WHAT A GREAT INITIATIVE

by CAA | Jul 23, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

24th July 2022

Safer exchange sites have been introduced to some Victoria Police Stations in metropolitan Melbourne’s northeast. A concept widely used overseas, but an idea of which most of us were unaware.

This is a significant and positive strategy Victoria Police has embarked on and is an example of good police proactive Service Delivery, addressing a community need and reducing opportunities for crime

The principle of the site is simple in its ethos but significant in improving Police service delivery and community safety. A place where the community can go to improve their safety in dealing with people they have not met but want to sell or purchase products sourced online.

Not only protecting people from crooks but discouraging crooks from selling hot property to innocent people.

New and innovative ideas are always encouraged and required in the evolution of our online lives. In this case, VicPol is ahead in the game.

Based on this concept, it would be wonderful if the idea could be extended to include estranged parents exchanging their children for visitation; that would be significant.

Those exchanges currently happen in a McDonald’s car park or a shopping centre, but how much better would it be for an estranged parent that had some fear to undertake the process at the Safer exchange site.

Serious consideration should be given to building on this initiative with nominal creative civil works at police stations to provide two or three parking bays off-road where possible, where people can go for access exchanges or when confronted with road rage or other threatening situations.

Currently, most parking spaces in front of Police stations are occupied by Police cars, so having a Safer Zone dedicated would be a great extension of service delivery.

We think the only negative to this program is that it is running as a trial where it has been trailed extensively overseas. It should be implemented State-wide as a matter of urgency – a trial is superfluous.

Trials are usually run to help leaders avoid exercising leadership decisions for which they may be held to account.

But well done, VicPol.

IMPROPER INVESTIGATION

by CAA | Jul 18, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

19th July 2022

“An Improper Investigation” and “Police misconduct a dark cloud over conviction” were two headlines in Herald Sun 1/8/2020 – and both were misleading.  The real story lay in the small print:- “There appeared to be a culture of acceptance of the improper practices within the force.”

Therein lay the real evil bedevilling the Force:-

• acceptance of improper practices, even after they had been complained about;
• refusal to obey the dictates of the law and common leadership principles that complaints MUST be investigated; and
• repeated concealment of wrongdoing which, by default, encourages corrupt and/or criminal conduct.

So there ensued the cover-up of the “reprehensible conduct” related to Informer 3838, despite the laudable efforts of Sir Ken Jones to challenge and expose the “toxic and dysfunctional culture” within the Victoria Police Force.

IBAC found “even shredding of some statements were among the serious issues identified” – and yet IBAC had long refused to bother itself about other police who concealed a document that completely refuted their case against a defendant:-

During questioning of the defendant a detective handed him a computer printout showing that his computer user account had been enabled and successfully logged on before 9 am on a Monday morning, before the defendant had commenced work.. But then charged the defendant with the crime of illicitly enabling his own user account later that morning.  The point that somebody else had done so – that the account was actually enabled before 9 am – was set aside in the officer’s quest for a scalp.

The police officer swore to having handed to the defendant all the documents shown to him at interview, but certainly did not hand over that critically exculpatory printout; it disappeared.  Was it “shredded”?  What possible legitimate motive could have existed for the police, not merely failing to disclose this document, but ignoring it and pretending it did not exist?

Mr. Redlich (IBAC Commissioner) “raised concerns (that) improper practices continue today” (in 2020);  well IBAC should have acted when such practices were drawn to its attention in 2012 and 2013.

Despite having been then (2012-13) warned of this, its inactivity has apparently contributed to the very situation it deplored in 2020 – “a culture of acceptance of … improper practices within the force”;  i.e. the situation which has reemerged in 2022.

At CAA we had expressed hope and confidence in the ability and willingness of the Chief Commissioner of Police, Mr. Patton, to overcome that toxic and dysfunctional culture.  The latest events, however, suggest those sentiments were misplaced.

So Mr. Redlich now should look to the history of his own organisation.  If he does he should recognise how its failure to investigate serious allegations of police corruption when they were brought to its attention – and dismissed summarily one the shadiest of irrelevant grounds – has undoubtedly contributed to the present state of affairs.

Something must be done by outsiders to forever break the habit of police apparently breaching their oath of office and the law, repeatedly oversighting “profound failure(s) of policing”, to quote Mr. Patton himself.

POLICE TSUNAMI IS INEVITABLE

by CAA | Jul 18, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

18th July 2022

In a democracy, the community rightly sees the Government as ultimately responsible for Law and Order; critical to that responsibility is the performance of the Police Force.

In this current election environment, you can bet that all political machines are watching the performance of VicPol. No doubt looking for any opportunity to maximise on or reduce exposure to, the impact of the community angst that has developed towards its Force.

The Tectonic plates of policing have been moving adversely within the Victoria Police Force for some time. However, it has become very obvious they have gathered momentum and are now moving rapidly towards an adverse outcome.

The elements necessary for a policing Tsunami are becoming evident as the litany of policing failures has built to where the Tsunami is not a possibility but an inevitability.

There seems to be no end to the flow of ineptitude and policing failures; we all just sit and wait for the inevitable next one.

Government and all politicians will be closely watching how VicPol responds to the latest failures in the investigation of the Silk-Miller Police murders and the impact that may have on their electoral fortunes.

The community will also be watching as their confidence in the police continues to wane.

Taken in isolation, many issues, would have of themselves have limited impact on public confidence, but the build-up of events is taking its toll, and the informed public will inevitably start demanding change.

Seeds of that miscontent are starting to germinate.

