by CAA | May 7, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
7th of May 2021
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has told his personnel they are not above the law, and promised he will not turn a blind eye to any serious misconduct (“Top cop puts police on notice” – Herald Sun, 30/4/21).
That is entirely as it should be – but it has to be asked, is it too little too late? And, is it only aimed at the lower echelon?
CAA has repeatedly drawn attention to serious misconduct by very senior public officials – including police and politicians – usually with evidence offered or pointed out. We have always stood ready to back up our claims.
So many police chiefs in the past ignored those reports (contrary to their Duty, it must be said) that it almost became a way of life. A couple of fat cats were allowed to retire without penalty but the machine basically rolled on undeterred.
Mr. Patton’s reminder is well overdue – and it should not be necessary of course. But the very fact that Mr. Patton has had to resort to this public message demonstrates that somewhere in the past some very wrong messages were sent out – and received. So who allowed a dysfunctional culture to apparently take hold? Who was so corrupt, incompetent or lazy in the past that people within the organisation just got the wrong messages?
And that, in turn, compels us to call for Mr. Patton to look more closely and more accountably at the information which has been previously handed to his organisation – to look for root causes. As Winston Churchill, among others, have warned – those who ignore the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.
Some commentators believe heavier penalties ought to be levied against a person named Pusey, to reflect society’s rejection of his bad behaviour; similarly we believe those corrupt, incompetent or lazy police leaders who brought Vicpol to its present state should be held to account.
They cannot be allowed to just ride off into the sunset, for if that happens we will have overtly sent out more wrong signals.
If there are no negative repercussions for misconduct it will tend to be repeated. If there are no sanctions others are likely to be tempted to try it on.
Simplistic? Perhaps – but not as simplistic as idle threats or idealistic hopes alone. The rhetoric must be matched with action; and the action ought to be directed at those who brought this to pass in the first place.
by CAA | May 5, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
4th of May 2021
Hi All
At the most recent CAA Board meeting, the directors presented to members a strategy to raise funds to make the CAA more effective.
Raising the subs for members as was agreed at the last AGM with the additional income barely covering our Insurance premium.
Currently, we service many non-members with up-to-date information of our operations and often receive input from them influencing our work.
We would respectfully request our supporters to consider either a donation or formally apply to join the CAA as a full or associate member.
No CAA member receives any salary for their effort, some working the equivalent of full time on the project.
Ironically, now having a Chief Commissioner, Shane Patton who views Policing through a prism similar to ours, has not mitigated our work but increased it.
To assist the CAA in broadening our reach please review the link at caainc.org.au re membership/sponsorship and consider becoming a donor or more formally involved.
There are no obligations under our constitution for members to attend meetings, that only applies to the directors.
Our time target is two months.
Regards
Ivan W Ray
Chief Executive Officer
Community Advocacy Alliance
MEMBERSHIP AND DONATIONS
The CAA has three classes to support our efforts to communicate on behalf of the community issues that directly impact them through failures in Policing and law and order more generally.
The CAA is a Not-for-Profit registered charity and relies on funding by its members.
It has been operating for six years and publishes articles and lobbies where necessary to further the CAA message in support of the community.
The CAA has no renumerated staff.
To assist us in communicating with the community, the following options are available.
Donations; $20 – $50 – $100 +
Donors of $50 and $100+ have the option of also applying for Associate Membership ($50) and full Membership (100+). For Application forms, please go to cainc.org.au
For donations, go to caainc.org.au and follow the prompts from the ‘Donating to the CAA?’ Banner.
CAA Donor
There are no mutual obligations on donations other than the CAA undertakes to direct all funds to its stated purpose.
CAA Associate member
Rights
- Attend any AGM or Special General Meeting.
- Receive Email advice of any published articles.
- By invitation attend any Directors meeting.
- By invitation, address the Directors of the CAA on any approved topic.
- Have articles presented for publication evaluated by the editorial team.
- Appear on the CAA Web site ‘About us’ without a biography.
Responsibilities
- Maintain Associate membership dues. Currently $50 P/A.
- Have satisfied Directors of good character.
- Not breach confidentiality under any circumstances.
- Unless expressly authorised by a Director/s for a specific function, not to make any representation on behalf of the CAA.
CAA Member
Rights
- Voting rights at any AGM or Special General Meeting.
- To be nominated by a full member for any Directors vacancy.
- Receive direct Email advice of any published articles.
- Can participate in CAA Teams-subject to the Team Leaders approval.
- By invitation attend any Directors meeting.
- By invitation, address the Directors of the CAA on any approved topic.
- Have access to a CAA nameplate.
- Have articles presented for publication evaluated by the editorial team.
- Appear on the CAA Web site ‘About us’ with a short biography.
- Can be identified as a CAA Member.
Responsibilities
- Maintain membership dues. Currently $100 P/A.
- Be nominated by a Full Member.
- Have satisfied Directors of good character.
- Not breach confidentiality under any circumstances.
- Unless expressly authorised by a Director/s for a specific function, not to make any representation on behalf of the CAA.
Any inquiries should be directed to the Chief Executive Officer at CEO@caainc.org.au
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
Full Name …………………………………………………………..…..….
Age ………………………….. DOB……………………………..
Phone contact- Mbl………………………… Other…………………….……….
Email Address ……………………………………………………………….………..
Other Social media addresses
……………………………………………………………………………..
Address (physical) ………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………
Postal Address ………………………………………….……………………..
……………………………………………………..…………
Current employment status
………………………………………………………………….
Referees
Referred by CAA Member………………………………………………………
Or
Two character referees external to the CAA
Referee 1 Name……………………………………………………….…………..
Telephone…………………………………………………………..
Email…………………………………………………………………..
Referee 2 Name……………………………………………………….…………..
Telephone…………………………………………………………..
Email…………………………………………………………………..
I agree to a Police Security check as part of my Membership application.
I wish to be considered for (please tick the appropriate box.)
Full Member Associate Member
Membership Remittance
Full Membership $100
Associate Membership $ 50
Payments via the Donation portal on the Web site.
Membership Fee paid Yes No Date……………………
Applicants Signature…………………………………………………….
(COVID Rules apply, and an electronic signature will be accepted)
Applications to be forwarded to the Chief Executive Officer at CEO@caainc.org.au
All applications will be treated as confidential, and any and all information will only be retained by authorised directors.
Applications will be processed in accordance with the CAA Constitution.
CAA Constitution extract
8 Who is eligible to be a member
Any person who supports the purposes of the Association is eligible for Membership.
9 Application for Membership
(1) To apply to become a member of the Association, a person must submit a written application to the Secretary of the Board stating that the person—
(a) wishes to become a member of the Association; and
(b) supports the purposes of the Association; and
(c) agrees to comply with these Rules.
(2) The application—
(a) must be signed by the applicant; and
(b) maybe accompanied by the joining fee.
Note
The joining fee is the fee (if any) determined by the Association under rule 12(3).
10 Consideration of application
(1) As soon as practicable after an application for Membership is received, the Executive Board Directors must decide by resolution whether to accept or reject the application.
(2) The Secretary must notify the applicant in writing of its decision as soon as practicable after the decision is made.
(3) If the Board rejects the application, it must return any money accompanying the application to the applicant.
(4) No reason need be given for the rejection of an application.
by CAA | Apr 28, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
28th April 2023
There is no argument, based on fact, that we are winning the war on drugs. If winning or losing was adjudged, we are not only losing but being smashed.
The benefit of the millions of dollars applied to the supply side of the illicit drug trade can only be described as relatively ineffective on any cost-benefit analysis. Equally, there is no effective broad-based proactive strategy to address the issue of users, the demand side.
Huge drug busts should not be the measure of success for law enforcement because, at best, it causes some disruption. But, as one commentator quipped recently, syndicates allow in their business model for law enforcement to have some success as well as being ripped off by other criminals. Still, the vast profits make this risk worthwhile.
We do not suggest targeting criminal importation of illicit drugs be wound back. However, to make the war on drugs deliver some impact on the illicit trade, we need to attack not only the product but the hearts and minds of users and potential users, and that is the demand side of the equation.
With reduced demand, the supply will ultimately shrink after initially creating an increased oversupply. As a result, the oversupplied product is harder to offload, forcing prices down, and the level of crime to maintain a habit fades.
Although we are not naive enough to suggest a strategy addressing the demand side would eliminate the drug trade, it will not, but combined with the attacks on the supply side; it is likely to markedly reduce the number of users and, to a degree, mitigate the problem The mitigation will be in direct proportion to the application of strategies aimed at the demand side.
Most current resources applied to the demand side are generally targeted at those entering or about to enter the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, there is little evidence that there is any effective intervention before this, and by the time users enter the Justice system, the chances of an effective diversion are severely diminished; it is too late for many.
The CAA believes that a strategy that involves early intervention is far more likely to be effective than waiting for the problem to substantially manifest.
The strategy.
We have come to accept that Quarantine is a very effective way to control contagions in the community. Illicit drugs arguably kill more Australians than the COVID Pandemic. We accept Quarantine for that lesser evil, so why not apply the same principles to Illicit Drugs, creating drug Quarantine facilities?
Populating a drug quarantine facility.
Anybody suspected of being under the influence or adjudged by Police or a medical practitioner on reasonable grounds to have ingested illicit drugs, and a drug test on-site returns a positive, these people can, by Health Order, be immediately placed in Quarantine.
What might a Drug quarantine facility look like?
A secure place where users can be medically assessed and held on a Health Order for up to fourteen days while they are evaluated and their health adjusted before being released back into society or the legal system.
The first function of the facility is to conduct a clinical assessment to confirm the presence of illicit drugs. A person found not to be under the influence of drugs must be immediately released from the facility after advising the Police if other Judicial obligations exist.
During this period, experts can work with the person to guide them to deal with any dependency or other health issues. They can access support if required and have them return to society in a better condition than they were, armed with how to escape their addiction and or lifestyle changes to remove the necessity of drugs before they become addicted.
Taking drug-affected people away from Hospital Emergency Rooms must be one of the great positives of this strategy.
We would argue that there is no reasonable opportunity for clinicians or others working in the shooting gallery environment to have any useful interaction with the addicts. That is probably because there are none, supporting the argument that a shooting gallery is a drug facilitation facility.
Users arrive desperate for their fix and leave on a high, so the argument that prevention work is carried out is a myth. That is probably why the most important statistic that these facilities will not publish is the number of addicts diverted from their addiction.
An addict or drug user in Quarantine would be absolutely focused on clinicians making medical intervention far more effective because of the nature of the facility.
What of the mechanics of this proposal?
A Drug Quarantine facility will need to be as secure as any other Quarantine facility with some added safeguards specific to the purpose.
The concept is to have strong security by a suitable agency and inside managed by Health professionals.
A drug-affected person who has allegedly committed a serious crime and is under the influence of drugs when arrested can be sent to the facility and be transferred to the criminal justice system on the expiration of the fourteen days for Justice processing.
It would be reasonable to presume that an alleged perpetrator will be much better able to deal with any matters being as healthy as can be achieved in fourteen days.
Where will they be located?
Drug quarantine facilities can be housed in the now redundant properties and buildings secured for the COVID pandemic. Repurposing these resources would be sensible and supported by all Victorians. The attraction of this approach would give Victoria a resource never before enjoyed should a wide-ranging pandemic ever eventuate in the future. The Drug quarantine facilities can be repurposed back for the duration of any new challenges. Short-term interruptions to the Drug service would have little meaningful impact on the Drug patient as their stay in the facilities are only short-term.
What benefits of this approach?
There would be a number of positives cascading from this initiative; we have listed a few.
- The significant and first impact will be on reducing drivers on our roads that use drugs and the lives saved. The effect community-wide will be almost immediate, and the deterrent effect profound.
- Illicit drugs impact domestic violence, and removing a drug-affected perpetrator from a violent domestic situation is a very positive capability that can also save lives.
- Drug users, particularly in their early foray into the scene, will be discouraged from further involvement.
- The drug scene will be driven underground, a real positive, to keep it away from our kids. Anything that makes drugs more difficult to obtain is a positive, as necessary as being socially derided.
