by CAA | Sep 2, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
2nd September 2020
As the Lawyer X Royal Commission gets to the pointy end of its function, there will be many shocks, and we anticipate disbelief, that so many Police are accused of wrongdoing when they were just doing their job; or were they?
That the impact on the Legal fraternity has been comparatively minimal is also sure to upset many Police; however, the good Judge is just doing her job. This was never a Royal Commission into the Legal fraternity; albeit, many may argue that it should have been, it is a Royal Commission into the management of Police of Informers.
The Government, not the Judge, set up the terms of reference (what the Royal Commissioner is to do).
As far as we are aware, the Police Association never challenged or used their considerable political power to influence or attempt to widen of the terms of reference to include the Lawyers and or perhaps protect Police that was doing their job rather than facilitating the artifice.
The view of many Police is that the Police involved were just catching crooks and that it is disgraceful that this whole scandal has been manipulated into some sort of crime by Police, shifting focus from the crooks to Police.
Proponents of that argument do not understand our adversarial justice system that serves our democracy well.
This interpretation is both misleading and wrong. This is ‘Nobel cause corruption’ (the ends justifies the means) as unlawful as the normal interpretation of corruption. It diminishes the role of Police in our society, as has the behaviours of the Police executive that promoted and or failed to manage the Lawyer X calamity and whose leadership was lacking throughout.
With the eleventh-hour move by the Royal Commissioner, on the cusp of the release of the submissions from the Counsel Assisting (CA), the Commissioner declined to make public the names of those who the CA has decided to recommend adverse finding against, and the Offences they are alleged to have committed. The Commissioner indicated that although she had the power, the same restrictions will apply to her final report.
This move is significant as it will impact dramatically on any pleas by any person convicted of offences subsequent to this Royal Commission.
Reading some submissions by the key police executives of this artifice, they are portrayed as the pillars of Policing, incredible contributors of the highest integrity, it is nauseating, but clearly the groundwork for a sentence plea. (that says a lot)
The Royal Commissioner has just blown away a defence strategy that would enable lawyers to make great stay from the exposure of their client in the arena of public opinion.’ The severe damage done to their clients by public exposure must be mitigated in any penalty’.
The assertions in the media by former Chef Commissioner Ashton that the Lawyer X scandal would,’ pass the pub test’, and, sought to justify potentially corrupt activity by Victoria Police on the basis that, ‘the ends justify the means’, would have to be the outstanding legal, own goal, of this inquiry so far.
The good Judge has increased the likelihood of jail time for any Police or others convicted of an offence investigated by this Commission. She has ratcheted up the anti by a significant margin.
As this Commission plays out, it is worth remembering that Policing is an honourable profession and comes with some unique obligations coupled to the powers bestowed on every Police member, the Office of Constable.
Thankfully the Office does not come with, ‘the end justifies the means’.
It is worth reflecting on an extract of the Oath for Police Officers,
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.
The Law that empowers Police must be regarded as sacrosanct by Police because to break those Laws or interfere in the due process of the Legal system is to breach the very oath that all Police are bound by.
The unlawful pursuit of criminals, ‘Noble corruption’, no matter how heinous the crime, only weakens the effectiveness of law enforcement and fades the policing function to be as criminal as those criminals pursued.
What is extremely disappointing is the failure of the Police executives that oversaw this fiasco to come forward to take responsibility and protect their subordinates or even apologise for their errors, but that will go to their character or lack thereof, for history to judge them. Contrition by the senior executives responsible seems in short supply.
Generally, the evidence from senior Police to the Royal Commission has the appearance that they were unaware (incompetent), or had no recollection (also incompetent).
Judge the unaware/no recollection issues they all seemed to suffer as you will, we are sure the Royal Commissioner has.
The question is where to from now?
We have some empathy for those Police that were doing their job as directed by the police management. In our view, they are not at fault and only Police would understand the influence of superiors in the Police hierarchal structure that the commission would be unfamiliar with.
Provided that they were truthful to the Royal Commission, and did not wantonly break the Law in the furtherance of some misguided view that,’ the ends justify the means’, knowing the means was unlawful; or offer blind subservience to superiors that they knowingly broke the Law to support.
Most of the CAA Police Board members have served through the aftermath of a Royal commission some more than once, but the organisation has on each occasion come through this type of scrutiny the better for it.
The future of the Force, post Lawyer X, will have some tribulations, but overall they will have minimal impact on the vast majority of Police and former Police who share any pain inflicted on Policing.
There will probably be some positives to come.
Significantly a strengthening of the functional role of the Office of Constable where the constables will have greater sway in determining the exercising of their powers. This will be accompanied by more accountability, however on balance that is a positive.
We anticipate there will be moves to strengthen the ability of a Police member to withdraw from undertaking a function, even under direction, that they believe unlawful, without consequences.
There will also be the conundrums of how VicPol should react to those that have received adverse findings.
The difficulty with serving members is that they cannot possibly continue in their service after an adverse finding, the public would not accept that, Some may be charged with offences and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the arbiter in these matters, may not choose to prosecute some of them. There may be no other way but to suspend the members. Some members may face serious disciplinary charges as well.
Of equal or even more significant concern is who is going to pick up the Legal tab for what will now be, in the best-case scenario, a long and slow legally expensive process to finalise these matter in the Court system?
There is an argument that the legal costs incurred at the Royal Commission should be carried by the Crown, but the goalposts change significantly when the members and ex-members attract adverse findings.
We are inclined to the view that the Crown should not cover these legal costs as the obligations both moral and otherwise have been honoured by the State, which should no longer carry the onus.
There may be a role for the Police Association in the future legal costs for the serving members and the former members who contributed financially to the TPAV, for many years. However, blanket coverage for all is perhaps not realistic or fair, but each case should be decided on its merits.
As for the rest of the Force, it will continue, better for the experience where sharper and more precise lines are drawn on certain activates. Members may end up with more protection and executive officers who are inclined to see themselves above the Law, will curb their activities and ensure their language and instructions do not require subordinates to act unlawfully.
For everybody else, this distasteful episode will fade with time and the honour and integrity will be rebuilt in the venerated Office of Constable, achieved by the actions of all serving members.