These matters all contribute to the current malaise,

• Gobbo affair – a wanton disregard of the legal process and riddled with alleged corrupt practices.
• Red Shirts – from media reports, apparent criminality not prosecuted. They are corrupting the Police Judiciary separation of powers. Abuse of the discretion of police common law powers. The discretion is not a prerogative of the Force but is vested in individual constables.
• Slug-Gate – has the hallmarks of deliberate avoidance of the responsibility of the police force – poor investigation hamstrung by interference and twisted loyalties of subordinates to achieve an outcome palatable to the police command and to protect public figures.
• Politicians Travel rorts – just because somebody is a politician does not give them a free pass by police to commit criminal acts, but apparently, in Victoria, it does.
• Bourke Street massacre – one of the most inept police operations in modern policing history where police command failed to take charge, and six Victorians lost their lives as a result. Unfortunately, this command failure has been whitewashed.
• Executive misconduct – there have been examples of executive misconduct that arguably were criminal in nature, however, the executives were not charged, and their guilt or innocence determined by a Court, they resigned. This is completely inconsistent with how non-executive police are treated, even for minor infractions.
• Hotel Quarantine security guard’s debacle– how Victoria Police could equivocate and avoid the responsibility of securing the Quarantine of Hotels in the initial emergency and most critical stages of the COVID outbreak. Arguably contributing to eight hundred deaths is beyond contemptible, but that has also conveniently received the whitewash treatment.
• Corruption failures– Corruption is rampant in many sectors, and there is no evidence that the criminality involved is being addressed by VicPol, presumably leaving it to ‘him over there.’ You can blame who you like, but nothing will change until VicPol gets serious and starts instigating criminal proceedings against blatant criminal corruption.
• COVID Demonstrations–
  • Shooting demonstrators How any justification can be spun up to justify the use of shotguns firing bean bag rounds into demonstrators is beyond us; this behaviour borders on a criminal act.
  • O/C Spay Likewise, justification for dousing demonstrators with O/C Spray when they were running away seems indefensible- they were running away, for gods sake!
  • Handcuffing a young mum in front of her children in Ballarat because of online posts will always be up there as a disgraceful act. Rationalising that the female was in the kitchen, a place where she had access to weapons, is just ludicrous without any overt act or previous form that would create any risk.
  • Chasing demonstrators seems an odd police tactic – fine if you are going to arrest a perpetrator, but if demonstrators are running away, what is the point or logic in chasing them? What was to happen if they were caught?
  • Corralling demonstrators- another strange counterintuitive tactic of herding demonstrators into a confined area and then tightening the police- line when the object of reducing the spread of COVID is, as we know, the distance between people.
  • Snatching a phone of an elderly woman had no justification and was a breach of discipline by the police member. Still, we do not know if that member was held to account – it would have been interesting to know where he thought he might have gotten his justification.
  • Service delivery- the area of most significant concern for Victorians and the lack thereof, has impacted a very large percentage of them. They are rightly aggrieved; Police Stations closed, police unwilling or unable to respond (Call ramping) and aggravated by police who are despondent or disinterested if they do respond, all signs of a damaged workforce.

No good blaming the rank and file but lift your eyes to see where the problem lies.

•  Police welfare – impacting substantially on the item above the departure of competent police due to stress or related illnesses in very large part created by poor management and the workload being disproportionally spread in the workforce. The exodus is twofold, one string heading out of policing due to mental health and the other exodus internal into non-frontline tasks.
• Pillaging Police Stations – for human resources to appease media attention. Because an incident or series of incidents are given media exposure, the nett effect of making the best out of Police Stations to address these issues is counterintuitive. Fewer Police at police stations equates to more problems gaining media attention. A performance spiral.
• Endemic evidence tampering – This behaviour it would seem has become an entrenched operating procedure for investigators in certain areas of Policing. That it appears book ended by events in 1998 and 2022 it is clearly endemic and wide-spread. There are a number of Senior Police Officers who have been promoted over those two decades who would have to be aware, if not involved in these unlawful acts and yet they have done nothing to stem the behaviour.
  • The Silk Miller Murder trial was corrupted by the unlawful action of police investigators in tampering with evidence, Perverting the Course of Justice.
  • While the Silk Miller murders occurred in the late 90’s, the culmination (the bit that counts) of the investigation was in the early 2000s. It is alleged up to five statements were rewritten, and originals disposed of. Serious criminality by Police with multiple evidence tampering and conspiracy offences not pursued.
  • Not confined to the 2000s coercing or causing statements to be altered is still happening at a 2022 trial where, fortunately, the police member who was coerced into altering his statement a mind-numbing seven (7) times by senior police self-reported the act to the Court. The jury acquitted the accused, or otherwise, a rerun of the Jason Roberts saga would be with us.

                  That nobody has been held to account for Perverting the Course of Justice and the associated conspiracies is a disgrace. This was a high-profile case                    so the executive would have been fully aware. Their failure in supervision/management is breathtaking and staggering.

See https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/policeman-who-shot-james-gargasoulas-cleared-of-assault-on-student-20220613-p5at7d.html

• Lack of police transparency- VicPol is always encouraging the community to give it information but try the reverse and get information from Police. It is not uncommon for the estimated time for a Freedom of Information request to be in the order of six months. If you try to challenge this at VCAT, VicPol will do legal somersaults to avoid compliance. We are aware of Supreme Court requests being treated in the same way – Hubris.

Perhaps we all should encourage everybody to take an example from VicPol and provide them with their information in six months?

The common thread of all these issues is a failure of Command and Control where the police executive fail in their duty – the first and most significant example which Victorians have never forgotten was the performance of Chief Commissioner Nixon while Victorians died in the Black Saturday fires –we allege that is the starting point of the collapse of Command and Control and executive responsibility within VicPol. Yet, Nixon was not sanctioned for a gross breach of executive responsibility, and no executive has faced criminal charges, irrespective of what they were alleged to have done since. They are not held to account or required to justify or apologise for Victoria Police missteps; this is unadulterated unhealthy- Hubris.

There has also been a string of thoroughly decent and competent Police who have been shown the metaphoric door for non-compliance with a new order which avoids responsibility and accountability. Many are disciplined for trivia.

Any normal grown-up organisation would be embarrassed to take drastic disproportionate steps for minor infractions, highlighting as it does management deficiencies and incompetence, but this is VicPol, that suffers an acute form of- Hubris.

These are the critical issues that the public demands their police force urgently addresses.

Alternatively, an inquiry to provide strategies to correct the current demise is not only warranted but inevitable.

Who let Miller and Silk down?

by CAA | Jul 15, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

16th July 2022

The acquittal of Jason Roberts for the murders of Senior Constable Rodney Miller and Sergeant Garry Silk in 1998 is disappointing, but the part that rips at our guts is that the acquittal was achieved because it would seem, the ineptitude of investigators, not much else.

How could such an important, or for that matter, any case be subjected to the errors that this brief contained?

We suspect some will be held to account, but the real culprits, senior management, will not be tarred with that brush; low-hanging fruit will be the scapegoats.

Tampering with evidence is an absolute no, in any circumstances, and irrespective of the crime, there is never a justification.

It would seem the necessary elements of Perverting the Course of Justice exist in this matter. A Common Law offence with a codified maximum penalty of twenty-five years in the Crimes Act, indicates the seriousness of how this type of behaviour is viewed.

Every detective and police member knows this. So fundamental and absolute is this rule and the consequences, that denial of its existence by any police member is indefensible.

Additionally, those same police, are well aware of the process should a witness, due to circumstances, wish to change their statement. That is not an offence, but there are procedures to follow.

It would be helpful if the Chief were to condemn the tampering of evidence publicly to attempt to regain some credibility for the Force with a public apology to the State and the families of the two members who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The families of the slain members, serving and former police, having to carry the ignominy of the failures of the Victoria Police is beyond reprehensible.

There is palpable anger over the incompetence in this case.

The old saying, we all bleed blue, is a truism in this case, with the vast majority of serving and former police sharing the pain with the slain members’ families.

If policing cannot get it right when their own are slain, what hope for the rest of the community?

