation, or embarrassment to the executive.
It has been our experience that a competent organisation does not hemorrhage administrative leaks designed to embarrass it. A happy workforce just does not feel the need, because they can openly question things.
We would be very pleased to be advised this is not a sanctioned concept.
‘What we are going to do’, How we are going to do it’, sounds very much like the lyrics from a rally chant we hear in the city nearly every Friday.
We would hope that this did not impinge on Police resources because if it did it is a wanton waste that could be applied more productively to the front line, and that is where the authors/s should be.
The accompanying note claimed that this concept was, ‘dreamt up in the bowels of Victoria Police’, and Operational police that have been exposed to the ‘Web’, respond with bewilderment. We can understand that reaction.
The CAA has been exposed to this sort of rubbish from within VicPol previously, and they all follow a similar pattern. The difference with this one is that it trumpets its uselessness in its own portrayal.
The common denominators of this sort of corporate rubbish are,
- Fails to say how it is to be done.
- Fails to say what is to be done.
- Fails to say who is responsible for it to be done.
- Fails to say when we know it is done.
- Fails to show a benchmark, so we will know it is being done.
- Fails to show how it will be measured to know it is done.
- Fails to identify the resources to be applied to get, whatever it is, done.
- Fails to identify the cost of having, whatever it is, done.
The only saving grace is there is no Police Badge on the document indicating it may not be officially adopted or sanctioned.
Let us hope so.