- An addict may find that returning to the quarantine process as a repeat user may be the catalyst to encourage the person to seek a way out from their addiction, creating the motivation necessary to break the addiction.
- The stigma attached to the Quarantine facility will also be a substantial deterrent to would-be users. But, on the other hand, time out in the facility may be the early intervention that stops the cycle of rampant addiction.
- It is unlikely that Police would proceed with any criminal matters on the lower end of the criminal scale on users quarantined, exercising discretion and preventing many from entering the Justice system, consequently reducing court caseloads.
- Importantly, the maintenance and access to quality data for research purposes would start to achieve data that can be relied upon as the depth and demographic associated with the problem become evident to allow the development of more targeted approaches.
Why will Quarantine work?
Will Quarantine move all away from drugs? No, but the impact on their health and giving them a hiatus in their lifestyle might just have the desired effect for many. After fourteen days, they will have lost their position in the drug empire, so they will have to start again. Disruption can sometimes be more effective than the current options and should never be underestimated as a counter to an illegal problem.
Identifying and removing trigger points for addicts over fourteen days would act as step one to recovery, and with the trigger points identified, it can be the start of a way out.
Rehabilitation
We accept the arguments for rehabilitation and the lack of resources available to addicts; there does need to be an increase in these resources; however, pouring buckets of money into the rehabilitation of addicts will not solve the problem per se. The nirvana of a rehab centre on every corner would add to the problem, not diminish it, with the same impact as safe injecting rooms. They both play as a positive in the drug Marketing mix, not a negative, as should be the case.
The consequences of no action
The community is only too aware that community leaders’ efforts to manage the drug issue have failed abysmally. There are no forward-thinking strategies that we know of, to overcome, or at the very least, achieve a reduction in the problem.
More Safe Injecting Rooms means more addicts and growth in the drug industry.
Make no mistake, the explosion of Safe Injecting Rooms is seen as a pathway by some towards legalisation of Illicit drugs; it is merely step one.
Separation of legal and health issues.
We must accept that while illicit drugs are a legal issue, addiction is a health one, and the separation needs to be understood.
Incarceration within the Justice system and given the innate ability of individuals to be innovative to satisfy human needs (including needs not listed in Maslow’s theory), we are not particularly confident that being in jail will necessarily mean no access to drugs.
While we strongly advocate the health aspect as essential to address, the criminal aspect must not be ignored.
Drug addicts do not commit a crime in some involuntary state, they may have strong urges to satisfy their addiction, but the offence is only the method to access the drugs. They are entirely cognisant that their actions are criminal. Often the crimes require planning, and that is not the actions of an addict in some involuntary state.
As we separate the health and the crime issues, the courts must separate the addiction from the offence.
If a person commits a crime to service an addiction, the addiction should be irrelevant to any penalty. Deriving some benefit to penalty before the Courts because of an addiction to an illegal substance, is in our view, objectionable.
Legalising/ decriminalisation of illicit Drugs
That is the holy grail for the drug industry and all the drug apologists who generally imbibe but do not want the hassle of potential criminal sanctions.
This is particularly an attitude amongst many elites who enjoy risk-taking but hold down very responsible executive positions.
Make no mistake, we are on the path to Legalising Illicit drugs. The strategy of creeping assumptions is well developed, with the end game not far away.
It started with the safe injecting Rooms. The legalisation of prostitution and now working groups looking at the of legalising drugs. We know what they will find and there will be little doubt that attempts to ram through legislation on this matter is nigh.
The working groups are looking at the how to, not the why.
It’s not just Quarantine as the solution.
A Quarantine program is but one part of the strategy; the other is public awareness campaigns. The Quit campaign that altered community standards is a standout, but in this case, targeting the young to make drugs socially unacceptable in that cohort would be imperative. Take the ‘Cool‘ out of drugs.
Recent research suggests thirty lives per year, plus countless injuries, involve drug-affected drivers.
The acting Police Minster Ben Carroll, referring to drugged drivers, was recently quoted as saying, “Any measure on our roads to save lives is worth taking”, and he is absolutely right. However, we need a new direction because what has been done to date has been a failure.
It is common knowledge amongst particularly young drivers that consuming alcohol and driving is too risky, but party drugs are undetectable (the integrity of this statement is questionable, in fact). So, they use drugs in lieu of alcohol with all the added risks—particularly the long-lasting effect of days, not hours.
The prospect of 14 days of Quarantine, if a driver is detected with drugs, would dramatically reduce the Drug Driver problem overnight.
What of the other issues?
This paper does not address the myriad of detail required to implement this proposal but proposes a concept that can be developed into reality in a relatively short time frame.
The quarantine approach to Illicit drugs is new and innovative, and, most importantly, infinitely measurable.
Victoria can become a world leader in this field by applying a commitment towards a solution for the illicit drug problem.
It is convenient that the government has two options currently available to implement the program by repurposing two Government facilities, the Quarantine facility at Mickleham and the Yooralla Building in the CBD.
Repurposing both facilities would receive strong community support and have almost an immediate impact.
by CAA | Apr 27, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
27th April 2021
Shocking revelations reported today (27th April 2021) in the Herald Sun about the perilous situation at Shepparton Secondary College, a Super School being developed to house 2700 students plus over 300 staff, pushing the behemoth towards 4000+.
Whoever would have thought that amalgamating four Secondary Colleges would create such socially dysfunctional problems? The decision would have to be based on the naivety of decision-makers.
The situation as reported is not an education problem, but a Law-and-Order problem created by those same naive bureaucrats. How the amalgamation would lead to better academic outcomes is problematic?
As with other areas, the crime in greater Shepparton is predominantly or at least quantitatively associated with young people as victims or perpetrators. That is nothing new and is replicated across society but putting all of these problems in one spot has enormous risks, particularly for victims, who cannot escape from persecution by others.
How the ‘experts’ could not foresee this is extraordinary.
Unbelievably, the naive bureaucrats failed to see the obvious outcome of this strategy, but they would have you fear not; because the problems are to do with the separate campuses and when the Super School is completed, the problems will somehow go away because the problems spread over four schools will now be in one place.
The Building is the solution, unbelievable. If that fails what will they blame next?
Education Department Schools and Regional Services Deputy Secretary David Howe was quoted when asked what the school would do if students were “attacked” at the new super school, said, “the size of the school would ensure comprehensive support services were available”. (The building again?)
He was also quoted as saying, “We don’t expect there to be security on-site at the new school”. (Why not?)
The theme of all the comments as reported is focused on what they may, could or perhaps should do to deal with an incident, including calling the Police.
They even boast comprehensive support services are available at the new site.
After a child has been terrorised and all these wonderful resources are applied, a victim’s parents; in fact, society may ask a pertinent question like,
“What was done to prevent this happening to my child”.
That very same question might be subsequently asked of the Education Department in the Supreme Court where parents seek redress.
Depending on the circumstances, the chance of the ‘Comprehensive support services’ giving a child back their life is extremely problematic.
With this ‘After the horse has bolted’ approach – how do parents pick up the pieces and explain that to a young victim. Equally, how do the bureaucrats explain to Teachers who succumb to PTSD from working continually in an unsafe environment and have their lives ruined that they were placed in that position where the risks should have reasonably be foreseen. An ‘eyes wide shut’, scenario.
This could also create awkward questions for the Education Department in the Supreme Court, where redress for the loss of a career is sought by affected staff.
The new school might be bright and shiny on the outside, a picture of advancement in Education, but will actually harbour a toxic culture of bullying and violence- a new building it might be, but it accommodates the same pupils with the same dispositions as before, just doing their thing in a nicer environment.
It is interesting that just up the road from Shepparton is the Township of Numurka with a population of 4000+. Interesting because Numurka has a Police Station and multiple Police in and part of the community focused on maintaining Law and Order. Something the 4000+ at the secondary college do not have.
Among the Student population at this super college, it would not be difficult to claim that a fair percentage of the perpetrators for crime and anti-social behaviour, not only inside but outside the college in the broader community, are students and ex-students.
With the philosophical strategy for Policing in Victoria, which has seen a substantial overhaul by Chief Commissioner Patton, the need for embedded Police in these large monolithic centres of learning for academic and criminal excellence must be given serious consideration to address a problem, not caused by the Police, but which the Police will be require to deal.
This concept of Super schools has some similarities to the Drug injecting room principle that acts like a ‘honey pot’ for dealers as a convenient concentration of their market in one place that suits their marketing model.
That will occur at the Super college, if not already. It was reported that some eternal perpetrator wearing a school uniform to mix with the students for fights. It is not a big step away from accessing a broad market for dealers amongst the school population as they move about undetected.
What better marketing principle to expand your market than to capture kids in an environment where peer pressure is inescapable, a captive market if you like.
“Go on, give it a go, it’s good gear, it won’t hurt you”.
Time for the Education Department to reconsider how they will deal with all the problems that are certain to arise.
by CAA | Apr 17, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
18th April 2021
We often hear about the ills of society and in particular the failings of our youth.
We hear a lot less about solutions and almost nothing about what, as a society, we inadvertently contribute to exasperating the problem.
There is however uniform agreement that the most important strategies to help keep our youth on the straight and narrow is education and then employment.
If they do err, then the wisdom is that they should receive a diversion rather than a penalty; but paradoxically that argument is only applied to crime; traffic errors are excluded creating a circle of unintended consequences.
The CAA has argued for this directional change since 2017 but ignored, however, we are confident the new Chief Commissioner with a commitment to youth, crime prevention and community engagement will recognise the imperatives in this case.
See http://caainc.org.au/lose-your-licence-lose-your-life-4/ and http://caainc.org.au/lose-your-licence-lose-your-life/
We penalise young drivers to an extraordinary level compared to young people that commit even serious crimes like an armed robbery; and then complain that young drivers are turning to drugs and anti-social behaviour, a fairly hypocritical position we would argue. Even most recidivist young drivers never received any diversion when they first came under notice.
A new driver has but five demerit points in their point bank when they start driving. A time when it is perfectly reasonable to expect they will make mistakes. If they do, and they are booked then so be it, but it is the unintended penalty that needs to be urgently addressed.
Apart from being a new driver, most are also in the early stages of a career and the system is weighted heavily against the young people in the trades, where their ability to drive is essential to maintain their employment. In most cases, they cannot carry their tools of trade on public transport and that assumes that public transport services their workplace.
The inevitable outcome is that a three-month licence suspension serves as a penalty not often commensurate with the offence alleged.
Without work, a car loan and living expenses, the dire circumstances faced by our young provide an attraction to either ignore their suspension and drive or turn to crime to service their financial demise.
Sitting around with no work, no money and a car that is about to be repossessed (perhaps destroying any credit rating for future borrowing) provides an environment when even the best kids will be tempted to follow an easy solution, crime.
It will almost inevitably be in the area of drugs as the youth see no escape and look for escapism, drugs; that ticks two boxes (they think) solving the financial crisis and allows an escape from reality on a high.
The legal system should and must be reserved for recidivist offenders, and in the Road Safety space serious breaches.
It is argued by some, who do not understand young people, that if they are aggrieved then the legal system will deal with it. That presupposes that young people are willing to chance their arm by sacrificing more days off work if they even know how the system works and where they should start. Getting a Lawyer is cost-prohibitive and they would not know where to start for legal aid; but here is a better solution.
Victoria Police run a highly effective Cautioning Program for young criminal offenders, and it would only need policy, not legislative changes to include probationary drivers in this scheme.
It is cost-effective, is likely to have very positive outcomes and gives police the opportunity to talk with young people building bridges that often collapse when they are booked.
We can book them today and want their help tomorrow.
Only misguided officials would consider a fine and loss of employment a just penalty for low-level traffic breaches when a great percentage are mistakes rather than deliberate behaviour.
Compliance with the road rules is a lofty ideal but having the community actively supporting this ideal by a more nuanced and targeted approach is likely to succeed with the young, rather than the big stick that is more than likely going to do other damage while trying to land on the target.
The cycle of unintended consequences
by CAA | Apr 11, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
11th April 2021
Mr Ron Fenton CPO
Police Veteran
Dear Ron
Thank you
Thank you for your enthusiasm and unwavering drive and support of the CAA, particularly the Police in schools initiative.