The Lawyer X artifices should never have happened and had the matters been addressed as Sir Ken Jones attempted, and Ron Iddles tried to impact, this whole episode would have been avoided.
If you want to blame somebody, you now know who.
by CAA | Sep 1, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
1st of September 2020
We at CAA have long been critical of inept and dishonest practices at command level of the Victoria Police. So it is with great pleasure that we commend new Chief Commissioner Shane Patton for telling his workforce the truth about the Lawyer X affair.
The conduct of some police during that protracted affair marked “profound failing” for “organisational and systemic” reasons, he told them. He thereby staked out a refreshingly new standard of leadership – one where the truth and the law are touchstones guiding members; not “spin” or denial of reality; not cover-up and distraction. Just truth and the law.
There is much to do before Mr. Patton can overcome years of toxic and dysfunctional culture, leading to those organisational and systemic failures – it is as though layers of corrosion need to be removed in order to Uphold the Right – but in this message Mr. Patton has demonstrated a willingness to start chipping away.
We continue to wish him well in that task.
by CAA | Sep 1, 2020 | Uncategorized, Library
1st September 2020
The actions of our Premier would indicate it has. Some of the disturbing reactions and pronouncements in relation to the COVID Pandemic support this theory.
The Premier has repeatedly asserted that any plan to take us out of or reduce the restrictions currently in place cannot be considered until the number of infections is drastically reduced, nothing else can be done until the health problem is solved. That number is elusive and less tangible than vague. ut that appears to be his unswerving focus.
The mantra for this philosophy is repeated, ad nauseam, in his daily, long rambling media conferences which of themselves have become ritualistic in content and delivery. Being delivered seven days a week is forming part of his fixation.
The Premier’s apparent fixations also include his view that the need for a plan, is something he is too busy to consider until the COVID health crisis is under control.
It is apparent that the Premier cannot,’ walk and chew gum’ at the same time.
Our Premier is showing all the signs of Target Fixation.
Target fixation is an attentional phenomenon observed in humans in which an individual becomes so focused on an observed object (be it a target or hazard) that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with the object.
Usually associated with War, there are often examples in play on a far more regular basis than generally presumed.
Coincidently that phenomena may explain some of the indiscretions by Police Executives in the Layer X matters, who seem to have been obsessed with objectives blinded to the risk to them or the organization.
Unless some action is taken, our Premier will lead us into a financial and emotional collision. Ignoring the fiscal plight of Victoria and Victorians and the growing community unrest that is already showing signs of bubbling over into serious social disorder devaluing any good work he has done.
Very similar to the Police executives, who even after being warned their behaviour would end up in a Royal Commission, failed to modify their behaviour or fixations and the consequence of the Collison is now public record, and potentially some could end up in jail.
We should not have to wait until the only option to avoid the other impacts of the virus is social disorder, as this disease would thrive on that, and we would have a COVID wave three in a flash. That would feed the Premier’s fixation, justifying his bizarre behaviour
Surely there are members of the Government that are astute enough to recognize the seemingly unfortunate fixation of the Premier and have the intestinal fortitude to take action as unpleasant as that may be.
The risk of more serious harm to the Premier will be when the ‘collision ‘, occurs, and that may cause irreparable damage to him, and nobody would wish that on him. He needs help now.
by CAA | Aug 30, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
by CAA | Aug 21, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
21st August 2020
Of recent times, there has been substantial coverage in the media of the moves currently underway in China.
“A rash of investigations marks the first time that Mr Xi has unleashed a sweeping and systematic clean-up of the Country’s powerful domestic security apparatus. His push to purge police, prosecutors and judges who are not, “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable”, — as officials running the campaign have demanded.’ The Australian’-China’s Xi Jinping tightens grip on domestic security forces in first broad purge’.
In that report, this statement jumped out, “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable”.
The question is, by who’s standard and to whom?
In China, and many other totalitarian states, the answer is evident, but what of Australia, a country boasting an allegedly robust liberal democracy.
Our current experience of draconian COVID restrictions, many of which are not based on science but politics, will awaken the resolve of every true Australian to push back against any attempt to instil a totalitarian bent to Australian politics.
We are fortunate, as a generation, to live through this COVID lock-down to experience what should steel our resolve to protect our future. If we do not accept the lesson offered, we deserve to lose our precious Democracy that many of our forebears paid the ultimate sacrifice to bequeath us.
And that only relates to the Australians that have lived their lives here. The real push back in support of the Australian way of life of which our Democracy is vital will probably come from a surprising quarter.
This Country is home to many thousands of people and families who have escaped the tyranny of fascism or communist totalitarian regimes. A fact seemingly lost on elites of the extreme left trying to destabilize our political system. This, coupled with those who have now experienced the genera of socialism/communism/fascism in Victoria, means the political fallout may well be substantial.
The cornerstone that protects us from these terrible political diseases, is the Rule of Law, and that Law must be applied equally to all, not just to certain classes, or exclude certain individuals based on their perceived rank or influence in the community.
As soon as exemptions of that nature are made, we are entering the slippery slope that will lead to the dilution and ultimate loss of our Democracy.
One Law for all must be our guiding principle to avoid our Social equality being decimated by tribalism or elitist cliques. The first signs that tyranny is on the rise is the, ‘do as I say, not as I do’, approach, evidence of this is starting to emerge.
If we disagree with a Law, we can change that Law by using our democratic process. What we cannot do, is accept that if a Law is not of the liking in varying circumstance by certain classes in our society, then it is somehow okay if they circumvent that Law because it suits them, however, the rest of the community must still obey that Law.
We must never accept that.
We have already seen examples where the political class, and the elites, aligned to that class, were able to avoid prosecution in the alleged Red Shirts saga. That saga demonstrates the point dramatically where the foot soldiers of that artifice were treated differently to the alleged principle perpetrators and the alleged architects of the scheme. What happened to us all being equal before the Law? Clearly, those involved in this rort were not, as none were ultimately held to account.
At the end of the day, the Legal System was not given the opportunity, by sleight of hand and no doubt orchestrated by those that were “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable” to test the guilt or innocence of the alleged perpetrators.
We are, however, on the cusp of one of the greatest challenges ever devised, to test our resolve.