The handling of this case has severely damaged community confidence in the Victoria Police as an Organisation already reeling from a number of missteps in recent years. This latest just made policing just that much harder.

Some of us in our early careers were exposed to old-timers who saw the end justifies the means as legitimate Policing. For many of us, that was an uncomfortable concept, but it now appears evident that this outdated and wrong culture has crept back into policing in Victoria.

That can only happen if management is inept.

We strongly suspect this was bought in predominately by external senior appointments and was able to take hold because of bad management practices, also imported.

It is in this environment that spawned a flawed culture that these issues occurred.

It is hoped lessons have been learnt and lateral entry to senior roles is never contemplated again. We hope that our community leaders cannot be that dumb not to learn from the litany of errors foisted upon us by imports.

The problem has evolved over the last couple of decades, where any action to achieve a conviction is acceptable. This flies directly in the face of the principles of good investigations.

Moreover, in part, it puts policing above the law.

A notion rejected by the overwhelming majority of serving police and those who have served.

To blame a few rogue detectives is a nonsense; this concept is a cultural one that senior managers have not addressed, and it is they who are responsible.

A Royal Commission is now being touted as justified because of the failure and ineptitude of Policing in Victoria as an organisation.

There have been a plethora of incidents over recent years that are building pressure for action to be taken.

VicPol has not challenged this growing body of justification for an inquiry, so we can only assume that the police executives are resigned to the inevitability of a review of some type.

A Royal Commission, however, in our view, is not the answer as the answer lies within VicPol itself.

Nothing will change until one or more Senior Executives are held to account and suffer the consequence of their ineptitude.

It is incredulous that some of those involved in the Gobbo debacle still hold senior positions in VicPol, and elsewhere, enabling their incompetence, or more disastrous their policing values, to be further promulgated.

This raises the question of what some inept, incompetent managers must do to be held to account.

It seems whatever they like, it just won’t happen.

The reality is that many who have acted corruptly in the Gobbo matters will have retired and accessed their comfortable Superannuation by the time charges are made. Culprits will not face court as police, effectively shifting the responsibility from VicPol.

Draining the executive swamp is one alternative, but fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, there are a number of executives whose services are of considerable value.

The ball, however, is now squarely in the Chief Commissioner’s court.

His response will determine whether the Government is forced by public pressure to hold an inquiry or Commission.

There is a growing air of inevitability.

A VICTORIA POLICE EMERGENCY

by CAA | Jul 11, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

12th July 2022

On many issues, the CAA is in lockstep with the Police Association (TPAV), but sometimes that step is out of kilter a little bit, as is the case with the TPAV recent announcement as a solution to the dire staffing levels at Police Stations,

 ‘New police numbers, together with MOU to send police back into stations’.

The research that the TPAV has done is identical to the feedback that the CAA has received about the appalling situations in many stations that are just unable to perform their critical functions because of staff shortages.

This is not just a COVID problem; although it has exaggerated the issue, it was evident before the pandemic.

The common issue is that on paper, the staff levels seem solid until you drill down to the actual availability of the members of a station to perform station duties.

The stations cannot maintain patrols, and closing a Police Station for a shift is now a regular occurrence across the state.

Pleas for help from the community are ramped; sound familiar.

The appalling reality is that the delivery of reactive services are failing and any hope of even basic proactive policing remains a dream.

Where we are out of step with the TPAV is the solution.

For all those members who are doing it tough with a never-ending cycle of night and other less palatable shifts because there is nobody else to do them, the two-year wait for extra numbers and the TPAV meeting with VicPol twice a year is hardly encouraging or even looks like a solution; a bit of kicking the can down the road at best.

Looking at what has been done, it is actually nothing.

The TPAV supports, as we do, a move to preventing crime as a priority. Still, there is no hope of fulfilling this objective unless a solution to the staffing problem is found rather than the protracted, possible, maybe approach accepted by the TPAV. They were sold a pup.

Our greatest concern, equal in importance to service delivery capability, is the welfare of members. Those members left at stations carrying an unfair workload will continue to fall, succumbing to health issues, including burnout.

Standing by while members are falling is not in our DNA.

The current number of members counted on station rosters who require flexible or part-time arrangements will continue to escalate and is the primary cause of the problem. The TPAV did not seem to address this issue.

We are aware of one station, and there are many like it, where ten members, or a third of their staff, are on flexible hours, making them unavailable for specific shifts and duties. But they are shown on the roster as full-time members.

It is no small feat balancing, Maternity, Paternity, Annual, Special, Military,  Study, Sick and Long Service leave impacts and family commitments on a Station Roster. Still, when that is exacerbated to the degree of adversely affecting the ability of the police station to provide a modicum of service delivery, the problem is dire.

Meetings, plans and forward projections will not alleviate the inevitable continued decline of station staff numbers and, as a consequence, the ineffective policing of the state.

Hand wringing is theatre, not a result.

The much-lorded Capability Plan has turned out to be a dud, but as we said at its launch, it had pretty pictures.

If the plan worked, how come the capability position is as it currently is?

As more members burn out, the numbers seeking either sick leave, flexible hours or part-time work will increase; this phenomenon has built inertia that will exponentially grow.

Meetings and promises that may be achieved in two years are all things the hard-working members have heard before; they need the confidence that the issues will be addressed now.

This problem is an emergency, and if action is not taken immediately, expect a further decline to where VicPol is theoretically insolvent in Service delivery, unable to repay the debt it owes society.

We call on the Chief Commissioner to establish an Inspectorate to address the staffing issue at Police Stations, among other administrative problems.

The first and urgent role of the Inspectorate is to identify members in positions who can be seconded back to Police Stations in exchange for members whose time availability is compromised.

No part of VicPol should be quarantined from this process.

This process will be unpopular with some members, but the overwhelming majority of members currently carrying excessive workloads are entitled to the consideration.

We are not proposing altering current arrangements with individual members, just their work location and function.

This is a significant staffing reset; however, it is critical if the force is to retain staff and reduce the impact of burnout. The focus up until now has been on the rights or work-life issues of those who seek special conditions.

We have no difficulty with that concept; however, it is time to move the pendulum back to protecting the police who protect us, and they should receive the full support of VicPol and all Victorians. Their welfare is also a priority.

To be effective, the Inspectorate has to be independent of any line authority that may impact or try to influence its work, and it must be pragmatic. Hence, the Inspectorate Commander must report directly to the Chief Commissioner.

This radical plan is not a total solution but may set benchmarks to avoid the current level of difficulty replicating in the future.

There is nothing new in this dramatic approach. New South Wales Police had a problem with a dearth of experience in the metropolitan area, although that is where the most crime and disorder was. The experienced police had vacated to the country, and a major realignment of personnel was carried out to bring experienced members back into the areas of most need.

When faced with extraordinary problems, it requires extraordinary solutions, and this issue must be addressed before any more members crash- this is a Victoria Police emergency.