I often despaired over the years of pursuing this initiative, and when the issues seemed insurmountable, it would be inevitable that you would call me.
Your enthusiasm was a welcome tonic, and with your sidekick Yogi as our mascot, although he didn’t say much, he was there. After a dose of your effervescence, I again, with greater enthusiasm, tackled the issues.
Even when it was obvious you were not well; you still pushed me to get you into a school in front of the kids, a joy that you had learnt many years before when you were a member of the police School Lecture Squad—a goal you recently achieved with aplomb when lesser men would have already thrown the towel in.
It was a great honour for the CAA to have you represent us at the first Police Veterans In Schools classroom session. We could not have wished for a better advocate.
As you move to another phase, we are confident that you will not be alone; not only will you be in our thoughts and sadly missed, we know that a fellow CAA member Vaughan Werner will be there to guide you.
I would not be a bit surprised if you two set up a branch of the CAA. You might have a bit of trouble recruiting volunteers, but conscripts will no doubt swell your ranks in the future.
To the CAA members who have helped and supported their colleague on this journey, thank you, and I know Ron appreciated it.
Ron, the appropriate salutation is not farewell but À La Prochaine.
Kindest regards.
Ivan W Ray
Chief Executive Officer
Community Advocacy Alliance Inc
by CAA | Apr 11, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
11th April 2021
Currently, rumours abound that a review of the Victoria Police Discipline system is underway. We would have thought it a low priority but something that does need attention.
Although the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) does not normally respond to ‘Scuttlebutt’, on this occasion, we make an exception because whether it is true or not is irrelevant. If it is true, then good; if not, there needs to be one at some stage.
The CAA has a view that the discipline system needs to be updated, but of far greater concern is the processes and techniques used by the police members responsible for the internal investigations.
This area needs’ root and branch’ reform, starting with admitting there is a problem, identifying whether the problem is a management one, and at what level, or a skills deficit in investigators.
Ironically, the Police Professional Standards Command (PSC) seem to be responsible for more breaches of professional standards than the general police service. But nobody seems to care as it inflicted on Police.
We have been shocked at the poor standard of investigations that have been undertaken by this unit that we would have expected to be by example at the pinnacle of professional standards.
We accept, however, this deficit was not created overnight, and previous administrations have a lot to answer for.
The PSC Command should stand above victimisation and poor investigation practices. If evidence of an offence is clear after proper investigation, then a process should be commenced against the police member, but if the evidence to support criminal or disciplinary charges is lacking or flawed, the PSC should walk away. The investigators’ emotions and views must be irrelevant; the decisions must be made on the evidence.
It is imperative that investigations are based on all available evidence, not just the evidence that supports the investigator’s hypothesis.
But to the rumoured review. The greatest risk, that a review of this nature presents is the methodology it uses.
There have been many issues that touch on discipline over recent years where the matters have been outsourced, where Police administration has avoided making decisions, probably because of a lack of skill.
Having external bodies, quangos, or authorities designing and determining Police policy is a shocking indictment on the inability of Police administrations.
You could be forgiven for assuming that these organisations are responsible for running the Police Force, given past experience; yet the Chief Commissioner runs the Police Force, and these organisations may be invited to express a view to be considered. However, the responsibility for policing this State unequivocally rests with the CCP, and he has the weight of the Police Act behind him and eighteen thousand-odd police members.
Concerning, in the rumour sphere, is that the people conducting the review are considering or are inviting input from these same agencies or authorities that have previously been given authority over the Force.
Subcontracting Force Management was a disgrace then, and we are confident that with the new Chief Commissioner, we had passed by those rubbish approaches, so we sincerely hope the ‘rumour mill’ is inaccurate on this point.
We have no difficulty and see merit in external input but not at the design stage.
It is imperative that the architects of a review of discipline procedures and policy start by designing a discipline system that best suits the Force. When that is complete and accepted by the Chief Commissioner, that is the time these eternal authorise could be invited to make submissions of any concerns, and that includes the Police Association who would clearly have a significant conflict of interest in being involved in the design phase.
There is a quantum difference between “What do you think our discipline system should look like” and “You are invited to comment on our revised discipline system”. The first option indicates indecisive procrastination at play, the second displays leadership.
The CAA has argued that the current system is full of grey areas where the evidence seems not to matter.
We have come across examples where Investigators have created a narrative or hypothesis, and then only evidence sourced to support that narrative is submitted. A disgraceful practice reflecting poor investigative skills and the lack of ethics of the investigator, but more damming of the quality and ethics of their supervisors who allow this to occur.
It will be interesting to see, if there is a review, whether some real experts with lived experience of the system are encouraged to have input; there are plenty of them around in the Veteran ranks.
That would be one way to correctly identify the flaws that everybody thinks exist. A courageous move that would gain substantial respect and give strong credence to any redesign of the system.
The CAA has advocated that VicPol should consider introducing a Discipline Penalty Notice system (DPN) for minor disciplinary breaches.
Over recent years these minor matters have generally been overlooked or form part of a breakdown between managers and staff, leading to a lack of discipline throughout the organisation. Minor matters escalate rapidly if not resolved, and the DPN provides that solution.
To quote the Chief Commissioner out of context, “it is the little things that matter and can make a huge difference,” and that can be applied equally to discipline.
A DPN system covering a raft of matters will have a very significant and positive impact on Force discipline and members’ welfare.
A more disciplined force will see a substantial improvement in operational capabilities and outputs.
A DPN issued to a member takes away any angst or debate that reduces managers effectiveness, removes ambiguity, and encourages compliance on the spot rather than entering a convoluted process that is costly to administer and is a long way over the top for minor matters, creating a disincentive to act against miscreants.
There are a number of advantages of DPN’s if structured properly with a review provision and effective management of the issuing of DPN’s. A record of how many are issued and by whom and for what is an important safeguard against victimisation and also indicates whether the supervisor or manager is actually doing their job.
Once a mean average can be established across the organisation of DPN’s issued supervisors who are constantly above or below that average can be asked to explain. Most relevant if they are not meeting their KPI’s. If necessary, their management style can be adjusted.
Respect for Police is imperative to achieve good outcomes in Policing any community; it is counter-intuitive that Policing presents as an undisciplined organisation expecting the community to comply (exercise discipline) with the law.
Extending on the Chief’s comments that little things matter, the DPN system will correct many of the little things leading to a reduction in the bigger problems.
It is totally unreasonable to expect managers or supervisors to perform their task effectively without the necessary tools. We would not accept sending operational police into the field with out adequate tools, so appropriate tools should be provided for managers and supervisors.
The CAA believe the proactive deterrent effect of having this process in place will well justify the introduction.
The proposal for a Discipline Notice was submitted to VicPol in 2018 by the CAA.
Discipline Notice
2018
At the heart of every healthy and resilient organisation is its culture. A culture can wax and wane, but it is the culture that creates the environment for a successful, productive, and dynamic enterprise.
At its cultural peak, an organisation can be unassailable in its quest for success; at its worst, it will destroy that very same organisation making it circumscribed, insipid, racked with problems producing lacklustre results.
Many of the influences on the culture dynamic are very subtle, and others not so; however, to re-energise a negative culture takes a particular management skill.
One of the things we do know from our experience is that a culturally sound and dynamic organisation is not plagued by embarrassing leaks to the media because there are no embarrassments to leak.
Media leaks are symptomatic of a culturally weak organisation, and the problem is exasperated by ‘Witch Hunts’, focusing on the source of the leak, rather than energy directed at solving the issue leaked.’ Witch Hunts’ are damaging to the culture and used by management to divert focus from their ineptitude.
We recommend the Force adopt a Discipline Penalty Notice (DPN) approach to discipline within the organisation capable of dealing with eighty per cent of the discipline matters of the organisation.
The focus of this system is to correct behaviours, and if that fails, to provide empirical evidence to terminate the police member.
Former members who have been subject to the discipline where the abhorrent and unprofessional practice of Judicial Personnel Management was applied, including the disgusting practice of the, ‘Walk of Shame’, have all related a story which generally starts out with a rather benign issue that just escalates exponentially to where they are charged with criminal offences only to have them dismissed. A number of these stories we published.
The majority of ex-members we spoke to ultimately and successfully achieved redress through civil litigation. However, it was obvious in some cases that inappropriate action by some managers was ‘covered up’ by the confidentiality agreements negotiated for settlement. This culture of cover-up, not exposing anomalies in the behaviour and processes of Vicpol, goes to the detriment of the organisation.
The advantages of a discipline notice are:
- The application of discipline can be closely monitored in both its application and impact, by location and individual managers, and will remove or readily identify examples of harassment and bad practices.
- Managers will not need to negotiate, therefore avoiding the rationalisation debates that lead to conflict.
- The system will be cost-effective by removing convoluted disciplinary procedures.
- To free up resources dedicated to disciplinary matters to further bolster frontline policing.
- To provide essential information for selection boards. Selection boards having access to notices issued against an applicant or where rank appropriate the number of notices issued by the applicant are both valuable inputs to assess any applicant.
- Provide empirical data for any consideration of a member’s ability to remain in the organisation.
What might a Discipline Notice system look like?
The main components of the system should be:
- To recognise natural justice principles of fairness.
- To not be cumbersome.
- A period of three years without further breaches should see the expiration of the record of the original notice ( a prior).
- The penalties must be scaled. However, the temptation for high penalties must be avoided as the application of this process has broader implications than the monetary penalty.
- A right of appeal within a predetermined period, for example, seven days, must be provided to either a nominated Panel and or the Police Discipline Board.
- Fines ranging from $20 – $200 to discourage frivolous appeals.
- Penalties, when applied, must be recovered at the following pay period.(Unless hardship can be demonstrated)
- Line managers must be given real-time data on the use of this process within their span of command to enable action to be taken against misuse by subordinate managers.
- Notices must generally be issued at the time of the infringement; delaying the issuing minimises the effect.
- Once a Notice is issued, the onus will shift to the member to justify the breach on appeal.
The kinds of discipline offences that might be included are:
- Not being available and ready to start work at the rostered time.
- Ceasing duty before the allotted shift expiration.
- Presenting for duty with a hairstyle that does not comply with policy.
- Unkempt Uniform.
- Failing to maintain footwear in a serviceable and clean condition.
- Failing to wear headwear outside the precincts of a police building.
- Failing to properly brief fellow officers on matters likely to affect their performance of duty or adversely affect the public.
- Unauthorised access to material on the Police Intranet.
- Use of police IT resources for other than Police work.
- Abusive or belligerent behaviour in the workplace.
- Making racial or sexist slurs or gestures.
- Failing to report to superiors incidents of harassment, bullying or sexually inappropriate behaviour of others.
- Failing to comply with a supervisor’s reasonable and lawful instruction.
- Failing to complete required correspondence in a timely manner.
- Failing to follow up on a report by a member of the public.
- Failing to be courteous or compassionate to a member of the public.
- Failing to maintain Police equipment in a serviceable condition.
- The unauthorised release of information to the media.
- Asleep on duty.
- Failing to perform the allocated rostered duty.
These are but a few matters that can be dealt with under this process. There is no doubt many more that can be added to the list — the more added, the less need for specialist investigators.
This process will be a huge step in moving decision making from a centralised system closer to where the action causing the breach is played out and empowers line managers to take greater control of their area of responsibility and creates accountability.
With this proposal outline, we are confident that a small, committed team could have this system operational in a reasonably short period. The success of the program will be the implementation with deliberate acceptance that once it is operational, there will be the need for adjustments until the best process evolves.
Trying to make it perfect before implementation will assign this initiative to a premature grave.
by CAA | Apr 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
by CAA | Apr 8, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
8th of April 2021
If an organisation lurches along from one crisis to the next, the first place to look for a solution is management.
It would not be unkind to describe Vitoria Police management styles and processes over the last couple of decades as mediocre, where traditional values of the organisation were trashed, and Chief Commissioners that can only be described as administrators held sway rather than Police leaders.