On the 1st of July 2020, a new offence of Industrial Manslaughter came into effect in Victoria which in appropriate circumstances, could see the principles of an organization not directly involved with the victims demise held to account. It would seem this legislation covers neglect by omission or actions.
The real test will be to see how this new legislation, ironically introduced by the current Government, is administered as it may see them,‘ hoist by their own petard’, an intriguing concept.
There is a distinct possibility that Senior Ministers and the Premier may well be held to account given that it has now been identified, ‘beyond reasonable doubt’, the criminal evidentiary standard, that 99% of the COVID cases in Victoria’s second wave, emanated from the Quarantine Hotels and predominantly escaped via contractors hired by the Government. Clearly, an extreme Worksafe breach. This demonstrating that nobody is above the Law.
The link between the massive death toll in aged Care facilities, fast closing in on 400, linked by genome sequencing to the Quarantine Contractors, provide the indisputable link for Industrial Manslaughter charges to be laid.
This death toll may be the highest death toll from a single Government action in Australian peacetime history. The death toll of nearly 400 is currently rating 13th of the Top 40 death-causing disasters of all types in Australia since 1788 and for those responsible not to be held to account, that would have to rate as the gravest travesty of justice in Australia’s History. And that is without counting the huge financial cost imposed on us all.
If “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable”, faceless bureaucrats circumvent this legal action, we will know that the fix is in, and the move to a socialist-communist state is further advanced than we had anticipated.
These moves will no longer be the insidious crawl of an evil ideology but will be exposed for all to see, and the response from the Victorian community will be interesting with all eyes on the next State elections in November 2022.
The Rule of Law will have been usurped, and Victorians have good memories.
This may well be the first and most significant test for the new Industrial Manslaughter Legislation and will determine how the legislation is administered in the future. The efficacy will become the real test.
by CAA | Aug 12, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
12th of August 2020
The magnitude of the challenge faced by our new Chief Commissioner to build a cohesive and effective Police service for Victoria was highlighted in recent events, none more so, than the arrest of a female in Collingwood for not wearing her mask.
The following day it was claimed she only gave Police the finger, but the video shows the Covidiot apparently striking out.
We pass no comment on the mask issue as Police did not make this rule, they are, however, required to enforce it.
The perpetrator admitted not supplying her name and address, and the video shows resistance so no issue with the arrest.
The only issue we saw was the inordinate amount of time it took to effect the arrest given available resources.
What we saw on that video was grossly disturbing.
It was the unconscionable actions of the member’s partner who barely made any attempt to assist him in the arrest and for the initial period was not even within a distance that could have been useful.
That the member’s partner appeared happy to stand back and not assist their partner with a person resisting arrest, is unforgivable and a dereliction of duty.
The member did appear to use the radio; however, the member should be reminded that Radios do not effect an arrest. But it can be a foil to avoid confrontation. Location and problem are all that is required, and the radio operator does not need a blow by blow commentary.
Moreover, if the partner had done their job, there would be no need for back up.
The member’s partner did move in very belatedly in a less than convincing way, and because of this hesitant approach was kicked. If the partner had been decisive and assisted properly, the perpetrator would not have had the chance to kick.
If Police are required to effect an arrest, it must be done decisively and efficiently trying to avoid getting into a prolonged wrestling match as that is more likely to end up with injuries to Police and the suspect.
The legality and the efficacy of the arrest is a matter for the legal system, not the footpath.
We note that the matter has been referred to Ethical Standards for investigation and that is a good thing.
That investigation can focus on the non-performance of the other member’s present causing the arrest to play out much longer than needed, with the heightened chances of both the prisoner and the police member being injured.
by CAA | Aug 8, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
9th of August 2020
The Victoria Police Force is back, and isn’t it such a good thing, for all of us.
Anarchists and the loopy extremists do not know how to react to a Police Force doing its job, properly. We suspect even the dopey crooks ‘are a’ little unsure.
We have seen morons trying it on, by refusing to get out of their cars on two occasions recently, failing to follow the Police instructions, and bang went their car windows into a thousand pieces, and out they came. No-fuss no beg your pardons job done.
Would the members have had the confidence to do that a few months ago?
The Force response was – they were doing their job. End of story. No media beat up; and don’t the community love it.
Then another COVIDIOT refusing to wear a mask, resisted arrest, and screamed and yelled, showing off the bruises she sustained to the media buff.game rocket league. The same result, she got arrested, and the media were told Police were doing their job, end of story.
Threats of a demonstration on the steps of Parliament House has not been dealt with like the Black Lives Matter debacle. The Police have said straight up, you try and demonstrate and you will all be fined. Then a couple of days before the event, two men were arrested in the Eastern Suburbs and charged over the proposed event. That is extremely good creative policing.
These events will have a profound impact on the police members and the community alike; Police will realize that if they are doing their job correctly, the Force has their back, and the community will feel safer knowing the Police are taking control of the rabble.
The shift in policing has been astonishing, demonstrating what good leadership can do devoid of equivocation.
There will be the normal dills trying to whip up anti-police sentiment claiming nonsense like,’ its a police state,’ but at the moment they are just stunned not knowing how to react. They have received the message that policing is no longer a plaything to be goaded; they mean business, policing business.
They will quickly learn that if their actions are lawful, they have nothing to fear but don’t play the stretch it game to see when it breaks, it will not stretch, and they will be the ones broken.
It would seem that our new Chief Commissioner can balance the two essential policing philosophies, proactive and reactive. This skill was evident in all of the outstanding Chief Commissioners of the modern policing era.
The no-nonsense, firm where necessary, reactive policing that is delivered with consistency sits well beside creative community policing initiatives delivered with compassion, understanding and empathy. This is not an either-or proposition but the holistic approach to effective policing.
The confidence of the Community Advocacy Alliance is growing rapidly that the Force is back, and we are confident the overwhelming majority of the community share our view.
May The Force be is with you.
![HAVE WE BEEN COVID SCAMMED?]()
by CAA | Aug 7, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
8th of August 2020
It has bothered the CAA for some time that the inappropriate staff used at the Quarantine Venues did not seem to be a problem, at least on paper, as far as transmissions within the community of COVID -19, for three months despite anecdotal failures of the Quarantine system circulating for quite some time.