Safe injecting room – gang cartel connection?

by CAA | Jul 9, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

10th July 2022

The so-called ‘safe injecting’ rooms are just part of the evil problem of drug  addiction and the long-term physical and mental health issues that the Government is not prepared to tackle.

The CAA has long advocated targeting the business models that the drug trade, particularly the Bikie and Middle Eastern Drug cartels rely on, and do not depend solely on enforcement with outdated, ineffective laws.

Consider where the customers of the injecting rooms get their illicit and dangerous drugs; in the main street dealers. Where do the street dealers get the filthy drugs from, bikie and middle eastern crime gangs?

It is a complex business model with dangerous workplace issues,  such as being shot, bashed or overdosed (Hot Shot).   The Government turns a blind eye to this, often celebrating the questionable success of the safe injecting rooms. The claim of success is reducing calls to ambulances. That claim acknowledges that the rooms do not mitigate the problem or improve the likely rehabilitation of addicts.

The other claim of reducing overdoses and possible deaths only relates to the small percentage of addicts/users who use the facilities, not the broader drug community.

It was not that long ago that injecting room staff were convicted of drug trafficking?

It is not a spurious argument that the Government is complicit in the drug trade, which may explain the inaction?

Interestingly the drug Cartel business model has taken a dire turn; they are now shooting at each other in a turf war. Inevitably innocent public will become collateral damage.

Whilst the Government looks at other locations for injecting rooms to appease the suffering residents of Richmond, which has now been turned into a thoroughly depressing and disgusting place.  Witnesses report to us addicts defecating in Victoria Street, the main thoroughfare, and this is part of Melbourne, a most livable city?

So the wicked problem continues without accurate statistics supporting its continuation and without broad thinking about the other impacts on government services.

It does, however, raise the question of the nexus between the Governments inaction and the growth of the drug Cartels in this State.

The Bikie gangs did not move south for the weather.

We are not alleging a direct link between the Cartels and the Government, but the Cartels would very favourably view those pushing for safe injecting rooms. Whether that translates to direct or indirect succour needs investigating.

We now have another eighty police, in addition to the already established Task Forces; Echo is but one, focused on bikies and middle eastern gangs who now chose to shoot at each other; that is just the tip of an iceberg.

The CAA calls for a commission into where the drugs come from.

It is time for the politicians to educate themselves and not be led by the nose because of their naivety.

It is easy to test sample drugs from the clients at the injecting rooms to compare that to drug seizures from+ middle eastern crime gangs and bikie gangs.

If truth be known, the Government already knows from wastewater (sewage) testing; they just do not make it public.

Let there be some truth about the drug impact, no more lies.

How many young women and men are being prostituted?

• How many kids are being traumatised by violence at home?
• How many police are now focused on bikies rather than community safety?
• How many Domestic disputes have a drug component?
• How many fewer druggies do we have in Victoria because of the injecting room?
• How many of the homeless have drug addiction issues?
• How many have mental health issues from drugs?

Drugs like gambling and prostitution are wicked problems, but when Government looks for remedies to wicked problems, they tend to select the path of least resistance.

Perhaps the first move is to educate the politicians. They should first spend time in the vicinity of the Richmond room (after hours) before opening another and visit the drug factories in the suburbs to see how the cartels are making drugs, accessing precursor ingredients and then selling them for use in the injecting rooms.

When addicts start defecating in Flinders Street (proposed new injecting room site), the Government may at last take notice.

Interestingly the announcement of that new site’s suitability is delayed until after the election. If it is so good, why wait?

Let’s have the new injecting room in the dining room of Parliament House instead of Flinders Street. At least there are no pre-schools around the area and no community amenity to disrupt.

Déjà Vu – look out bikes, again.

by CAA | Jul 7, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

7th July 2022

The announcement by the Chief Commissioner of a new task force, Viper, to tackle outlaw motor-cycle gangs had a familiar ring but hopefully a better outcome than a previous attempt.

Even so, some similarities are a worry.

In 2013 Chief Commissioner Ken Lay announced, under the headline

TOP COP’S WARNS OUTLAW BIKIES, ‘WE HAVE A GANG TOO’

Lay announced that a ‘hard-nosed investigator Superintendent Brett Guerin was to take over the Razon Task Force, “Take on the Bikies”.

Targeting the Night Club industry, the only reference we could find was that Task Force charged three Bikies with selling Alcohol without a license.

It was reported that Superintendent Guerin is a man with an engaging laugh and a quick wit. Mr Lay has identified him as the right man for the job.

The lilt of one’s laughter and wit seem strange attributes for a Bikie gangbuster.

Lay failed to say or had not found out that Guerin was the infamous Vernon Demerest and Clive Howlett- Jones, two of the most infamous foul-mouthed nom de plume racist trolls who could best be described as extreme right-wing fascists on social media—allegedly using police computers to troll.

The head of the Professional Standards Command, as an Assistant Commissioner, his career ended abruptly when he was exposed as a troll.

The similarities with Viper, however, do not relate to the character of the police in charge but the comparison of the Government actions for both Razon and Viper.

The Legislation does not match the Bikie creed of extreme violence to achieve their objectives, so being unable to deal with the Bikies in the traditional way aTask Force would seem the only alternative.

To cover the Governments’ failings to legislate enabling powers for police, here we are nine years after Razon, faced with the same issues and the same Government without lessons learned.

We fear the problem will be just as bad in another decade, and Viper will not have been the magic bullet the politicians hoped would avoid them having to do their job.

Sometimes we wonder if our community leaders are ‘in awe’, ‘infatuated’ or ‘afraid’ of the Bikie culture, making them unprepared to tackle it.

It is ironic that the drugs that swill through the Safe Injecting Rooms are most probably  sourced via the Bikie Gang networks, make of that as you will.

The Government again resists to tackle the issue properly, and as in 2013, it will all be left to the police to try to resolve with one hand tied behind their back. And if they fail, guess whose fault it will be – the Poilce?

If the Government and community leaders are serious, the Legislation in America called Rico-Law enacted in 1970 would be a good template to start. It is very successful in combating organised crime, which regular Legislation fails to do.

Those Lawmakers understood the tentacles of organised crime, which this law addresses and is not available in traditional Legislation.

The exodus of bikies and organised crime from Interstate to Victoria was not solely because of the efforts of interstate Police or any lack of effort by Victorian Police. It was the Legislation, or lack thereof, in Victoria.

One question we ponder, is we have been sold the value of the Echo Task Force that has existed for some time as an anti-bikie operation; why do we need another Task Force?

This Government failure will cost us.

This Government inaction has taken eighty police from the front line protecting us to focus on a problem that the Government, it seems, is not at all interested in resolving.

It is simply not good enough to take any police from the frontline, General Duties and the Road policing areas in particular, as they are already under-resourced dramatically, this directly and adversely impacts us.