In the early 2000’s the management tool entitled ‘Rotations’ was introduced primarily to the Officer Rank and overwhelmingly impacting Local Area Commanders (LAC’s), and it has been retained ever since. Not to be confused with the Chief Commissioner’s appointments to meet operational and other specific demands on the organisation, ‘Rotations’ were more an administrative process of vague and spurious purpose.
‘Rotations’, in our view, rates right up alongside the other much pilloried and discredited Matrix Management system, coupled with other management failures that caused Victoria Police, arguably, formerly the best Police Force in Australia, to become a target of scorn through failed management processes.
The current Chief Commissioner has the unenviable task of unpicking past failed strategies and processes to rebuild the proud institution of Victoria Police.
Ironically, most of the poor management processes were imported from the New South Wales Police Force, but, by and large, the Commissioners in New South Wales either modified these strategies dramatically or dispensed with them entirely, reasonably soon after their introduction or as the failings became obvious.
Victoria, however, battled on, and despite what should have been obvious, after close to twenty years of neanderthal leadership, these principles are still in vogue to some degree—usually supported by those who are part of the mediocracy genre.
It was argued, at the time, that ‘Rotation’ of appointments for set periods, usually three years, would reduce the likelihood of corruption (how that was to be achieved has never been explained or the necessity justified) and allegedly give officers broader operational experience.
We suggest it was more about control by an administration that lacked confidence and the ability to manage a Police Force properly. Their inadequacies would never be exposed or challenged by subordinates whose aspirations were to achieve mediocrity.
The threat of a ‘Rotation’ could be held over all subordinates; this equated to Power that fed into an ineffectual centralist management model, a model that has been long held to derisive criticism.
In the real Policing world, where theory is applied to practice, the commissioned ‘Rotated’ Officer spends the first year getting to know their new patch and the third year worrying about where the lottery might put them on their next rotation, with little opportunity to exercise their management prowess, let alone develop and implement strategic objectives or develop clear appreciations of each staff grouping which is the best way to identify (amongst other things) where corruption might lurk.
From a subordinate managers perspective, where the policing, ‘rubber hits the road’, it is a’ conga line’ of Inspectors who change so rapidly that they often did not know they had a new boss or who it was. Again, from where they sit, the rotated officers generally tended to lay scorn on their predecessor, often pulling down any of the predecessor’s policies and directions installing their own, only to be changed with the next rotation.
Subordinates were regularly told that ‘Rotations’ were necessary to give Officers operational experience, but because of current operational structures, this would have been rarely achieved other than a ‘Curriculum Vitae’ that could include an operational appointment, whether it was of value, was apparently not the point.
This process is counterintuitive. If an officer needs operational experience, presumably to equip them for promotion, then the onus should be on them to apply for a position where that experience is available. If not, they were unsuitable for promotion, their call, their career. If that is untenable, pair them up with an experienced and competent LAC to learn the craft.
The ‘Rotation’ process has achieved a couple of goals, decision making is forced up, and the workload is forced down, making what was perhaps a void between Officers and other ranks a chasm.
That is not a good strategy for any organisation, least of all Policing.
On the issue of corruption, one of the traits of the corrupt is to engage in’ The Mushroom Treatment’ of superiors, and the tenure being short ensures this process is effective. Moreover, others who are not corrupt will be loath to trust an Officer they do not really know or have not built up a trust bank with.
‘Rotations’ can therefore nurture corruption rather than suppress it.
There is an apt adage in the Public service –
‘Never stay in any place longer than three years – if you do, your mistakes will end up back on your desk rather than somebody else’s.’
It makes you wonder just how much of the available resources are applied to running these rotations for no appreciable return. These resources could be better applied to catching crooks or some other measurable productivity gains. A simple cost-benefit analysis would put paid to this process quick smart.
The major failure of the Rotation system are;
- It shields incompetence. Offices rotated before the impact of their management capabilities, or lack thereof can be realised and evaluated.
- Accountability is the first casualty. Using the Public Service adage, the consequences of many management decisions cannot be measured in months so that a bad one will end up on the desk of the replacement, accountability avoided.
- Promotes mediocrity. It encourages officers to be totally benign, lest they should be sent somewhere undesirable.
- Stifle’s leadership development. As the system discourages decision making referring all matter up the chain.
- Promotes centralist management. This is arguably the most parlous to the organisation, achieving centralising decisions at the pinnacle of the organisation, the antithesis of good management.
- Suppresses proper assessments. Subordinates do not get an adequate opportunity to be properly assessed by the Officer as equally those of superior rank do not properly assess the LAC Officer. A receipt for fostering mediocrity over capability leading to mediocracy becomes the aspirational standard.
- Stifles leadership development Subordinate Officers are less likely to provide leadership in case their superiors may feel threatened.
- Damages respect. Officer undertaking ineffective ‘Rotations’ diminish the authority of the rank, with subordinates. Respect is hard to earn but easy to lose.
- Spawns PTSD with this process; no manager would have time to identify, let alone fix flaws in their span of control that impact members’ welfare, causing or contributing to PTSD.
- A punitive process Perhaps not the intent by a misguided executive class, the ‘Rotations’ are invariably interpreted as a punitive measure.
- Management ownership One of the most useful management features occurs when the manager ‘owns their patch’, whether that is geographical or otherwise does not matter, but with ownership comes pride and accountability where relationships with staff and other stakeholders are built over time based on trust and respect. ‘Rotation’ stifles these important management functions magnified in the Policing business that is all about people as its core function.
- Negative family impact. An overriding and significant issue is the impact on the members family – the burden of the uncertainty of where the member may end up on the next rotation is the real kicker that can lead to relationships stresses external to policing.
- The financial impact on members. ‘Rotations’ can also have an economic impact on families feeding into more domestic disquiet affecting the member’s performance.
‘Rotations’ and its impact is most poignantly demonstrated at the sharp end of policing, General Duties, and the most dangerous for Police and the community. The logic in sending the least experienced to perform a function that should be reserved for the most experience defies any reasonable logic.
The core business of policing is managed by the least competent managers rather than leaders.
Placing Officers on ‘L’ Plates in charge of Operations is an insult to the members who we ask to put themselves on the line for our community.
Even the community are entitled to the best leadership that can be assigned to their needs.
The LAC positions should be filled by the brightest and best from where future promotions are drawn. If Officers need operational experience, then attach them to work alongside experienced and competent LAC’s, better outcomes would be achieved for the trainee and the organisation.
Good management practices would see a greater reliance on Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) to determine staff movement. If an officer, or any member for that matter, is achieving their KPI’s, then why move them for moving’s sake? It also defies logic.
There will obviously be rare circumstances where a ‘Rotation’ is essential to avoid damage to the organisations’ function, but it must not be the default position.
We do not in any way advocate mollycoddling, but consistent and fair management of all staff and managers alike.
Consistency and fairness are a contagion that can seep through the organisation and will add cohesion and a sense of wellbeing across all members irrespective of rank, increasing productivity and reducing negative outcomes like PTSD.
It might even see the emergence again of ‘Esprit de corps’ –
‘The common spirit existing in the members of a group inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and a strong regard for the honour of the group’.
by CAA | Mar 31, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
1st April 2021
The demands on Policing are greater than ever. Natural disasters, the Covid pandemic and more demonstrations place an additional burden on police resources and make policing more complex. With demands like gathering statistical data for other agencies or authorities, and some other extraneous duties distracting Police from their core function exasperates the problems.
It has become undeniable over the last year or so that the Victoria Police Force’s surge capacity needs to be reviewed.
Ironically, the CAA identified the issue in 2018, and the recent disasters have highlighted that our concerns were well-founded.
If anybody is under any illusion that it is all OK and VicPol is coping, have a long hard think. They may be at the moment, but this cannot be sustained.
Under the current circumstances, VicPol is doing an outstanding job, and we feel for the members, from Command to Constable they are all under relentless pressure. Unless some circuit breakers are installed rapidly, the long-term impact will be nothing short of catastrophic.
The inevitable outcome has been and will continue to be felt in two ways, a continuing and escalating crime wave that the CAA has predicted and the demise of Police members succumbing to the relentless demands of tight rosters and overwork feeding into members cracking, some never to live a life free from mental illness as a result.
Both outcomes will need generations to repair and incur unimaginable costs.
The people in VicPol who will feel the brunt of these outcomes will be the most valuable asset VicPol has, the General Duties Constables and Senior Constables.
Those who maintain and hold the thin Blue line.
The problem is we need effectively, a thousand more Police urgently; today would not be soon enough.
And that is but a ‘pipe dream’ because even if the Chief Commissioner was given an open cheque book tomorrow, we will not see any meaningful impact for three to four years, and by that time, the damage will be done.
Since 2018 CAA has promoted the concept of establishing a Police Reserve Force to assist VicPol to achieve surge capacity. There are literally thousands of former Police in the community who could be mobilised in the right circumstance at a fraction of the cost of expanding the Force dramatically.
The massive advantage of using these former Police is that they are a known quantity and come pre-armed with a Police culture.
You can take Police out of Policing, but you cannot take Policing out of Police.
It will take some highly skilled people with creativity to establish a worthwhile and suitable Reserve Force. This can comprise age-retired former Police and many who have resigned through medical or other reasons and have now regained their health.
The broad principle of using these people is to free up regular members to perform the frontline policing tasks by releasing substantial numbers of members from non- frontline duties to police the State.
It would also allow for serving members who cannot handle frontline work to move to the Force Reserve, where their services can be better utilised.
The recent broohooha over Police Station closures and excessive response times could have been averted by a viable reserve capacity that could keep the lights on and operational Police on the road.
The CAA is confident that a Reserve Force could be designed and operational within months far more cheaply than any alternative with the right people tasked to its design.
The CAA offers its expertise to assist in any worthwhile exercise to achieve this outcome.
This is where an extra 1000+ police can come from.
by CAA | Mar 28, 2021 | Library, PTSD, Uncategorized
28th March 2021
Not surprisingly, there has been some disquiet concerning the assertions we have and will continue to make in this series.
Therefore, it is appropriate that we reiterate that we do not challenge the affliction suffered by many called PTSD, nor do we challenge the orthodoxy of the clinical approaches. However, we do present a view based not on theoretical knowledge but on lived experiences and management expertise of former Police within the CAA, which could reduce the severity and frequency of this Disorder.
Understanding the Occupational Stress (OS) aspect of PTSD exposes the multitude of issues that spawn it. It can result from superiors who lack empathy and understanding of the consequences of their actions; it can equally be driven by workplace dysfunction; the member just cannot fit in. It may be as simple as normal group dynamics and nothing more sinister than that but escape for the victim is fraught with difficulty.
Workplace dysfunction would be the easiest to deal with by the member themselves, transfer to another workplace. Still, under current appointment arrangements, they find it near impossible to move workplaces without exposing the reasons their current position has become untenable.
The members are then faced with the choice of tolerating an intolerable situation or committing private and confidential material to ‘on the record’ and running the risk of it being exposed.
Inevitably many will just ‘suck it up’ and put up with their lot. In many cases, this is actually the genesis of OSD and will ultimately lead to a manifestation of PTSD that could well be career-ending. All because a member could not change workplaces, move sideways.
If a police member chooses not to make an issue public, irrespective of other factors, the member’s privacy must be respected. However, if they choose to transfer to solve their problems, they should be entitled to do so without an exposé, provided a vacancy exists at their place of choice, and this can be very much in the best interest of the member and the organisation.
The current practices of managing member movement within the organisation must be reviewed.
There will be the predictable critics with moving sideways, ‘why should I? I have done nothing wrong’. Maybe that is true, or maybe it is not, but whoever is right or wrong is not the issue; the issue is the members’ long-term welfare.
If another member or a manager behaves badly, here is some sage advice if you are faced with that situation;
‘It is better to let somebody else bruise their knuckles and avoid the drama, but enjoy the inevitable karma because if they are bad, this will be for them; an inexorable outcome.”
While the rights of the members must be protected, so must the role of the Chief Commissioner, who must retain the right to allocate resources as is required for the operation efficiency of the Police Force.
Apart from recent history, Chief Commissioners for decades exercised this power appropriately without causing undue hardship on members; that can be done again.
by CAA | Mar 26, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
26th March 2021
Firstly, a conundrum.