From about the 7th of April with cases at 33; it wasn’t until the 25th of June when the second wave started to emerge with cases again rising to 33.
What is somewhat puzzling is why the cases remained so low for about three months. Then suddenly, the numbers literally exploded to a full-blown second wave.
With the incubating periods well known and we can reasonably assume that the behaviours of the Quarantine and Hotel Staff remained constant over this period, the lack of cases during this three month period raises concerns that have never been adequately addressed.
This begs the question, ’Were we being deliberately misled and if so by whom?’
We now know that there is an allegation that the Chief Health Officer or the Health Department may have withheld information from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the peak body for the national health response to COVID.
What was that information? Would the timely release of accurate information have enabled the Government and others to respond more rapidly and effectively to avert the intensity of the second wave?
Victorian Health Officials are not the only ones allegedly misleading everybody over the impact of this virus.
Complying with the World Health (WHO) advice Doctors are required to record the death of anyone diagnosed with COVID as being the ‘underlying cause’ of death, irrespective of whether the clinician assesses that the ‘underlying cause’ of the death was actually something else.
COVID, in many cases, may well be a contributing factor but not the ultimate cause. A heart attack, or pneumonia, suicide, or a road death or any number of other clinical or traumatic reasons for their demise, maybe the ‘underlying cause’, but because of the WHO guidelines, if the deceased had COVID at any time prior to their demise, even months prior and recovered or not, COVID is recorded as an ‘underlying cause’, and that is added to the statistics.
Many of our aged victims and others may well have died with COVID rather than from it because we know that not all older patients infected with COVID die of that infection; it may still be a contributor but not the ‘underlying cause’ although COVID appears on the Death Certificate, which we assume is the source of the statistics.
In the UK, they have also experienced problems with the data on COVID deaths. They have estimated that the deaths attributed to COVID as the ‘underlying cause’ is probably overstated by a factor of 10%.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/thousands-englands-virus-deaths-to-22477213
The approach in the UK to identifying this error was quite refreshing for a morbid topic; they went public straight away, so the public was informed.
At the very least, our Government must advise Victorians where any problems in the data exist and what might be a presumed outcome of a correction.
It is immaterial at this stage, ‘who done it,’ just identify and fix it. It is important that the community can have confidence they are being told the truth.
by CAA | Aug 4, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
5th of August 2020
Does the frustration of COVID restrictions, not being able to do what we please when we please, really get on your goat, it does mine.
Although there are things I would clearly like to be doing or choose to do, the frustrations of the restrictions are not so much that I want to do something tomorrow or next week, it is that I cannot, that pushes my buttons.
Loss of these liberties highlights just how precious that right is, and how jealously we must guard it, and I am defiantly not advocating civil disobedience or non-compliance as these restrictions are our only COVID weapon.
Level four COVID restrictions have, however, spawned a new phenomenon, Coviditis Syndrome. This is the syndrome we, who have complied with all the rules thus far, are coming down with, in ever-increasing and alarming numbers. If we compiled a graph showing the expediential growth of this syndrome, it would make the COVID infection graph look like a doddle.
Just like the graph showing infection rates of COVID, the Coviditis graph will be just as meaningless. Impressive testing numbers are an illusion that something is being done, but of course, we know that although not initially told to self-isolate between the test and the result, when a person tests positive that’s it. Go and self-isolate, and we will test you again in fourteen days to see if you are clear.
There is no treatment; there is no support, there is not even a dedicated web site where victims of the disease can consult with an expert for advice, just incarceration and that is something we all now must endure for what seems like an indefinite period. Uncannily similar to the flu.
Just what is Coviditis Syndrome,
The symptoms do vary, but they are relatively easy to identify.
- Are you frustrated, bored, uneasy, or worried?
- Are you putting on weight?
- Are you cleaning your house or your car more often than normal?
- Are you trying to mow dormant lawns frequently and unnecessarily?
- Are you conniving on how you can go down the shops without breaking the rules?
- Have you achieved the nirvana of all homeowners, all the jobs are done? Now have you started on jobs that didn’t need to be done?
- You know the date but occasionally forget which day it is?
- You open the wardrobe door to pine about when you may be able to wear those good clothes again.
- Your ‘daggies’ are looking more and more shabby from excessive wear, but you don’t care.
- Makeup is lasting months instead of weeks, same for shaving supplies.
- Do you wander to Dan Murphys before the grocery shop, the obverse of your normal discipline of food before grog?
- Your fuel bill has dropped dramatically, and your car service frequency has declined.
- Your dog has an anxiety attack if they only think you have gone out.
- Your cat couldn’t care less unless it is dinner time, and if you have neither dog nor cat that is sad.
- Wine o’clock had moved from 5 pm to 12md but to avoid breaching the curfew we have been forced to 9 am.
If a number of these symptoms apply to you, then you have Coviditis Syndrome, but there is a bit of a lining to this syndrome, but not sure if it is silver.
What you are experiencing in part is institutionalization.
At another time, I had experience working with prisoners serving their time.
With that experience, I saw that the majority of prisoners were totally institutionalized. The prisoners knew the date and how long they had to serve but had little idea of what day of the week it was at that was irrelevant to their enforced servitude where every day was the same.
But unlike us, they get remissions for good behaviour, we just get punished for others misbehaviour, and our sentence increased.
As we enter this beige existence of level four, it is worth reflecting on the sentencing of our criminals.
The loss of our liberty is one hell of a punishment, and the amount of ‘Time’ we get is somewhat irrelevant; days, weeks months become a blur.
Same for Prisoners, so it matters little, no matter what the crime, whether they received two years or five, the sentence is served in a sort of catatonic state of institutionalization with time irrelevant.
Crooks do not add up risk factors before a crime, no matter how inane their rationale, they do not believe they will get caught. The potential length of a sentence is not the deterrent proffered, but a stretch in jail maybe.
As we as a society continue to punish offenders with lettuce leaf justice (diversionary alternatives), we wonder why we have to put up with so much crime.
Long, or even maximum jail sentences for chronic repeat offenders are appropriate in cases which may not do much for them, but will keep the rest of us much safer.
For the rest, very much shorter sentences but a far greater tendency for courts to favour jail time for miscreants. A couple of weeks in jail, and we all know how long a couple of weeks are in lockdown, will be more likely to correct behaviour rather than a slap with a wet lettuce leaf.