When you call the police, and they do not come, or the road toll soars, you will know why.

Crime will always escalate when the Policing function at the grassroots is compromised.

Perhaps some may be replaced, but that will inevitably by recruits, in the fullness of time, a euphemism for ‘maybe whenever’.

These newbies will not have the mentoring of more senior and experienced peers to learn from to keep us safe and, just as importantly, keep them safe in a dangerous occupation – the experienced are all in the Task Forces.

This bikie culture is attractive to those inclined, so why do we immortalise them when in reality, they are predominantly Middle Eastern Crime gangs and Crime families, in part using the Bikie culture as a front for extortion and protection. The Bikie image built by the media serves them well in the extortion rackets.

It would be helpful if the media took some responsibility.

It is time to provide the horsepower for policing at both ends, starving these organisations of their most valuable resource, members, by focusing on the feeder youth and targeting the support mechanisms organised crime relies on with Rico-Law.

For the feeder youths, where diversion does not work, incarceration for a period when they are young may avert their direction in life.

We all abhor the idea of incarcerating young people and the argument that it is counter-intuitive to acceptable social norms we would like to support.

Based, however, on lived experiences, this does not always work.

The solution is yet to be found, but nobody is seriously looking, least of all our community leaders.

This issue must be pragmatically examined as a matter of urgency, or in a few years, another Task Force to deal with a problem that police have not been able to resolve for a decade will be created.

The first step is for the Government to take responsibility and ownership of the problem- then do something about it.

RULE, LETS THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG ON SLUG-GATE

by CAA | Jun 1, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

1st June 2022

Andrew Rule, in his Herald Sun article 22^nd of May 2022, ‘Was ‘slug-gate’ a slimy trick to divert public money?”. Has well and truly, let the ‘cat out of the bag.’

https://omny.fm/shows/life-and-crimes-with-andrew-rule/the-slug-gate-saga-deepens#description

This is the most egregious and far-reaching corrupt enterprise to be uncovered in this State.

There will be many very nervous people in the Health Department, Police, Local Government, and a couple of politicians who will face awkward questions about corrupt behaviours. As will the Auditor General, the State financial watchdog, who will need to answer some confronting questions about his efficacy, as he was across the ‘Community Chef’ books showing the failures effectively from the start.

The big question is how did he not detect insolvency.

This is all about a meticulously contrived plan hatched to create a cash cow for recipients not yet revealed.

Simply set up a catering business with government funds in the aged care and hospital food supply chain. The owners of the enterprise ‘Community Chef’, local government, and the Health Department can also be the major customer base.

They also happen to be the industry’s regulators, so the few competitors in this specialised area would rapidly drop off.

The equivalent of having ‘Hungry Jacks’ regulate McDonald’s, what could go wrong? Especially if you disregard gross conflict of interest and criminal conspiracies.

The significant job losses by closing these businesses is an oxymoron to the rationale of establishing ‘Community Chef, to create jobs. The net effect was overall job losses in this sector, one of the most significant smoke and mirrors acts ever perpetrated on the Victorian public

The plan started to look shaky when not all the players in the catering field followed the script. Instead, their nemesis became ICooks, who steadfastly refused to acquiesce to the conspirator’s grand plan. And year after year, ‘Community Chef’ continued to need more cash injections than ever to keep afloat. A basket case enterprise of epic proportions.

The architects of the conspiracy, now with concern almost panic for the future of ‘Community Chef’, moved into arguably illegal actions to achieve their objectives to stave off insolvency, which was arguably evident and covered up for many years.

One of the strongest motivators for the conspirators was the technology that ICooks had developed.

Texture modified food is a technique of processing food, modifying the texture, and then presenting it in its original form. Designed to replace the vitamised muck that people unable to eat solid food have traditionally endured.

When the conspirators launched their offensive against ICooks, we believe it was no coincidence that I Cooks were well advanced in securing a series of multi-Million-dollar contracts for their technology locally and internationally.

The value of this business was heading towards the triple-figure million-dollar levels. Yet, all the contracts ready to complete, worth somewhere north of $20 million, were cancelled because of local government and State bureaucrats interventions. As a result, homegrown technology that was in demand by the world’s markets was lost.

If ICooks could be forced into liquidation, the conspirators could pick up the patents at a bargain price, and the future of the ‘Community Chef’ as a cash cow would be assured. ICooks never liquidated.

The ubiquitous and converted main prize in the game was lost to Community Chef.

‘Community Chef’ has now gone owing millions, absorbed with all its debts by the Health Department currently claiming under-resourcing for health failures in this State. Perhaps spending more wisely would help their current crisis.

The conspirator’s intelligence was a bit like Russia’s intel on Ukraine. They underestimated the resolve of their enemy. Ian Cook refused to quietly accede to the market pressure created by the conspirators. This forced the conspirators to resort to risky strategies, like slugs, to achieve their aims

Amongst ICooks supporters are two retired detectives who have worked pro bono for over two years, putting together volumes of intelligence and evidence in this case. Their dossier exposes conspiracies and a raft of other criminal activities.

The two detectives achieved what the responsible Government entities did not bother, or could not do, to see off this artifice called ‘Community Chef’ and sever the money pipeline that bled the company of millions.

The location of the other end of that pipeline is pretty evident to all involved in this matter. The detectives are now working on converting intelligence gathered into evidence.

The ex-detectives helping ICooks, have lost none of their skills. Although retired you can take police out of policing but not their loyalty to their oath, which is innate.

Slug-gate is heading inextricably and rapidly towards the ‘bring down’ of the perpetrators, their minions, and Kama for the victims.

The infamous Red Shirts Rorts, still being investigated (we think), pales into insignificance. The taxpayer was rorted for $388k, compared to the Slug-gate scandal, which is circa $50 million at a minimum—ultimately heading closer to $100m.

From the first briefing, the Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) received the CAA formed the view that this was a profoundly serious criminal matter of epic proportions. Further briefings reinforced the initial evaluation.

The failures by responsible agencies are numerous, and the individuals are sure to be exposed.

At the top of the list must be the Auditor General’s Office, who was across the ‘Community Chef’ books but either did not understand what they were looking at, incompetence, or something else.

Not far behind is Victoria Police, who we suspect, given the average lack of knowledge within Policing of corporate operations and governance, did not recognise the issue’s magnitude. However, elements within VicPol who did know acted corruptly.

IBAC has also been very tardy. Given that their inability to investigate the matter was claimed to be manpower, the offer from the CAA of a number of former detectives to investigate on behalf of IBAC pro bono was rejected.

The Slug-gate artifice is a huge issue with tentacles reaching far and wide; this probably understates the reality.

Once the scabs are torn back, what will be revealed will be monumental, leading right to the door of the most powerful leaders in the land.