What do Lollypop ladies, roadworkers, building site workers, jockeys, farmers, school children and anybody else who spends time outdoors have in common with Police? Nothing really; they all wear a hat, where Police, apart from rare occasions, do not.
In many of the above circumstances, hat-wearing is not optional but compulsory – because apart from all other practical reasons, they protect the head from UV damage leading to skin cancer. It is clear that either VicPol or its members have chosen to ignore the ‘Health Advice’ that most everybody else adheres to. Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide the Cancer Council motto.
The police cap provides only limited protection; however, I was pleased that wearing a hat during my career resulted in skin cancers on the ear, not all over my head. I fear for the future of many police members not taking precautions, but when you are young, you feel bulletproof; but there is no excuse for mature members and Police leaders.
A new hat designed to offer more protection than the traditional cap and a design fit for the policing purpose needs to be considered. The Police baseball cap style has applications, but the protection is more limited than the traditional cap. It also fails miserably as a proud symbol of office.
Having designed a new hat, as in many other workplaces, wearing the hat outside should be compulsory.
I am astounded that this issue has not been pursued with vigour by the Police Association, protecting their members’ wellbeing. Equally, the Workcover insurers should be yelling loudly to reduce their risk profile.
And if protection from the elements is not a compelling enough argument, it may not come as a surprise, but it is extremely difficult to identify Police at any reasonable distance at many incidents as they blend seamlessly into the mix of high-viz, only to be separated when close enough to see who is not wearing a hat – the chances are that will be the Police.
Hat wearing, or lack thereof, has been a Police cultural change that has diminished their professionalism and respect. However, you would think the safety aspect would motivate members to embrace the issue, but obviously not; they will have to be treated like many other workers, where hat-wearing is mandated as an OH&S directive.
by CAA | Mar 24, 2021 | Library, Police Veterans in Schools, Uncategorized
24th March 2021
Victoria; do not underestimate the importance of the announcement by Chief Commissioner Patton of a Police in Schools Program (PISP) (Herald Sun 24/3/21).
This change in the policing approach is very significant and will have a positive impact on the lives of us all.
The failure of former Police Chief Commissioners to re-implement this important Policing strategy is in no small part responsible for the increased crime rates in past years, particularly in serious crimes committed by juveniles.
The reintroduction of a structured PISP has been the cornerstone and the basis for the formation of the Community Advocacy Alliance Inc. (CAA) which I have the privilege to chair.
As a group we have worked for six years for this outcome and we unreservedly congratulate Chief Commissioner Patton for reintroducing this program.
It is ironic that this program originated in Victoria and was so successful it was taken up and continues to operate in all other States and Territories.
Former Chief Commissioner Nixon shut the PISP down and every Chief Commissioner that followed her failed to grasp the importance of the program with former Chief Commissioner Ashton actively engaging in trying to thwart attempts by the CAA to establish a PISP using Police veterans.
There were many other very encouraging strategies announced by CCP Patton today. The engagement that CCP Patton has established with the CAA will now ensure that many other strategies both proven from the past and new will be ventilated and considered by him.
Through the CAA the community now has a much louder voice.
We are now entering a new phase of Policing that serves the people of Victoria with a service that the people can influence.
The nirvana of policing.
Kelvin Glare
Kelvin (Kel) Glare AO APM
Chair, Community Advocacy Alliance.
by CAA | Mar 21, 2021 | Library, PTSD, Uncategorized
22nd March 2021
The CAA has thought hard and long before venturing into this part of the conundrum that might explain and perhaps help reduce the impact of the devastating psychological disorders befalling Police members.
Our concern is that the label Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is being used as a catch-all label to cover a number of contributors to the debilitation and suffering of members, and although there would be a degree of Post Traumatic Stress (PTS) in every case, as Trauma is part and parcel of policing it may not logically follow that PTS is the major issue causing the disorder.
We know that clinicians argue that Trauma has a cumulative impact on people. It may not be one event but a number over an extended period that spawns PTSD, and we do not contest that hypothesis.
However, what if there were other contributing factors in many cases that were both avoidable and not directly related to the impact of Trauma but rather acted as a magnifier. Trauma has however, a ring to it that tends to evoke sympathy.
One of the problems that the label PTSD creates is that it focuses on the Trauma aspect. The Trauma doesn’t naturally need to be related to their operational policing role but is assumed by most it means that. So the victim’s emphasis is the Trauma they were exposed to rather than other factors may have had a greater impact. Those factors may or may not be work-related.
There is a natural tendency to blame something, the cause of an undesirable outcome, but it will not help the sufferer in the long term if the wrong cause is blamed. Having their focus on the Trauma in their policing life can be counterproductive. That would make a recovery problematic. No Good blaming operational Trauma events if the issue is Organisational Stress (OS) or a problem in their private lives, clinicians would have no hope of successfully treating sufferers.
To really understand the impact of stress, we must accept that all Police experience Post Traumatic Stress (PTS); operational Trauma is the police members lot and is unavoidable. The D in PTSD is the kicker because for Police not to suffer PTS; they would have to be unfeeling dolts akin to a robot. It is whether PTS becomes a Disorder, and we would argue that the Disorder aspect may well be caused by factors other than Trauma.
Until we identify and accept the possibilities of wider options, we have no hope of developing proactive strategies to reduce or prevent Police from having their lives ruined by this phenomenon.
Organisational Stress Disorder (OSD) is where organisational and management ineptitude or other workplace dysfunction causes substantial, and in some cases, debilitating stress on individuals.
Given there appears to be no abatement in the numbers of sufferers of PTSD, this issue needs a fresh look.
OSD will feature in the next article.
by CAA | Mar 12, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
13th March 2021
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in policing is very real and can be very debilitating for the sufferer. Unfortunately, it can also be the catalyst for Police to seek, the permanent solution in extreme cases. Some of the PTSD perceptions, particularly from a historical perspective, are nothing short of mythical.
What concerns the CAA most is that these myths may well influence the management strategies used to assist people living with PTSD.
We propose to publish a series on this subject to further understand the PTSD issue aimed at developing prevention strategies as the primary focus and trying to unravel the conundrum as to why some Police suffer PTSD, and others do not when exposed to similar Trauma.
We do not question current clinical approaches or do we challenge those diagnosed, but our contribution is from the CAA members’ lived life experiences with over four hundred years of Policing experience that may just help current and future police members and management to deal with Trauma and avoid the disorder.
During the past fifty years of Policing in this State, there have been other significant epidemics afflicting Police, particularly the ‘Stress’ era (which may have been PTSD), where the exit strategy for disenfranchised members was the medical conditions diagnosed as ‘Stress’. That process seemed to be used far too frequently by members seeking to avoid accountability and, on the other side, becoming a personnel management tool, Judicial Personnel Management (JPM).
There seemed to be a tapering off, of the numbers using this conduit after management changes at the Welfare Branch. However, we were then faced with a new contagion, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). There is no doubt that many Police also suffered from this debilitating and very painful injury that was generally blamed on typing.
Ironically, today’s Police spend far more time on a keyboard than in times past without evidence of large numbers of RSI sufferers, or perhaps the culprit was the old Royal manual typewriters. Still, thankfully that suffering seems to have dissipated.
Could you imagine the outrage today should a Police member be diagnosed with RSI and told not to use a keyboard for a month? In time past, the impact enabled the member to avoid processing correspondence and compiling briefs and the like. But today, that sort of ban would precipitate a dramatic reaction as not only the member’s professional function would be impacted, but the social impact may well be intolerable. Perhaps that has been the cure?
We are not suggesting the similarities of PTSD and RSI are parallels from a medical perspective, just that RSI also seemed to develop like an epidemic, but of course, neither RSI and PTSD are contagious. Perhaps, it is just that a name can be placed on a problem afflicting an individual. However, the worry is that the term is used as a ‘catch all’ label masking other issues because all Police are exposed to Trauma.
But to the myth. It is typically portrayed that historically Police dealt with Trauma by heading to the Police Club to have a ‘session’, euphemistically referred to as a ‘De-Brief’. This is where the Trauma was supposedly aired; along with the merits or otherwise of the more senior Police and the footy, with copious quantities of beer often feeding bragging rights of the drinker’s capacity together with the quantity of steamed ‘Dim Sims’ they could devour.
Getting drunk and going home, to ‘belt the missus’, was the alleged coping mechanism.
That generalisation is totally out of proportion to what really happened.
Yes, there were rumours of incidents of that nature described, but they were confined to very few. When one looks at who supposedly did it, they were usually made up of alcoholics (looking for their next excuse and a rational to drink) or police hangers-on trying to fit into the aura of the “Heavy Squads”.
The reality was that this aura was often perpetuated by the least competent to mask their professional inadequacies. They were usually good as a blowhard relating (and feeding the myth) on their feats at the booze-up, but not really good at their day job.
As far as alcoholism in Policing, it may not have been any more prevalent than in society in general, particularly in the post six o’clock closing era.
The reputations of these squads were often more important to some Police working in them or aspiring to work in them than any altruistic goals for that type of policing that most Police in the squads held.
The majority of Police who took on this work were very competent, capable and dedicated. After experiencing the harrowing Trauma of a ‘job’; when they knocked off, they were more interested in going home and catching up on lost sleep after ‘an early morning’ Often up since three am for a four or five am raid, than chewing the fat for hours; talking drunken drivel was the last thing on their mind.
This was precisely the same for most operational Police as they all were exposed, from time to time to significant Trauma; it is and always will be part and parcel of the job.
It is as blunt as, if you want to avoid Trauma as a police officer in your career, get another job because it is unavoidable.
That groups from these squads did go out as a group socially from time to time, just as many workplace teams or groups, not only Police, morphed into this myth. Anyone who has experience with a Football Club would see more of this behaviour than the Police squads.
Unfortunately, and not in the best interest of Police members and veterans, PTSD has spawned an industry, and that is self perpetuating. Most behavioural or psychological hiccups in life are then blamed on PTSD.
Seemingly missed, in a rush to treat or manage, is the effort to prevent. Providing coping mechanisms for members and veterans and establishing a clear priority for having people with PTSD return to duty.
When the spectre of returning to work, when able the same as any other illness is accepted, the number of cases will likely decline.
However, it is beyond belief that the most obvious place to look for solutions and mechanisms has apparently been completely overlooked -all the thousands of retired police members who have completed their career without PTSD.
The psychological profile and other measuring mechanisms would identify what makes a police member, which would then become the focus of recruiting in the first place, then diagnosing and managing PTSD.
You can rest assured that all Police are exposed to Trauma. Most of it not spectacular but nevertheless horrific, and evaluating members who have served 20 plus years and decide to retire would be where the solution to the PTSD epidemic lay.
by CAA | Mar 4, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
5th March 2020
The Royal Commission findings on Mental Health in Victoria has been released, and within the initial report, there is one standout for Policing.
The Commission calls for all mental health calls to 000 emergency to be directed to Ambulance Victoria as primary responders rather than Victoria Police and is recommended to be implemented immediately.
This recommendation should be applauded as long overdue and ironically is only revisiting a successful pilot operated by Police many years ago where the Health Professionals were the first responders and the ubiquitous “Welfare Checks” requiring Police to visit patients were abolished during the trial period. Welfare checks were done by the clinicians.
Several positives came from that pilot; most significantly, people with expertise attended to distressed patients rather than untrained Police. Incidents escalating to violence between patients and Police ceased. Families were spared the indignity of their sick relative being bundled in a Police Van like a common criminal but instead treated with dignity in an ambulance.
A few voices wanted to improve the training of Police. Still, at the time, with push back from the Police, the consensus was that this was a Health responsibility and not a Police one, albeit Police and paramedics at times will be required to assist the health professionals.
In our view, having been involved and seeing firsthand how that pilot operated, it is grossly unfair for the Commission to make the paramedics the primary responders to mental health emergencies. It should be the clinicians.
The vast majority of these episodes requiring intervention are by patients under treatment. They are known to the Health practitioners who most often have critical knowledge concerning each patient and their medication. That is essential in managing a patient having an episode and cannot be adequately managed by an Ambulance paramedic, as good as they are.
The answer is in adequately resourced Crisis Assessment and Treatment Teams (CATT) and the teams having a good working relationship with Police and ambulance alike.