At the very least, it will create a hiatus in their anti-social lifestyle something diversionary programs cannot do.
Food for thought.
by CAA | Aug 4, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
4th of August 2020
“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 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”; well IBAC should have acted when such practices were drawn to its attention in 2012 and 2013.
Despite having been then warned of this, its inactivity has apparently contributed to the very situation it now deplores – “a culture of acceptance of … improper practices within the force”.
At CAA we have expressed hope and confidence in the ability and willingness of the new Chief Commissioner of Police, Mr. Patton, to overcome that toxic and dysfunctional culture. Time will tell if those sentiments are misplaced. But Mr. Redlich should look to the history and culture of his own organisation when criticising those of others.
by CAA | Jul 25, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
25th July 2020
As Victoria wrings its collective hands in response to COVID-19, it is galling to know the ability to mitigate this virus has been with us from day one.
But, somewhere along the line, the method/solution has been overlooked, deliberately ignored, not understood, buried because of internal political consternation, or just plain forgotten.
This is not a COVID Pandemic. This is a Disaster, that in this case has taken the form of a Pandemic with the contagion, COVID 19 but it could equally have been SARS or MERS. So it is a Disaster to be managed.
What was, and is required still, is to implement tried and tested practices that are capable of effectively dealing with any Disaster.
In its simplest terms, a Pandemic has to be managed as any Disaster, and responses coordinated; the Virus (COVID-19) requires treatment and mitigation with the lead agency logically the Health Department. However, the health response is largely about detecting through testing people who may be infected and treating those who are infected. The Health Department is unskilled in implementing a holistic approach needed to quell the Pandemic.
Those with the skill sets to manage the Disaster response, would it seem have been sidelined.
The second wave, as it is termed, has a direct causal link to the inability of the Government and the bureaucrats to have SMEAC implemented by somebody who understands the concept and is in charge, accountable and capable of managing a Disaster.
SMEAC an acronym for the five-paragraph system that organizes function and information to apply to any multi-disciplined force to implement and manage a field operation.
SMEAC: In the current context.
“S” Situation; A Disaster that is a Pandemic out of control.
“M” Mission: To bring the Pandemic under control and then eliminate it from our State.
“E” Execution: Here the problem would be defined, an analysis of requirements made, available resources assessed, the Organization to fight the disaster designed, liaison established with all involved parties and a plan produced with the actions required and by whom, set out in detail.
“A” Administration/Logistics:
Involves the organizing and assembling of resources.
“C” Command and Control.
Nominate who is in charge. This is why Victoria has an Emergency Services Commissioner (ESC) who should be in charge of the totality of the response to the Disaster. The ESC should control the whole operation.
A community Disaster is a field operation, and the principles behind SMEAC have a proven track record that can run the gamut from the routine to calamity.
Using this process, many of the problems in the management of this Disaster would have been identified and corrected, avoiding the situation we now have.
The Health Department as the lead agency cannot do it all on their own, so there is a need to coordinate resources and manage the community, for them to achieve their objectives.
Expecting them, whether that is their idea or others, to take charge of everything has led to this catastrophic failure to manage the Disaster we are experiencing.
The Health Departments expertise relates to the treatment and mitigation of upper repertory tract infections, not managing a Disaster.
Emergency Services Victoria (ESV) is a dedicated legislated authority with the skills to manage a Disaster but appears not to have been used; ESV should be in charge. The major problem with that Authority (ESV)is it lacks the depth of trained Disaster managers that the Chief Commissioner has at his disposal when occupying this role.
Instead, we are looking to Health as the solution to the Disaster when Health is not equipped, resourced or trained in Disaster management. Coincidently neither are the Politicians, although they might believe they are.
Although one may be forgiven for assuming that this Disaster was something out of left field, it was not. Significant planning had been done to deal with a Disaster like a Pandemic or epidemic of an upper repertory infection for many years, and there is a Government Authority that has legislative responsibility, not only for the planning, but also the management of a Disaster. But, that Authority (ESV) is nowhere to be seen, and that in itself is a disaster.
The only left-field component to this Disaster was the response from Government that involved a number of Ministers seemingly acting independently and who refuse to accept responsibility or accountability for manifest errors. In dealing with this Disaster any skill sets they possess have been as useless as hip pockets on underwear.
The problem in Victoria is Government procrastination, while the virus roared into life; the Nero effect.
The incompetence and the lack of understanding of what or how to deal with this Disaster is breathtaking.
The Premier has at long last started to grasp the real situation although it has taken nearly six months and countless infections and many avoidable premature deaths, the near destruction of the State’s economy, and it was all predominately avoidable.
Accountabilities and retribution will no doubt come, but now is not the time.
To allow the pandemic to get out of control is inexcusable, particularly when the solution was always at hand. There is, however, hope on the horizon.
At long last somebody has told the Premier about SMEAC. Somebody has turned the switch on, but rather than admitting error by utilizing the skilled people already available in this State trained to undertake this task, he has opted for a military intervention to try to deflect any attention from the failure to use the existing resources available throughout this Disaster.
Navy Commodore, Mark Hill has been tasked with sorting out this mess, and the good Commodore will be right up with SMEAC, his only disadvantage will be a lack of knowledge of State resources to assist him. That knowledge resides with the Agency we have but don’t want to use.
Even with that disadvantage, we are confident that the Commodore will get on top of things very rapidly.
Our only concern is a comment by the Premier that,” he would talk to him (the Commodore) and a range of senior people at the Department about the overall setting”. Political speak for another meeting, heaven forbid.
There is nothing to talk about, the time of committees and talkfests has elapsed.
Now the application of SMEAC and a proper Command and Control mechanism (usually referred to as a coordinating role, so the precious do not get offended), must be implemented immediately, and let the Commodore do his job without tying one hand behind his back, as the bureaucrats are so adept at achieving.
The Premier must give absolute control to the Commodore if we want to exit this mire as soon as possible.
by CAA | Jul 21, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
22nd July 2020
As far as we can see, the Heath responders and Police have done a damn good job with COVID despite mismanagement of the Pandemic by the Government; not the frontline workers or the community at large where the Government has essentially placed the blame.