We strongly encourage Andrew Rule and others to continue to investigate and expose the treacherous conspirators and their criminal misdeeds.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

by CAA | May 15, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

15th of May 2022

The CAA has been operating for over seven years, predominantly funded (90%) by the contribution of membership fees.

We are now entering an election phase in the States political cycle, and we know that the issues we have championed have a better chance of support when politicians are focused on an election.

Preceding the last election, the CAA exhausted its funds on promoting the various CAA causes via social media, and we propose a similar strategy for this election.

Every election is important; however, this one stands out as an election about our fundamental rights to exercise the freedoms that democracy is supposed to offer and the accountability of the Government to the people. Yet, that freedom is challenged by government intrusion into our lives, and we are all damaged by the associated high levels of corruption.

The CAA is not aligned politically, favouring the ideological bent most closely aligned with our values.

To enable us to be heard, we need your help to invest in broadening our reach, currently over 30k, to more Victorians and influence their voting by taking into account the matters we raise.

Our objective is to achieve a Government with Integrity and transparency at its core regardless of the politics. If that is not fulfilled, all the promises are worthless.

Our fight against corruption needs financial support to increase our effectiveness in the public interest. Transparency International estimates corruption to cost $4000 per person per annum. Your support will help us fight corruption and consequential injustices.

To donate, go to http://caainc.org.au/how-to-become-a-donor/

WHERE TO FROM HERE CHIEF PATTON?

by CAA | May 6, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

6th May 2022

The Victoria Police and the Chief Commissioner have a habit of shooting themselves in the foot. With their latest effort, they have managed to shoot both feet.

Some of the baggage inherited from the reign of Chief Commissioner Ashton provided some initial cover for current Chief Shane Patton. He is well on his own now. Not only must he wear shortcomings of his own administration but failings and deficiencies of the previous regime.

The CAA provided support for Mr Patton and has been subjected to substantial criticism for that position, however, we are now concerned our faith was misplaced.

We had been contemplating the improved change in what we saw as positive approach by VicPol to demonstrations against the deportation of criminal detainees.

Our hesitation was the cause being pursued.

A cause of the extreme left of Politics, raised in our view doubts that this change was not an awakening by VicPol on how demonstrations should be managed but a change influenced because of who was demonstrating, a partisan political stand by VicPol.

The police response to civil unrest is bookended by the Black lives matter and the latest refugee demonstrations with the COVID response in between.

If the Government or the Chief Commissioner thought that the disquiet created during the COVID demonstrations will dissipate over the use of capsicum spray, bean bag rounds, riot shields, demonstrators thrown to the ground and many arrested, they have miscalculated badly, they have just poked the bear.

Any doubts as to the political status of VicPol have now been put beyond doubt by the inaction of the Chief Commissioner to the ranting unhinged behaviour of Lidia Thorpe, a member of Parliament and the Greens party.

Her tirade at the police, who showed amazing restraint, was inexcusable on any level but aggravated substantially because of her position as a sitting MP.

That Mr Patton did not immediately come to the defence of the Police members, and the Force to condemn Thorpe’s behaviour is inexcusable and any efforts now will not be considered as authentic, the moment has passed for Patton.

Other than a few police who have a similar political bent, the overwhelming majority of police will be feeling badly let down by their Chief Commissioner to a degree that may not be recoverable.

Equally culpable was the Police Minister Neville. She was conspicuously absent as was the Premier. Yet it was Premier Andrews who relied on those same Police to implement the draconian and unpopular COVID policies that police on the ground wore the brunt of, professionally and privately.

Policing is a thankless job, but when the community leadership collectively fail the Police on the frontline that is a damnable disgrace.

Chief Commissioner Patton now has to be careful that he is not faced with a ’vote of no confidence’ from the Police rank and file, the ones getting abused, assaulted and spat on, as police anger is palpable.

It would be a grave error to assume that will not happen. Pervious Chiefs Reg Jackson and Mick Miller faced a ‘vote of no confidence’ so precedents do exist for such an extraordinary move by Police rank and file. This matter is much more sensitive and coming as it does hot on the heels of the way the COVID Police response was handled. This latest may be the catalyst for discontent to boil over.

As this latest demonstration confirms that the variable responses by  Police on the ground are dictated by their command, not the individual police.

Not to be forgotten this misstep comes right on top of the debacle and mishandling of the Sergeant Bruno Staffieri matter. I this matter Sergeant was charged with disciplinary offences and the perpetrator of the abuse of the Chief Commissioners’ own Inclusion Policy was his own deputy. Deputy commissioner Paterson thus far has escaped accountability and the Chief has remained mute.

That Deputy is the same officer who as an Assistant Commissioner appeared before the Royal Commission into Police Informants. At that appearance Mr Paterson admitted on oath that he had failed to tell the Royal Commission for six months that the prime subject of the Commission , barrister Nicola Gobbo had been previously registered as a police informer in 1995.

This action raises the question of a contempt of the Commission. Why no disciplinary action was taken against Paterson for this egregious failure is beyond comprehension when there is no doubt a lower rank would have faced scrutiny without hesitation.

Patton promoted Paterson to Deputy knowing his embarrassing failure before the Royal Commission and the potential for him to face contempt charges.

Getting promoted after misleading a Royal Commission, how does that work?

The relevance of these assorted issues brings into sharp relief the competence of the Chief Commissioner as it can be fairly argued he does not support his rank and file, provides cover for the executive, his lack of ability to select competent people for promotion and his relationship with the Government. Raising the sceptre of promotion by allegiances to Political doctrines rather than competency.

Victoria Police is without doubt politicised and that is not good for the community irrespective of any political views, for that sin we are all victims.

The classic police idiom applies to the Chief Commissioner – Your move Sergeant.

CHRISTIAN BELIEFS AN OFFENCE IN VICPOL

by CAA | May 2, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

2nd May 2022

An unholy spat unfolded within Victoria Police last year between a Sergeant with Christian beliefs on the cusp of retiring and a Deputy Commissioner who is openly gay and is not too subtle with his aspirations for the top Police job.

The spat has spilt into the public domain.

When Police join the Force, they take either an Oath or an Affirmation to serve, “without favour or affection, malice or ill will…”  The vast majority of Police take this undertaking very seriously.

Concurrent with this, Victoria Police has published the following Inclusion Policy:

Victoria Police is committed to a workforce that embraces diversity and inclusion and our vision for this is: Our policing services are provided through leadership that fosters a diverse, inclusive and respectful workforce, better equipping us to work together to understand and respond to the Victorian community

In 2021, Victoria Police embarked on actions that bear a strong resemblance to the persecution and bullying of one of their own, a Christian, who expressed concerns about using police resources for the apparent promotion of a Gay agenda by one of the force’s most senior officers, Deputy Commissioner Neil Paterson.