The secret of the pilot’s success was that these three arms shared a mutual respect. That respect translated to better outcomes for patients, their families and the community more generally and substantially reduced the risks to the first responders.
A CATT team is a group of people who work together and includes mental health professionals such as psychiatric nurses, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists. They are usually based in major hospitals.
It seems that not a week passes without some significant incident involving a person with Mental Health issues in conflict with Police.
Using Police as the primary responders is like using an accountant to deal with a sewage issue instead of a plumber. An inevitable unpleasant outcome often escalated from the initial problem, and everybody ends up in the “schtook”.
We all should reflect on that well-publicised incident in Preston some little while back where some Police dealt inappropriately with a mental health patient.
The police response was inexcusable but what mitigated this Police behaviour to a degree is that they were not trained and had no practised skills in dealing with somebody that is having a mental episode.
Given media reports, it would seem that the health professionals treating this patient simply rang the police rather than getting out and doing their job. Probably a matter of priorities.
As a consequence of this inaction, the patient received inappropriate care subjected to untrained Police trying to do their job, albeit questionable on a humane basis. However, there have been severe consequences for the patient and police involved, and all this could have been avoided if the Health professional had done their job. The patient and the police are the victims, and the health professionals responsible didn’t even have to leave the comfort of their office other than to go through their Pontius Pilate routine.
When these changes recommended by the Royal Commission are being considered, the Victoria Police must take leadership to ensure that mental patients’ welfare and safety are to the fore. The safety and welfare of first responders must also be considered of paramount importance.
To move mental health episodes to the responsibility of health, not first responders, will inevitably lead to a reduction in violent actions required to be adopted by police in dealing with psychotic perpetrators.
Police may not have to shoot as many.
There will be push back from the health professionals demanding more money and more resources, which is inevitable. There may be some justification; however, the overriding change has to be in the priority given to a mental health patient experiencing or suspected of experiencing a mental episode in the community.
These episodes must move to the top of the priority tree before the resource issue is addressed; it is urgent.
If the clinicians have to drop everything to deal with a patient in the community, then so be it. Clinicians will be welcomed to the real world of first responders – it was done previously it can be done again
by CAA | Mar 3, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
4th of March 2021
The current demand on Victoria Police staff for COVID extraneous, but essential duties has created a resource burden never placed on the Force in modern policing history.
The maintenance and improvement of service delivery for Victoria Police is a stated priority for the new Chief Commissioner, and in the current environment, this will indeed be a challenge.
It is not only the depth of the impact on resources, but this demand is likely to be for a very extended period and although Victoria Police has a very good surge capacity, to maintain that level over an extended period is an entirely different challenge.
Ironically if police had taken charge of the COVID Quarantine Hotels as was initially proposed, we might have avoided the COVID lockdowns, avoided many hundreds of deaths, and Victorians would have suffered a much smaller economic impact. The State could have returned to some sort of COVID normal months earlier.
Not all the resource needed to secure the Quarantine facilities need be police, but the police should have taken charge.
Health Officials were and are required to manage the security of the quarantine facilities, and this decision remains the most ill-considered process in the whole COVID pandemic. Their expertise is health, not security, and that explains the failures
As to why police did not take charge is for others to debate, but the CAA is convinced we would not have the issue facing policing today had another and more appropriate course been taken when the need for quarantine facilities first surfaced.
At this time, care must be taken not to make things more difficult for police.
It is most disturbing to the CAA, and no doubt VicPol, that the Secretary of the Police Association, Mr Wayne Gatt, in a radio interview set out in the public domain all the detail of the drain on Police resources.
The picture painted was that regular police work is severely impacted, particularly in certain geographical locations.
While that proposition is true, detailing where the impacts are (which police stations have reduced services) was inappropriate and somewhat naive.
The argument that the community needs to know is trumped by the impact of telling lawbreakers where there is a policing service deficit.
The community’s major issue is the role of the police station as a place of refuge in an emergency, and there is no issue with that role; however, in these times, to ease public angst, alternate refuges must be explored.
Mr Gatt, taking the opportunity to educate the public on how to respond in these times, would have been far more appropriate than breaching operational confidentiality.
A long-forgotten community policing initiative, the ‘Safety House’ program should be bought into the 21st Century and updated and modified for the times we face. “Safe Place” may well provide the solution.
The existence of the ‘Safety House’ program had a crime deterrent aspect, but the little yellow logo on various letterboxes throughout the community was designed to provide a safe bolthole for children who, for whatever reason, found themselves vulnerable.
This allowed the approved ‘Safety House’ occupants to offer comfort and support, contact the child’s family or police or whatever else was appropriate.
This same concept, a ‘Safe Place’, could be used for the wider community, but instead of using private houses, commercial operations with appropriate security for their own staff could be used in a similar manner.
It would be comforting for the community to know that in a non-medical emergency, they could seek refuge in a commercial business that has the security of people, lighting and CCTV, and a detached staffer who can contact the appropriate service.
This program would be unique to Victoria and not rely on police stations’ operational variables being the sole provider of that service.
Even with the Force back to full operational capacity and all stations again staffed 24/7, this program would still provide an important service.
The additional sites spread further the protection for our most vulnerable in time of duress.
As with the ‘Safety House’ program, the by-product of connecting police with the community through that program would be replicated in the commercial application.
There is, of course, substantial detail to be addressed to implement a program like this. However, the effort would be well justified and should be embraced by the Police Association, rather than breaching operational confidentiality, which can only increase community risk and therefore risks to Police members.
by CAA | Feb 18, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
19th February 2021
Twenty years ago, a political experiment, a vanguard of gender diversity, gave us a Chief Commissioner that turned Policing in Victoria on its head. Some of her contributions had merit, but overall the tenure could not be marked other than down. This heralded an era of Chief Commissioners each with a substantial leadership deficit.
This also was the beginning of an era that saw commissioners replaced with their equals and arguably achieved an overall decline in Policing. Moving through these twenty years, the Chief Commissioners could only be described as bureaucrats, with leadership skills in short supply and an apparent lack of understanding of Police philosophy, what policing is all about,-service to the community.
There were a number of common threads that linked these commissioners through this era apart from the lack of operational Police experience a vital component in understanding how they were supposed to perform.
The Lawyer X saga, arguably the most significant management/leadership failure in modern policing history, and an era when Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) seemed to blossom, cutting down many a good police member and ruining many police careers and their families, culminating in a worrying increase in Police suicides at different times rivalling the Road Toll.
The evolution of an internal discipline system that could be argued plunged into unconscionable behaviours best illustrated by one of the most demeaning and deliberate soul-destroying practices, the ’walk of shame’. Police were paraded before the media, often in handcuffs, who were only alleged to have committed a crime, but not convicted or even brought before a court. Most of Victoria’s worst criminals were not treated in this way.
This behaviour, where good characters were trashed, was only marginally more sophisticated than the medieval pillory, which was at least used after prosecution, not before.
And above all else, a rising crime rate, notable because of the increased violence of perpetrators, particularly youth coupled with a wanton and deliberate disconnect between Police and the community.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) warned Victoria Police and the Government that a crime tsunami was evolving, which broke out as predicted in 2016. Warnings were ignored, so the public of Victoria wore the brunt and the cost.
Had Victoria been following standard police philosophies this break out may have been averted.
Our suggestions and recommendations numbering into the hundreds designed to bring VicPol ‘back on track’ were routinely rejected by Victoria Police and the CAA suffered years of derision and ridicule from the Victoria Police executives. This derision and ridicule intended to diminish our resolve, actually made us more determined.
That, however, is in the past, and with the appointment of new Chief Commissioner Mr Shane Patton APM in July 2020, and a chance at a new beginning. There is pleasing early evidence of an awakening of policing in this State.
The CAA has been involved in constructive dialogue with the Chief since his appointment and was honoured recently by the Chief accepting an invitation to be the keynote speaker at our AGM.
CCP Patton addressed the membership and set out his philosophy for policing. The address by Patton had one veteran commenting, “This is music to my ears” and the CCP’s Staffer observing he detected an overall feeling of relief by the CAA members.
Yet another non-police member of the CAA commented that what the Police veterans had been ‘banging on’ about for years was actually right.
The Philosophical approach for policing in 2020 and beyond, presented by the Chief Commissioner was;
Chief Commissioners vision 2020
A back to basics approach to community safety involving:
- Visible presence of Police on foot patrols at crowded places (e.g. shopping centres and transport hubs) and patrolling main arterial roads.
- Relentless enforcement.
- Targeting of high impact, high harm offenders.
- Focusing as well on general crime, road trauma, family violence and counter-terrorism.
- Crime prevention.
Community engagement to:
- foster trust and confidence in Victoria Police.
- Demonstrate our transparency and professionalism.
- Maintain satisfaction with policing services.
- Encourage contribution from the community regarding safety.
Acting decisively and positively with:
- Integrity
- Clear direction, expectations and spans of control.
- A sense of obligation to act on issues as you come across them.
- Decisions made at the appropriate level.
- Deadlines and commitments met.
Safeguarding our workforce by:
- Continuing to promote mental health and wellbeing, including:
-
- Proactive support and early intervention.
- Building resilience levels and strategies.
- Timely and accessible services for those seeking help.
- Actively supporting staff to return to work.
- Continuing to improve the physical safety of our workplaces by:
-
- Ensuring we have the safest policies and practices in place.
- Monitoring that staff are applying these policies and practices.
- Constantly scanning for better policies, practices and equipment.
Demonstrating our commitment to fairness, equality and diversity through:
- Transparent and defensible decision-making.
- Gender equality in opportunities, selections and promotions.
- Deliberate action to diversify our recruitment and development pools.
Reforming our service delivery model by:
- Rethinking the services we provide and how we provide them.
- Considering what services we should stop, start or expand.
- Updating our operating model to operationalise our service delivery reforms.
There are a substantial number of synergies between the CCP‘s philosophy and the CAA position. Given this alignment, the CCP has initiated a protocol with the CAA to enable effective and seamless communication, allowing the CAA to better support the CCP and Victoria Police.
It is one thing to have a sharp focus on what needs to be done; it is another to ensure it translates across the Force into Police operations and procedures. Only time will tell, but at least a solid foundation is now in place to build on.
There are many challenges ahead for the CCP, and by our assessment, CCP Patton seems to be up for it; however, there is an obligation on all Police members and veterans too, where possible, support his endeavours and give him a chance.
We would liken the challenge he faces, to turning the Titanic heading for an inevitable Armageddon.
It will take a mammoth effort to correct the path, and we all need to provide any help we can.
It was of interest that the CCP during his address was adamant that Veterans are part of the Police family, something many of us have questioned over recent years. It was encouraging to hear that the CCP has already introduced initiatives that are more than just an extension of the lip service offered to previously.
Amongst the most significant challenges VicPol faces is a substantial percentage of the Police workforce, through no fault of their own, do not understand the concept of ‘Esprit de Corps’ let alone the fundamental obligations and role of being a sworn Police member. They may have learnt it by rote but fail to grab the concept.
They have been recruited on the mythological concept of “Anybody can do it”, rather than ’ It is not just a job but a way of life’. Over time, the recruiting and selection processes have been so compromised; basically, anybody can get in. How many are capable of fulfilling the police role adequately is problematic.
This Myth has seen many Police recruited that are not suitable for Police work and has created the monumental management headache that recruits are looking for a desk job on average just four years into their career. That is the average, so presumably, many do not last that long before seeking refuge from operational Policing when the harsh reality of Policing kicks in, and the novelty wears off.
The irrefutable fact is that if Police are recruited on their suitability to perform the Police function, physically, sociologically and psychologically, all the advantages supposedly addressed by recruiting from a broad-church, will be rectified and the need to recruit to achieve diversity and reflect social minority causes will evaporate.
Nothing is more effective than a good Police member supported by adequate supervision and all the other alleged social deficits needing the broad-church approach, will not be required. Pursuing a diversity biased selection process can create unintended victims. The very people that are recruited can end up suffering and fail as Police.