There are a small number of irresponsible citizens, but the overwhelming majority have tried valiantly to unravel the confusing messages to comply with mandated restrictions, which seem to project indecision, inconsistency, and a lack of competency.
Many Victorians will recall the State’s disaster management system called Displan that morphed into Emergency Management Victoria (EMV) in July of 2014.
The EMV was generally seen as a response to the mismanagement of the Black Saturday Fires at the Executive Coordination level. The behaviour of that individual has seen them rightly forever shamed. It is our view the behaviour was so reprehensible that they should have been charged with Misconduct in Public Office and be tried according to the Law.
The risk of another failure, although remote, is not mitigated by the establishment of a new authority, EMV.
It is improbable, but the Emergency Services Commissioner could at some time fail, you can never totally eliminate the risk of the human factor.
We are not suggesting that the Emergency Services Commissioner has failed us during this Pandemic, we can not say that, because he has kept such a low profile,
We are of the view however, that had this role remained vested in the CCP the community would feel safer, and the implementation of the various community management functions would be clearer and more acceptable and effective.
Displan’s sophisticated planning process where the various agencies were clear in their role was the success of Displan, and that was applied through strong lines of responsibility and accountability that served this Sate well.
The establishment of EMV had more to do with politics than a real need. Victoria is the only State that has tried this experiment.
We had a disaster and a monumental failure by an individual; something needed to be done, so that was the something.
The secret to Displan was that the Police, with their entrenched authority, took the coordinating role, and managed the people and the process. The Services applied all their skills to the Disaster, and each responding agency could focus on their job.
The new strategy of VicPol to gain a close connection with the public by allocating geographical areas to individual Police to connect with each community will also play an important role to improve responses to any future disaster. Local knowledge in disasters, as in Policing is pure gold.
What is not widely known, or is ignored by bureaucrats and politicians, is that under Displan, every Commissioned Officer and Station Commander in the Victoria Police were trained for and capable of performing the coordinating function. Therefore, there were many coordinators scattered throughout the community to deal with matters at a local, regional or State level with the overarching oversight of the State-wide coordination by the Chief. The Chief also has line control over these subordinate Officers as well as a command structure to ensure continuity and capability.
The first question we raise is why the coordination roles should not be returned to the CCP, eliminating a layer of bureaucracy, and that can only help with efficiency, critical in emergencies?
We know that the planning for disasters continued with the establishment of EMV but, the application and flawed interpretation of the legislation and the role of a disaster coordinator have caused some very clear principles to evaporate.
In the COVID crisis, the Emergency role has become politicised to the degree that can only be described as extreme.
This raises another question; why are the separation of powers not applied in Emergency management, something the CCP enjoys, but emergency management does not?
It would appear for political reasons the role of the Emergency Services Commissioner has largely been usurped by this Government and has been shared with, or in practical terms, taken over by the Department of Health; not a particular individual, just a Department. This shows an appalling lack of understanding of the roles of each.
Accountability is always the first casualty.
Politicians and bureaucrats have no emergency disaster training, so why are they calling all the operational shots?
A supposed dual responsibility has been established in this COVID disaster, and there are a number of examples where this dual responsibility has failed and none more so than when the Emergency Services Commissioner arranged for Military assistance for Victoria’s quarantine management on the 24th of June only to have the orders rescinded by the now-former Chief Commissioner and politicians. We would argue he was fulfilling his clear and undisputed role under the Act.
We suspect that this was more of a power struggle within Government than a sound decision.
This part of the debacle clearly indicated political or bureaucratic self-serving power plays—the last thing needed in the middle of a Disaster response.
This comment must not be construed to suggest that Health is not a key component to fighting this Pandemic; it is the front line as a Fire Service is in a fire disaster. We would never consider it necessary to create a duopoly to manage a fire disaster, so why do it when the matter is Health-related?
Again, a lack of understanding of the role of an Emergency Services coordinator is the key. People have been making decisions without the appropriate skill sets and knowledge. The Health Department has the training and expertise to respond to the health aspect of the Pandemic, but not manage it.
What is needed is authentic leadership, not mouthpieces who are not leaders.
”Leaders are made, but not all politicians are leaders “– Paul Roos
Those running interference may have thought they knew what they were doing, but thinking and knowing, are a chasm apart, and that chasm is evident in this COVID response.
With all of the above, it may be a surprise to know, given the shambolic approach to the Pandemic, that a Plan exists to respond to an’ Upper respiratory contagion Pandemic’, and that has been in place for a long time, as do plans for every imaginable Disaster that may befall us.
The politicians and their bureaucrats are just not trained in disaster management;
It is hoped that there are enlightened and competent people who will correctly identify the failure and move the role of coordinating and managing disasters to the CCP who is the only person with the depth of management resources capable of dealing with these issues.
The EMV must be abolished, and Emergency Powers transferred back to the CCP so that rapid and effective responses can be deployed and coordinated to address a disaster, whatever that may be.
The money saved can be invested in upskilling Police to a higher level of preparedness.
Until this CCP was appointed, it is entirely understandable why Disaster management was removed from Policing; however, the mistakes of the past appointments are now not likely to be repeated. The movement of the Disaster management role, back to the CCP is sensible and essential.
The real scary bit in the management of this Disaster has been the need for interdepartmental meetings.
If the control of a reaction to a disaster is degraded to need meetings to decide on a response rather than leadership, the system has failed dramatically and profoundly.
Just who was responsible for the failures may likely remain a mystery, probably hidden in the machinations of committees staffed by faceless and unaccountable bureaucrats designed to mask incompetence and avoid accepting blame.
We can hope that the Judicial Inquiry can break through the morass.
by CAA | Jul 19, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
19th July 2020
The legacy of ineffective Chief Commissioners, generally of the Federal Police mould in Victoria, has been severed and consigned to the WPB.
In brilliant news, under the guidance of the new Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, Victoria Police has made a monumental move towards Policing the Community.
First, there was the patrolling of the Highways and the visible police presence on our major roads and then this.
Under the management of Assistant Commissioner Glen Weir, the move to have Police members allocated a part of each community, to interact with, is a brilliant piece of policing strategy and addresses the core issue and the reason why the Community Advocacy Alliance was established.