Mr Paterson has been instrumental in promoting the inclusion of LGBTQI people into Victoria Police and he applied multiple sworn police to the 2021 Australian LGBTQ+ inclusion awards submission, which resulted in a Silver Award. The Victoria Police submission was undertaken despite the peak of the COVID Pandemic severely stretching Vicpol’s most valuable asset, manpower. To question this resource allocation in the circumstances is reasonable.

Mr Paterson appears to have overstepped the mark with his apparent biased gay agenda bullying of Sergeant Bruno Staffieri, over the latter’s respectful comments and concerns.

No ‘Inclusion Policy’ worth its salt excludes individuals based on their religious beliefs and nor can it be at law.  Yet Mr Paterson appears to have done just that, based on what appears to be his response to a respectful and courteously worded dissent expressed by Sergeant Staffieri on the Police internal social media platform.

“ Last year, Deputy Police Commissioner Neil Paterson posted on internal police social media celebrating that “Victoria Police is proud to have been recognised as a silver employer at the 2021 Australian LGBTQ+ inclusion awards.”

In response, Sergeant Staffieri responded: “Yes I agree. Great achievement. But if the public knew how much time, effort and taxpayer dollars went into this, they would also be demanding why we didn’t get a gold.”

Mr Paterson defended the campaign and said it had not received significant public funding.

Sergeant Staffieri responded: “Sir, I totally value and respect your opinion and your rank, I simply ask that you value and respect mine.”

Mr Paterson, the state’s second highest-ranked police officer, fired a public broadside at Sergeant Staffieri, suggesting he consider looking for a new job.

“I don’t respect or value your views as they are offensive and there is no place for those views in Victoria Police…. Either limit your comments on Yammer to comments that are respectful of everyone or consider your employment options,” Paterson posted -source https://www.advanceaustralia.org.au/this_victorian_copper_is_a_bloody_aussie_legend

 Sergeant Staffieri displayed a respectful tone while expressing concern over the resources which went into achieving recognition of Victoria Police for its inclusiveness.  Mr Paterson, on the other hand, was bullying and anything but respectful or inclusive in his response to the Sergeant.

Sergeant Staffieri has since been subjected to a protracted and ongoing investigation, as a consequence of this exchange and has apparently been charged under the Police Act and has now after two years been advised he will be suspended.

 The aggressor and person who would appear to have breached the Chief Commissioner’s Inclusion Policy appears not to have been disciplined.

We applaud Victoria Police for seeking to include LGBTQ+ people into the organisation.  But inclusion does not mean giving them a place of pre-eminence over others.  Inclusion also does not mean forcing out others because they seek to politely voice their beliefs respectfully, influenced by their religion.

The Deputy was responsible for escalating this matter into a religion versus gay spat. That he did not think through the impact the spat would attract, brings his judgement into serious question in addition to his deliberate breaching of Force Policy.

We find it hard to accept he is so naive that he would think the contentious comments published on an internal VicPol Social page available to 22,000 police staff, would not find a way into mainstream media and be widely circulated on public social media. We strongly suspect the action was either wholly reckless or deliberate.

If you don’t want it to get out, don’t write it.

So how has such an experienced senior officer as Mr Paterson fallen into such serious error?  Could it be that ambition plays a part?  Ambition for the LGBTQ+ community or ambition for himself?  Mr Paterson appears to have made LGBTQ+ inclusion, his personal agenda and in doing so appears to have lost objectivity critical to his role as one of the most senior leaders in a major Australian policing agency.

As a police leader, he must lead for all, not just some.  Mr Paterson appears to have failed significantly in his most important duty – leadership.  This brings into question his suitability to remain at that very senior level, let alone progress to higher office when the Chief Commissioner’s Office becomes vacant.

We should also be concerned over the apparent inaction of Chief Commissioner Patton in this debacle from whom we hear nothing.  Most significantly because this egregious breach of force policy is the Chief Commissioners’ own Policy.

Paterson has thrown down the gauntlet to Patton, in a not too subtle challenge to the Chief Commissioners’ authority. A blatant act of dissension that cannot be tolerated in any circumstance from any Police member let alone somebody of Paterson’s rank.

Mr Patton holds the highest office in Victoria Police and therefore, arguably, the highest duty to lead his police. Mr Patton is singularly silent in this matter, apparently preferring to leave it to others in Command to mount what looks, from the outside, alarmingly like a campaign of religious persecution against Sergeant Staffieri for daring to respectfully dissent.

All this is against a backdrop where Victoria Police have serially neglected their duty in a range of very serious investigations including ‘The Red Shirts’ and ‘Slug Gate’.  It seems that the police no longer catch real crooks.  They prefer to ‘catch and kill’ their own.

To think this all could have been avoided if the Deputy had shown a modicum of Leadership and called the Sergeant in for a cup of coffee and an informal chat to avoid any spat engulfing VicPol and now the Chief.

The actions of the Deputy have left the Chief Commissioner in the untenable position, to either side with the Deputy, or allow this breach of his authority to stand, alienating a sizable proportion of his workforce and the community.

So, what should happen? Chief Commissioner Patton must show the leadership of his position and immediately intervene.

The discipline charges against Sergeant Staffieri must be immediately withdrawn. If the Sergeant’s conduct is in error, he should be counselled and provided appropriate supervision and training. Or he could be allowed to continue on long Service Leave and retire with dignity, as was his intention after having provided 35 years of fearless and exemplary service to the people of Victoria.

Yes, Sergeant Staffieri was actually on Long Service Leave leading to retirement when he was brought back to duty, interviewed under direction, and advised he was to be suspended from duty.

Mr Patton has little choice but to refer the conduct of his Deputy Mr Paterson to IBAC for investigation during which time Paterson should be suspended. That precedent has been set by the way Staffieri has been managed.  Mr Paterson’s potential breaches of Sections 342 (Adverse Action) and 789FD (Bullying) of the Fair Work Act (Cth) were apparent in his ‘public’ diatribe directed at Sergeant Staffieri. The singling out and charging of the Sergeant also arguably amount to further ‘Adverse Action’ by Victoria Police against Sergeant Staffieri.

An apparent power struggle by Paterson against the Chief does VicPol no favours, his continued service is untenable.

It does seem as though some 11^th hour sanity may be being applied with the Sergeant now advised that he will not be suspended. This should be the precursor to the charges being dropped. However, this does not detract from the serious breaches by the Deputy.

We can hope the Chief has stepped in and will stamp his authority on the force by terminating Paterson.

ABORIGINALS – VICTIMS OF SLUG-GATE

by CAA | Apr 4, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

5th April 2022

As a Nation, we have the privilege of knowing who our continent’s first peoples are, and we can share in their culture that has helped build Australia into the country it now is.

With the millions of dollars spent on these people each year, it is a national disgrace that many of them seem to live in abject neglect.

With all the much-publicised disadvantages these people endure, health is by ‘far and away’ the most important, surpassing the populist issues promoted by many who have no real empathy for these people but appear to be on self-promotional jaunts.