No more than a CAA suggestion; suitable Veterans who are interested could mentor some of these junior Police. With their experience and life skills, guide them through the various mires of Policing. A phone call here and there or an occasional cup of coffee could make a massive difference to a junior members performance and resilience.
That is an area Veterans may be able to assist the Chief Commissioner to achieve his goals for the Victoria Police Force.
by CAA | Jan 29, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
29th January 2021
No respect for Police or authority, we have caused that too.
Children are not born with inherent criminal dispositions; it is a learnt trait; as clearly as a child who does not display a criminal resolve that is equally the product of learnt traits.
The starting point for accumulating these life traits is shortly after birth, progressing through things as necessary as feeding, ablutions, social interaction and an infinite number of other life fragments to form the traits that evolve; good or bad.
There would be very few if any parents who deliberately set out to instil a criminal bent into their children, although there are no doubt many parents who lack good parenting skills, through no fault of their own, who may contribute.
The importance of good parenting transcends the significance of all other skills of a child’s mother or father and a task for which there is no training or accountabilities.
Children do not learn to walk by themselves; they are nurtured and encouraged, guided and motivated by their parents. That process is a continuum for many of their formative years, teaching a myriad of skills and building a persona.
At a very young age, children are taught boundaries and the consequences of breaching them. “Do not walk so close to the edge you will fall over and hurt yourself”.
The common denominator in all of this is the repetitive nature of learning and the necessity, no matter the challenge, for encouragement and goal setting, with achievement recognised; boundaries are also necessary for their safety and survival.
The consequences of breaching the boundaries are the most effective deterrent, to avoid the rules being broken and the child or young person being hurt.
Remove the deterrent, and adverse outcomes occur.
Why sectors of or community, unfortunately in positions of power, are so determined to remove all consequences and deterrents from young people is a social disgrace and the young people for whom this is paradoxically allegedly designed to help end up the victims in the end.
Consistency is the key. The consistency needs to run through society from early childhood development, education, sporting organisations and other social activities, to policing and the courts. Instead of operating in the isolation of their perceived values, consistency across the board needs to be implemented.
A policy framework to achieve this would not be all that difficult.
The latest crime figures highlight that it is not the children or their parents, causing this phenomenon of children entering crime at the high end, but we as a society. They do it because there are no consequences; in their mind.
At least one presumption is not based on any empirical data in the Herald Sun Article of the 28th of January, the headline.
‘Kids graduating straight to violent crimes’.
We would argue that all this implies is that young perpetrators may not have been caught for a minor crime, and petty crime may not be given the focus and priority it requires. Like many social issues, this criminal activity must be targeted at the formative stage, not after the trait has manifested.
An unknown author once said, “Criminals and drug addicts are made by the time they are six years old”, there is some truth in this.
Young perpetrators not being dealt with for minor crime or anti-social behaviours with consistency and consequences lead to the learnt skills that create a serious crime bent.
A lack of respect is also a learned trait. The vast majority of children grow up through their formative years with little discipline and any form of consequence for crossing the societal boundaries on behaviour.
We have reached a stage where consequences or punishment are near taboo.
A recent experience where a young mother was rationalising in great detail with a toddler over behaviour in a supermarket aisle made me shudder as what that child may mature to be. A three-year-old has not the cognitive skills to process the tirade, and it was an absurd pantomime.
The traditional deterrent used by parents, “Do that, and you will end up in jail”, has long been debunked and nullified by the allegedly enlightened progressives and reinforced by the judiciary causing a lack of support and enthusiasm for parents and Police to take action on minor matters.
In our modern, so-called,’ informed society’ where fanciful ideologues rule, we need to re-examine our societal structure in a pragmatic way to reset and address these problems. Otherwise, the trends will continue and increase in severity and frequency.
We would also argue that our society relies on Police as the arbiter on behavioural standards, compliance with the law. The lack of respect for the Law and Police is a matter of grave concern and is part of the root cause of the current problems.
‘No perpetrator ever commits a crime if they think they will get caught.’
That is irrespective of age or the bungling stupidity of the rationalisation that a perpetrator may display.
On the issue of respect, it has to be learnt or taught the same as any other trait; it cannot ever be assumed, as the current approaches seem to favour.
The ideologues currently pushing for young offenders to have their crimes expunged are just feeding this phenomenon where young people interpret this as a free pass. Although the arguments are perhaps laudable to some, the irony is that it actually hurts the children that it is allegedly trying to protect.
The ideologues are so startlingly naive that they do not realise that peer pressure on young people would include the rationale that nothing will happen to them if caught because of their age. So, the progressives’ efforts are thwarted by this naivety, and underage perpetrators are therefore an attractive proposition for older crooks.
The young people this is designed to help do not read the newspapers or listen to debates in parliament when these things are dealt with but are influenced by social media where the authors of negative incorrect messages created by some ill-informed noggin heads are considered gospel.
We do know that the likelihood of a positive response from a young person is generally towards somebody they know or can relate too. Therefore, it is imperative that young people in their formative years are exposed to Police with whom they establish a relationship and learn there is a person in that uniform they can connect with. Where the boundaries stand, are as equally important as the consequences of breaching them— this interaction is critical in supporting parents and educators rather than in a contest with them.
These relationships are vitally important and essential if we wish to reign in (and protect) these miscreant children and achieve a level of respect for our laws or society norms.
It is time that policies are developed that are practical and effective, and the effort placed where it will have the greatest effect rather than, ‘tilting at windmills’ or ‘chasing rainbows’.
We can do without the Don Quixote approach currently in vogue.
by CAA | Jan 29, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
by CAA | Jan 17, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
17th January 2021
This is a rather dry subject that usually excites Legal Academics and practitioners. However, this doctrine is one of the major cornerstones to effective and efficient democracy, encompassing and facilitating all the good things we cherish, so we all should take notice.
The doctrine of the Separation of Powers
Divides the institutions of government into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial: the legislature makes the laws; the executive puts the laws into operation; the judiciary interprets the laws.
Democracy tends to deteriorate, and governments tend to move to an undesirable bent when parts of this separation break down.
We have witnessed the breakdown of this separation over recent years in Victoria, particularly with the Police’s executive role.
The role of Police exercising their function in the separation process is that they must exercise that role without fear or favour, malice or ill will, because it is that approach that is the only mechanism that will act as a deterrent to those who would otherwise unlawfully exploit their positions in any of the three sectors of power.
In recent years, we have witnessed blatant examples of laws being broken by people in the various sectors but prosecutions and, on occasions, investigations not undertaken or not completed by Police.
The problem with this, is that the deterrent effect of having a Police Force is wholly undermined when individuals or a class of people are in effect exempt, or more dangerously believe they are exempt, or believe they are offered protection from the law, that the rest of the community must obey.
The best test of this presumption is whether the average citizen did what a member of the three arms of power did, would they be dealt with differently? If the answer is yes, the separation is failing all of us.
Some of the glaring examples have been evident in recent inquiries commissioned by the government where witnesses from different sectors of the powers allegedly lied or were not exposed to vigorous examination to determine the truth. The defence presented with embarrassing regularity of “I can’t remember”, by many was not vigorously and publicly tested which raises the question of, why not?
It is just incomprehensible that so many of these people holding down very well remunerated executive positions, that we the public pay for, could all have such bad memories.
Which, ‘begs the question‘, why if their memories are so poor are they in these positions as their function and abilities must be adversely impacted by such an affliction?
There is, however,‘ light at the end of the tunnel.’
The CAA is confident that the new Chief Commissioner has the right ethical values to ensure that the Separation of Powers will be honoured by Victoria Police. These values of the Chief Commissioner and every other member of the Victoria Police Force are values they are bound to by their oath they have sworn to uphold.
The Police Oath sworn by every Police member is:
OATH OR AFFIRMATION FOR POLICE OFFICERS
I [ insert name ] [ swear by Almighty God/do solemnly and sincerely affirm ] that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lady the Queen as a police officer in Victoria in any capacity in which I may be appointed, promoted, or reduced to, without favour or affection, malice or ill-will for the period of [ insert period ] from this date, and until I am legally discharged, that I will see and cause Her Majesty’s peace to be kept and preserved, and that I will prevent to the best of my power all offences, and that while I continue to be a police officer I will to the best of my skill and knowledge discharge all the duties legally imposed on me faithfully and according to law.
It is very instructive to note that the allegiance sworn by Police members, is not to the government of the day, and not to the other arms of the three powers but the Queen. Demonstrating that our forebears in their wisdom saw the need for a separate independent Police Force, and that is what we must have.
The policing philosophy that Patton has embraced relates equally in the function of applying the separation of powers as it does to everyday policing of the rest of us.
There is an old saying that, “You never see a bank robbed if there is a Policeman at the door”, perhaps not politically correct in this new enlightened era. Still, the principle here is that Crime Prevention hinges on the chance of a perpetrator to be caught and equally that no crook ever commits a crime, ‘no matter how dumb’ that believes they will get caught.
This basic of all crime prevention strategies ‘the visible Police presence’, applies equally, even though metaphorically, to all those involved in the three arms of government.
An independent Police Force will influence substantially, accountability to the law in every niche of the government ensuring that anybody that breaks the law is not above the law and can be held to account for their actions.
We are confident that the Chief Commissioner has an excellent understanding of these principles.
by CAA | Jan 14, 2021 | Library, Uncategorized
15th January 2021
A component of a reform agenda introduced by a previous State Government, Restorative Justice, has just surfaced. A three (3) year Pilot program called the Court Integrated Services Program (CISP) that has by stealth continued on and is now due to be adopted by the County Court, and it would seem without legislative support.
The CISP seems nothing more than a referral program that has been overlaid in the Courts bureaucracy at the cost of somewhere north of $40m over its duration and performs a function that the Courts were already responsible for. Another layer of bureaucracy providing jobs for academics featuring a multi-disciplined approach, a euphemism for big pay packets. Any wonder the judiciary support the program when this workload is removed from them, not to mention the budgetary advantages of not having to fund this process through Court budgets. Get rid of responsibility and keep the savings.
This quango is in its fifteenth (15th) year after a trial that was only being conducted at a small number of Magistrates Courts for three (3) years has crept across the State like a plague and now is trending upwards in the Judicial system.
This Pilot is not a pilot; it is a bureaucratic process that has been introduced under the guise of a pilot to avoid scrutiny. The Pilot has been running far longer than the original three-year schedule and has expanded to include all major Magistrates Courts and now heads for the County Court. We can’t find any underpinning legislation, certainly not for the County Court foray.
This is a classic bureaucratic overreach, dictating social changes to the electorate’s exclusion, but then what would we know, we are only their employers.
Being treated in this manner is offensive to all Victorians. If the program is so good why the stealth?
And what makes this initiative so offensive is there is no empirical data that shows it works, at its most generous only 50% of participants complete it. The trial found that only a 10% better outcome for the participants compared to a control group.
By any stretch, that cannot be considered a success when the program itself gets to cherry-pick participants.
The review of the first three years of the Pilot is uninspiring and features a list of parameters that could not be measure because the records of that data are not kept. Based on this review, the only one located, any pragmatic evaluation of CISP would not see it binned at that stage. https://silo.tips/download/evaluation-of-the-court-integrated-services-program-final-report
The headline figure relied upon by its proponents is that 50% of offenders entering the program do not re-offend, but 50% do. Relying on that abysmal figure to justify the program is bad enough, but that figure is a classic’ smoke and mirrors’ assessment because that is not the truth of the matter.
In the fine print, this program’s constructors have put an arbitrary time frame (for which it appears there is no scientific basis) on re-offending. This random figure means re-offending outside that arbitrary period is not counted as re-offending. Be interesting to know what this offending is?
There appears to be no mechanism to deal with those perpetrators who may not satisfy or complete the program, particularly those who were never convicted or pleaded guilty to the crime alleged. Whether theoretical or not, that means that the 50% figure may well include many who did not complete their part in the initiative. Because of the program’s structure, and the participant could reappear for the program as a first-timer, not as the recidivist they are.
Of course, you could rely on a perpetrator, to be honest, an oxymoron, and admit that they had used the program before, and it helped in their sentencing outcomes.
However, a victim of this re-offending may have a different view of this program to the constructors.