There is still a long way to go, but this move sends the strongest signal in twenty years, that Victoria Police are here to Police, in the true sense of the word.
This type of Policing is a two way street that the Police desperately needed to initiate, as they have.
As the community takes ownership of their local Police members, it will not be long before the Police feel as safe in the community as the people they are working with, and the need for two-up policing will fade in community work, as the risks dissipate and the community will more readily come to the aid of their Police if needed.
It is hoped that with all the protective equipment, the members are equipped with a pocket full of personalised Business Cards at a minimal cost ($9.90 for 250), a great investment. Not all new Policing initiatives cost a lot of money.
Each member will have a profound impact on the community, helping it to achieve ‘Eudemony’, then watch the crime rate fall.
Well done.
Kel Glare Chairman CAA and Ivan Ray CEO CAA
by CAA | Jul 18, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
18th July 2020
Published in the Australian is an excellent article by Janet Albrechtsen about the new phenomena,’ Cancel Culture’, and how dangerous this culture is to each of us.
Her rework of the famous lament by German pastor and theologian Martin Niemoller makes for an insightful and prophetic read.
“First, they came for the authors, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an author.
“Then they came for the comedians, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a comedian.
“Then they came for the scientists, the economists, the academics, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t one of them.
“Then they came for the journalists, and I didn’t speak up because I was not a journalist.
“Then they came for me, and by that time, no one was left to speak up.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/how-to-cancel-cancel-culture/news-story/817b19fb7fe28f0dd6c88f20d5941399
The work of the CAA is a counter to this growing culture that has been around for a long time but has not been called out as it currently is.
Although our field of work is of a narrow genera, nevertheless, holding those to account that hitherto have had free reign to push their ideologies is a good thing, and it is certainly true of the Law and Order, and more specifically the Policing space.
One of the victims of this culture has been the attempt by the elites to shut down debate unless it is their way. It seems a lust fr Power for Power’s sake is the prime motivator, and while they cannot gain the Power, they crave from reasoned debate they use the tried strategy of their ilk, degrade the opposition and belittle those below forcing them to remain quiet. Punitive measures are used to quieten who they consider the rabble of ill-informed foot soldiers or lesser beings.
These individuals and the culture that it inspires are rife within VicPol to the detriment of the organization.
There is, however, early signs that the new Chief Commissioner may well be less inclined to support this culture within VicPol. There will be a mass exodus of mostly senior people when they realize their faux Power, bought to them by virtue of the ‘Cancel Culture’, is waning.
There has been to date a culture within VicPol that we at the CAA have had sufficient experience with, to know it is endemic to the organization and causes a deep flaw, listening, which is a little-used skill, but when it has been, it is with the intent, only to reply.
“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” –Stephen R. Covey
The CAA for its part will continue to push back against this ‘Cancel Culture’, in our sphere of interest.
We encourage everybody else to join the push.
“Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice” – Steve Jobs
by CAA | Jul 15, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
16th July 2020
The Premier of Victoria needs to steel himself for an apology to all Australians for the COVID Quarantine debacle in this State that had led to the contagion spreading more ferociously than when the first outbreak occurred. The virus has already breached the border with New South Wales.
Outbreaks of cases in New South Wales has been gnomically linked to the Melbourne cases, and there are frantic efforts in that State to try to contain the virus. The breach is no longer a possibility but a reality.
As this breakout spreads an apology will not be enough from the Premier and the, “I take responsibility for the Government I lead” mantra from Premier Andrews, will fall well short of the required atonement. That mantra is already losing credibility in this State.
This resurgence of the pandemic can be traced to inept quarantine procedures and management of people arriving in the country from overseas the original pathway that bought the pandemic to our shores.
In breaking news, the string of COVID 19 in the Housing Towers has been linked to the Quarantine Hotels, and the Black Lives Matter demonstration. Which way the virus travelled is unknown and will remain that way for some time as the latest data which may let us know, has been deemed secret and held back for the Judicial inquiry ensuring that there is a substantial time lag before we know.
It seems deliberate plan that by the time Inquiry releases the data, the pandemic will have passed and we will, ‘have moved on’, and all will be forgotten. I am sure that this will not happen and we will all remember the wink and a nod from the Premier, that precipitated the demonstration of 10,000 people who spectacularly broke the rules in complete defiance of the risks to the broader community who’s lives would seem, do not matter.
The Hon Jennifer Coate AM has been appointed to head up a Judicial inquiry into Victoria’s Hotel Quarantine Program that has shamed Victoria throughout Australia. The inquiry starting almost immediately, with a budget of $3 Million, may well prove to be wasted money for Victorians and the time and effort for this esteemed jurist who is starting from an unassailable position to conduct an inquiry that will not be able to place blame at anybody’s feet.
Unfortunately, this inquiry is nobbled before it began.
The Age recently released leaked emails sent in March from bureaucrats to other bureaucrats raising concerns about the ill-equipped Security Guards and demanded the Department of Health (DHHS) call Police in, to take control.
These emails provide an insight into the failures and why the good Judge will struggle to get a result.
The much-publicised incident of a traveller leaving his room for a smoke at 3 am prompting Department of Jobs on the 30th of March’20 to send yet another email demanding DHHS request Police support as the Guards were not adequate. Remembering this is the same Department who hired them without tender.
This is also the same Department that said its only responsibility was to provide the resources, not manage, or be responsible for the quarantine operations.
Can you see the pattern starting to develop?
Our Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton was quick to deny that he was responsible and claimed he did not see the management of Quarantine (the source of our pandemic) as his remit.
Apparently, the role of our Chief Health Officer does not extend to addressing the cause but only the outcome. Allegedly providing advice to the Premier on what we all must do to stop the spread, but the cause, not his problem.
The pattern develops further.
Emergency Services Victoria who also got the same emails and responded by advising the Jobs Ministry the guards could ring 000; what a solution?
They would be the same guards answerable to DHHS or is it the Jobs Ministry, or perhaps Emergency Services who knows? We suggest the Guards themselves had no idea.
Who was responsible for the oversight of the Guards, ensuring PPE was appropriately used, and Quarantine protocols adhered too; there were quarantine protocols, weren’t there?
This Quarantine is the only defence Australia has to the incoming virus we didn’t create, so closing the borders was the smartest move, but the holes left by incompetence is why we are where we are today.