If health in the indigenous communities is ever going to be addressed properly then the basics need to be addressed and without argument, Nutrition has to be the key first building block.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

The role of hygiene is not far behind but if people are not getting proper nutrition, they are less likely to be concerned or have the will to address other needs like hygiene.

The same needs apply to a raft of other issues that these people are confronted with. Children not accessing good nutrition are less likely to develop well and be more susceptible to disease and less likely to receive an education of value. Poor nutrition plays a part in substance abuse or the will, to create a better life for their family.

The activists who we mostly hear from are generally of the extreme left of politics, both white and black so it is therefore very surprising that the Victorian Government stymied what could be the single most significant innovative strategy devised to turn the fortunes of the indigenous people in a most significant and practical way.

The tyranny of distance, lack of resources and knowledge, including access to appropriate food, was about to be addressed when the Victorian State Government intervened and on spurious grounds closed down the business developing the technology to address these issues without the slightest consideration of the consequences on two groups, the aged and the indigenous.

The day that the representatives of the Derri Aboriginal Corporation from South Australia arrived with cheque in hand at the ICooks Factory in Dandenong for a meeting to ‘ink the deal’ which had been negotiated over many months, the State Government had closed the factory by Health Order. The Derri people were confronted with a taped-up business with Health closure notices pinned to the door. They had no choice but to turn around and go home, deal blown there and then.

But what was this deal that had these aboriginal elders travel thousands of kilometres to secure?

ICooks had developed a patented process of texture modification of food so it was easily digestible, maintained its heath properties and was easy to store, transport and prepare. Pasteurised in the manufacturing process it was also very safe.

Technology was tested and capable of providing traditional foods appropriate for the indigenous people of a geographic area. Crocodile and turtle may be preferred in the Northern realms where freshwater fish and Kangaroo may not, but would be preferred in the more southern areas.

We have no real idea of the preferences and simply provide these examples of the potential of the technology also recognised by The Derri people.

The deal centred around a partnership/share arrangement between ICooks and the corporation to establish the capacity for texture modification of Native food in South Australia providing work for Indigenous people in the supply and sourcing of suitable food and if necessary, explore the ability to farm produce to establish reliable supply inputs. Preparation and processing through ultimately to distribution would provide substantial employment opportunities.

All undertaken by a company they had equity in.

As it was presented the Cooks deal would not only facilitate a new facility in South Australia but would have a continual link to ICooks to ensure local staff were trained in how to operate the equipment for a sustainable long term enterprise.

The vision of the Derri people and ICooks was the possibility of creating a national network of texture modification facilities tailored to the region they service.

Any good chef will always admit that presentation is as important as the flavour and the ICooks Texture modified product is easily digestible and prepared without compromising the benefits that each food group provides. This is particularly suitable for people that have dental issues or other issues making it difficult to swallow.

Using this process and making it available through Supermarket chains with more traditional foods could also be attractive.

The current option in medical facilities is that food is Vitamised and when presented to the patient (Victim) it resembles bodily waste and is as appetising.

Although a problem in indigenous communities the broader application in the general population of good nutrition is essential particularly when people are recovering from Medical interventions, disease or age-related decline.

That society as a whole has been deprived of this technology is a disgrace and those responsible must be held to account.

It is time that the Federal government intervened to sort this mess created by the Victorian government and get it implemented.

THE CORRUPTION LIST – THAT COSTS YOU $4000 P/A

by CAA | Feb 25, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

26th February 2022

This corruption list compiled by the CAA is from public records and is a quantitative sample of those that we could locate.

As you read through this list, the challenge is to identify which of these acts would not have happened or would have been mitigated had there been appropriate and adequate supervision.

Corruption hurts us more than we think.

The World Economic Forum estimates the cost of Corruption is 5% of GDP Worldwide.

Victoria represents 23.6% of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $1.985 trillion. Therefore, Victoria’s Gross State Product (GSP) is estimated at $467.876 billion.  Corruption at 5% of that number would be $23.938 Billion or approximately $4,000 per citizen.

Although hard to be precise, we suggest a nuclear family could be losing somewhere around $10,000 per annum. Whatever that number is, we cannot afford it.

Ironically those who perpetuate Corruption are also losing that amount – Corruption does not necessarily pay.

By our count, a staggering 90% of these matters would have either not occurred or would have been lessened with proper supervision and management, complying with basic Governance rules.

Nothing will change until the managers at all levels are held to account and suffer penalties for their failures, and that can probably only be achieved by a ‘Hue and cry’ from the community otherwise, we fear the corruption train will continue at full pace.

Many of these examples transcend multiple levels of management and the current attitude that the higher the station in an organisation, the less is their accountability.

This is a false premise; as you will see by the list, many perpetrators were themselves in the upper reaches of their organisations. But they all had something in common, irrespective of where they are in the order of things; a higher authority that they reported to, and it would seem those with power are never held to account.

To curb Corruption, accountability and Integrity must be sharpened, and any deviations of Governance reined in, the higher the hierarchy ladder is ascended.

The premise that those removed from where they might get their hands dirty are not accountable must be reversed, and consequences for failure applied.

Why should they not be held to the same level of accountability as the perpetrators?

The list,

This is just a snapshot to indicate the type and breadth of Corruption in this State, and we are confident that this is only a small percentage of known corrupt practices, but it is anybody’s guess as to the totality of the problem.

The only way things will change is if the community is made aware of the stench, and they become motivated and vocal to protect their own interests.

We need committed politicians who understand the problem to address the matter properly and that can only occur if the public applies pressure to them.

The community has the opportunity this election year to have an impact.

It is whether they can be motivated.

SAFE QUARANTINE – NOT SAFE INJECTING ROOMS

by CAA | Feb 24, 2022 | Library, Uncategorized

25th February 2022

SAFE QUARANTINE – NOT SAFE INJECTING ROOMS

The CAA has previously argued for the introduction of a quarantine approach to drug addicts that will save lives and reduce harm, not just for the addicts but all Victorians.

As the perennial issue of decriminalising and the expansion of Safe Injecting rooms is again being spruiked by the apologists for the drug Lords eager to expand their trade, a perversion of the free market principles, it is appropriate that the proposition previously submitted by the CAA should be revisited and genuine evaluation of the proposal be undertaken.

DRUG QUARANTINE – A NEW PARADIGM.

24th June 2021

There is no argument based on fact, that we are winning the war on drugs. 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, 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 these risks worthwhile.

We do not suggest targeting criminals of the illicit drug trade 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 what 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.

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 avoiding 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 becomes 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 the 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, the same impact as safe injecting rooms. They both play a positive in the drug Marketing mix.

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 to 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, the addiction is a health one, and the separation needs to be understood.

Incarceration within the Justice system only allows the addict to broaden their contact base. 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, 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 drug crimes, 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.

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.