While on the subject of Victims, it may have escaped these constructors that there is a victim for every one of those crimes that end up one of their statistics. Victims who read the material on this initiative can be excused for thinking the equality between victim and perpetrator that Restorative Justice proposes have been lost.
Restorative Justice is popular amongst academics, but even this concept has been hijacked to exclude Victims, a cohort that does not rate a mention in any form in the CISP.
Under this system, all sorts of favourable outcomes for criminals can be achieved.
To access this support, they just need to commit a crime. Housing, mental health support, employment support, and much more are not provided to the crime victim.
As ridiculous as it may seem, this scheme could incentivise crime. All these things on offer, and it just needs the individual to commit a crime, a significant deterrent effect; we don’t think so.
What is also unclear, is what is the status the alleged perpetrators? The best we can deduce is that they are often suspected perpetrators as they can enter the program without having to plead their guilt or innocence or have the evidence against them tested.
This gives rise to two undesirable consequences. Firstly the possibility that the innocent or wrongly accused could be subject to the process, and secondly without status how can the perpetrator be recorded (the small matter of their privacy) to ensure they are not gaming the system for their upcoming court appearance.
This program has advanced as far as it has because of stealth. The title, ‘A Pilot has excluded the mechanisms to protect the community from undesirable social engineering (the Parliament)’. Whoever heard of a three (3) year Pilot operating for fifteen years?
This bureaucratic approach undermines at least two arms of democracy, the Parliament and the Judiciary. Under this approach, we could dispense with both and hand all power to the State, is called totalitarianism.
There would seem to be no record of even a ‘sham’ community consultation process; the constructors are so sensitive to rejection.
The question that must be answered is where did these bureaucrats obtain the mandate for the Pilot, let alone its 15 years of operation and budgets of $3 million per annum, extrapolating out to somewhere at north of $40m and extensions from the Pilot sites to every major Magistrates court in Victoria and now the County Court?
That the Parliament has not functioned for over twelve months does not give bureaucrats licence to proceed with social engineering without reference to the House. They have had 15 years to have a bill for its function presented to the House to give the program legitimacy. There has been no bill concerning the operation of this program in the County Court.
This bureaucratic process would seem to have cut the Attorney General out of the loop, and she needs to put the brakes on this program and expose it to proper scrutiny.
We have been edging towards totalitarianism on a number of fronts. Still, with the bureaucrats taking advantage of the lack of an effective parliament, that has now developed into a sprint. The sprint no doubt motivated by the impending return of Parliament, not when the risk of COVID dissipates (as it now has), but when the State of Emergency expires in April.
One of the architects of restorative jurisprudence advocates reimagining our justice system, which would be good if that meant imagining a society with little or no crime and few victims, but it does not. It is reimagining that a criminal is not a criminal and is not responsible for their actions; we are, and that is a bridge too far.
The purpose of, The Court Integrated Services Program (CISP) is to reduce recidivism and presumably crime; therefore, only one logical and practical yardstick can be is applied to evaluate it, the crime rate.
For the fifteen years of this project, the Crime rate in 2005/6 was 373,024 reported crimes or 7383 per 100k population, by 2020 that has grown to an overall crime rate increasing by approximately 40% to 514398 reported crimes and 8227 per 100k population, an additional 141,137 crimes committed per annum in this State.
No matter which way you cut and slice these figures, this program is a fiasco for Victorians. It may give restorative justice proponents a warm glow – that $40m glow could be better spent on crime prevention, then there would not be as many perpetrators or victims for that matter. Should that not be the purpose?
The return on this expenditure has had no impact on crime and has not reduced the impact on Victims. So why are we still doing it? Other than it being a bureaucratic jaunt, $40m+ for a 10% reduction in recidivism for a cherry-picked cohort of criminals is a ridiculous waste of money.
Based on the figures during the pilot phase, it costs $12K to achieve one successful outcome for one perpetrator for a limited period with no guarantee they will not re-offend.
From its inception through its ‘Pilot’, this whole process is a direct challenge to our democracy. It is a clear path to totalitarianism where the State operates without reference to the people they govern.
So CISP is a failure.
by CAA | Dec 19, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
19th December 2020
As a general rule, the views of journalist Steve Price seem to be a voice of reason, but this time he has got it wrong, and we cannot let it pass without comment.
Price seems to have led the pile-on of other journalists and commentators on Chief Commissioner Shane Patton’s decision over the Black Lives Matter rally, but he has based his argument on specious foundations.
He has omitted some facts, manipulated others and failed to recognise a positive that is so rare that it should have been the headline for his article instead of, ‘A matter of unease’, in the Herald Sun 19/12/20.
There would be no clear thinking objective Victorian who witnessed the Premier delivering his comment about the proposed BLM rally who did not accept it was tantamount to approval, a wink and a nod. The words alone may have been problematic, but the style of delivery and the body language amounted to a clear acquiesce to the demonstration.
The Premiers performance was omitted by Price. However, it would have played into the decision making by Patton as a pivotal issue, and rightly so.
Police would have been confronted with demonstrators who would have very conveniently extrapolated out the Premier’s ill-judged comments as support for their actions. So the police would be dealing with, noggin heads, believing they had the right and the might from a higher authority than the police, a guaranteed recipe for conflict.
A mindset that could well lead to the serious violence that Patton feared, leading him to exercise the discretion police have.
We have confidence in the ability of Patton, but we do not rate him as a deity.
It would seem however that Price thinks he should be, and can predict that disastrous break out of COVID from the quarantine hotels that happened nearly two weeks after the BLM demonstration that caused the mother of all lockdowns as a consequence that is and was irrelevant to the Patton decision and remains so.
There is no doubt a different decision would be made by Patton, had he had the foresight of a divine being, capable of predicting the impending disaster. Price is totally disingenuous in basing his argument on that spurious assumption.
The article is also peppered with references to, ‘otherwise law-abiding citizens’ as though breaking the Law imposed for COVID was acceptable, and enforcing that Law was somehow wrong. A bit like the mentality towards .05% and Speed cameras when they were first introduced, both attracting the ire of ‘otherwise law-abiding citizens’.
Deriding the policing function is both ill-informed and offensive to all police who are recognised as essential and expected to put their own safety ahead of the community, something they regularly willingly do.
It isn’t easy to comprehend how allegedly otherwise intelligent people, miss a critical point in this debate. Police do not make any laws, and least of all, the ones surrounding the State of Emergency declared to combat the COVID Pandemic.
If you disagree with some aspects of the COVID rules, then speak to your politicians, they make the rules do not criticise the police for the Law.
Furthermore, you have no divine right to beak a law because you are an ‘otherwise law-abiding citizen’ this concept is arrant nonsense. The only relevance to ‘otherwise law-abiding citizen’ is when the Judge is considering a penalty to impose for a breach of the Law. Then the ‘otherwise Law-abiding citizen’ concept may carry some weight, but that only relates to the punishment, not the guilt.
It does not matter who you think you are; if you break the Law, there are consequences, a concept Price may struggle with.
The accurate history of the Pandemic will record that Patton’s decision, turned out to be the right one, so why the confected pile-on?
It may have something to do with Patton behaving contrary to the norm for senior officials of this State; he has broken the mould. Patton has taken the bold step, to be honest, and accept responsibility and accountability for his decision. He forgot to use the normal, circumvention (spin) or the now infamous, ‘I can’t recall’, the approach we have come to expect.
This refreshing frankness and acceptance of accountability is something that commentators will need to adjust to as Patton is his own man and accepts responsibility.
We can only hope that this character strength is contagious, but I doubt it.
by CAA | Dec 15, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
16th December 2020
The original version of the publication contained a reference to Mr Findlay McRae managing Ms Gobbo as a human source. This is incorrect and has been removed. Mr McRae was not involved in the management of Ms Gobbo as a human source.
Interesting that, ‘the powers that be’, have decided to refer the head of the 600 strong Victoria Police Legal Services, Findlay McRae, to the legal regulator who polices the Practising Certificates of lawyers, over his role in the Lawyer-X debacle. Very embarrassing that this head of a Legal Department with rooms full of lawyers can get something so legally wrong.
However, this referral to the Legal Services Commission all seems a bit strange and disjointed, a bit, ‘cart before the horse’ esque. It has all the hallmarks of another catastrophic debacle in the making; as if we need another.
As we pointed out in our recent article, ‘LAWYER X – it’s not just the cops’, the potential exists for a number of police as well as legal practitioners to face serious criminal charges over Lawyer-X, and the Government has announced that they will appoint a Special Investigator to deal with these matters and make recommendations for any prosecution to the Director of Public Prosecutions. In our view that is the appropriate course of action.
There has always been a hierarchy of legal processes, with any criminal law matters preceding civil matters. It looks remarkably like the Government has chosen to ignore this principle raising some interesting issues.
With McRae fronting the Legal Services Commission before any criminal investigations start, is a bit like the police being dealt with by the police internal discipline system before their role in whatever malfeasance they are alleged to be involved in, is investigated. That would be inappropriate and like the Legal Service Commission probe, could jeopardise any criminal prosecution.
This also leaves Chief Commissioner Patton with a quandary. Patton can hardly leave McRae in charge of the Police Legal Service where his professional standards compliance is critical, while they are under review.
.Complicating matters is that we know that Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius also played a senior role in the management of Lawyer-X.
If the circumstances relate to one, they should equally apply to the other, and any number of other lawyers within Victoria Police and lawyers engaged for various aspects in the Gobbo legal stoush; spanning many years.
It is beyond reasonable belief that all the internal and external lawyers used to defend the exposure of Gobbo were unaware of her role. If they claim they did not know, then what were they defending her identity for or from? Why any of them didn’t have their professional ethics piqued, is amazing and an indictment on their profession.
The Legal Services Commission, if they do their job, are going to be very busy. However, as the fallout of this Royal Commission will improve policing it may also improve the ethics of the legal profession in this State. Both very desirable outcomes and will be applauded by the majority of lawyers and police who are ethical.
In our view, both lawyers McRae and Cornelius should be stood down from Victoria Police, and for that matter any other lawyers in the employ of Victoria Police that took part in any matters relating to Gobbo until an investigation can make recommendations on their ability to continue to hold a Practising Certificate. Likewise, law firms engaged by VicPol on this issue should be sidelined until the ethics of their lawyers can be reviewed.
Sworn police members who are subjected to investigation that could impinge on their duty as sworn police are suspended regularly until the matters are resolved. That same principle must apply to lawyers until their Certificates to Practise are reviewed and a conclusion reached. This is separate and distinct from any criminal matters that may be alleged against them.
The public will not accept being policed by police who have serious crimes alleged against them, and that is not unreasonable. However, in our view, those same principles should apply to legal practitioners. The public is entitled to know that lawyers with serious criminal and or professional matters alleged against them are not performing any legal functions.
In the case of lawyers, this is more important for internal police lawyers because in their legal function, preforming their normal roles, they could easily become involved in matters that become serious conflicts of interest.
The most significant risk, of course, is that the Special Investigator, yet to be appointed, starts with at least some targets already under investigation in another jurisdiction operating at different legal standards which could well end up compromising the criminal investigations that are to come.
The other risk already manifesting is that the Government will approach the findings of Justice McMurdo in a piecemeal, uncoordinated manner, so we may never know when this issue is completed. This approach exposes the risk of conflicts in the processes ending up with a nil-all result.
Prior to the appointment of the Special Investigator, there needs to be an independent Commissioner appointed to coordinate the response to the Royal Commission findings or like many Royal Commissions and inquires past there is a likelihood of,‘ Cherry picking’ findings, and in the end those responsible not implementing or diluting the recommendations made. The Black Saturday Royal Commission springs to mind.
As the fictional character Sir Humphrey Applebee of ‘Yes Minister’ fame would say, ‘the governments come and go but the public service is here to stay, so we only have to wait for an election and no matter who wins we have a clean slate and we continue on as we always do’.
That is not what Victorians need or deserve; we want ethical delivery of legal services in this State.
The CAA calls on the Andrews Government to appoint a review Commissioner who can ensure that the recommendations of McMurdo are implemented in a timely and professional way. This same Commissioner could look into the Quarantine Inquiry and provide the same service.