It is a Debacle of the highest order, but how did it get to that, and why only in Victoria.
Accountability here has more changes than Melbourne’s weather.
Most likely because of inadequate preparation, unclear lines of responsibility, decisions based on perceived political interests, both internal politics as well as external, and incompetent people doing a job they are not trained to do and do not have the capacity to perform. We are not referring to the Security Guards.
The Age reported that there were at least five agencies involved in the decisions concerning the use of Security Guards instead of Police and the Military as happened in every other State: Health, Jobs, Premier and Cabinet, Emergency Management and VicPol.
There is an apt adage about the committee that was established to design a horse; it produced a camel, a truism for this debacle.
We shudder and hesitate to suggest that this outcome was what would be expected from the application of Matrix Management Principles promoted by Christine Nixon when Chief Commissioner; where there is a committee they all decide on a course of action.
That way nobody can take the fall –incompetence is masked, and accountability is totally voided by the individual. It was the committee, and that is precisely what has happened here, and that is why the good Judge will find it near impossible to identify who got it wrong. This is why the Premier is so relaxed about an inquiry, nebulous groups, not individuals, will be the ‘at-fault’– it was the committee.
If Premier had asked we would have given him the answer for a lot less than $3Milllion.
by CAA | Jun 2, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
2nd of June 2020
Reported in the Herald Sun 2/6/20 that Victoria’s Sentencing Advisory Council wants more significant consideration to trauma suffered by young people in the sentencing structure, as well as a focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
Notably absent in their reported recommendations is the safety of the community.
Putting rationalisations before a court to justify bad behaviour of a child is counter-intuitive. It simple reinforces in the child’s mind that they can re-offend again because of their circumstance.
This approach proposed by the Advisory Council falls into the category of a mother I recently saw in a supermarket with a very young toddler rationalising misbehaviour as a method of control. Understandably, the two-year-old had a glazed look and continued misbehaving unabated. The mother just didn’t get it; the child did not understand the message. Missing was the consequences of the behaviour that the child understood.
If parents, and in this case, the legal system do not know how to achieve behavioural changes then get them replaced with somebody that does, I lament the supermarket child’s future.
As a general rule children grow up knowing right from wrong. The concept developed in early childhood where they learn that if they undertake certain behaviours, then there will be consequences. To avoid adverse consequences, they learn good and safe behaviour. No child is born bad; it is a learnt behaviour.
One of the most ridiculous examples of inept management of young people was when Youth Detention centres were faced with what were called riots, but in fact, it was children acting out to achieve an outcome they desired. Instead of consequences, they were rewarded for their bad behaviour with Pizza’s and authorities wondered why bad behaviour persisted with inmates.go soft on thugs picture
– Bad behaviour = Pizza = more bad behaviour.
If the Advisory Council wants change to address the problem of delinquency in young people, and the adverse impact this has on their lives and future, then start addressing the issue before it manifests rather than trying to repair a broken child.
Make every effort to ensure they are not broken in the first place, or if they are subject to risk, equip them to better deal with the risks – it is also cheaper.
The Community Advocacy Alliance Inc. (CAA) has long advocated changing the current approach of focusing on the problems after they emerge, to one where the potential problems are addressed before they become evident.
We are not just flapping our gums; we are actually doing something positive.
On hold, because of the COVID issue, the Police Veterans In Schools Program is set to be restarted into as many Primary Schools that our resources will permit. Aimed at the eight to ten-year-olds, we plan to influence them before peer pressure takes over and provide them with tools to cope better with life’s hazards.
We are extremely heartened by the comments by Police Deputy Commissioner Patton who will become the next Chief Commissioner who has already flagged the future emphasis of proactive Policing, which encompasses the sorts of strategies to which we have been referring.
We would hope that the Government in considering the Advisory Councils recommendations at least allow Patton an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of Pro-Active Policing – they might be pleasantly surprised at the result on the cohort that concerns the Council.
Unfortunately, many professionals adjudge that working with the younger children is child’s play and below their professional status; they are much better suited to working with an older cohort who have the problems.
The problem with this un-educated approach is that they have little to minimal impact on the problem cohort, and any form of success is extremely rare and is an inefficient use of resources.
by CAA | May 26, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
CHINA
By Blair Barker, 6 May 2020
Opinion Contributor
Blair is a former Army Officer, Executive Director of an HR consulting firm and Councillor for Elgar Ward, City of Whitehorse, Victoria and supporter of the CAA.
The Xin Hua bookshop, the official outlet of the Chinese Communist Party, sits proudly at the corner of Station Street and Carrington Road, Box Hill, flogging Beijing’s propaganda to the large Chinese population in the City of Whitehorse.
The shop has been there since 2009, and it bills itself as “a nice spot to satisfy your brain and heart”. From 10.30 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily it sells newspapers, books and videos carefully selected and censored in Beijing to spread the communist government’s message.
It is also, without doubt, a powerful and visible reminder to the diverse local Chinese-Australian communities that the Beijing regime is alive and well and actively watching their response to the Covid-19 pandemic that originated in China.
The audacious presence of the Xin Hua bookshop results from years of incompetence by Australian political leaders who have allowed and enabled Chinese communist party influence to creep from an epicentre in Sussex Street Sydney to Station Street Box Hill.
Now, in a diplomatically outrageous move, the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Mr Cheng Jinye, has threatened Chinese economic retaliation against Australia following Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s call for an independent investigation into the pandemic and China’s initial response to its appearance in Wu Han.
As a Councillor for the City of Whitehorse, I am deeply perturbed by the Ambassador’s threat, which has properly been called “economic coercion” by Australia’s Defence Minister Marise Payne.
The City of Whitehorse, and Box Hill, in particular, have large concentrations of Chinese-Australian businesses. A small minority of them are loyal to the Beijing regime. But all depend on international students and tourists and would suffer devastating losses if Mr Cheng’s threat materialised.
Sadly, the vulnerability of these businesses is due to small sections of the community and “useful idiot” civic leaders. They have promoted Chinese communist party activities in futile efforts to build community harmony and resilience.
It might seem reasonable to assume that pro-Beijing sections of the Chinese diaspora might review their loyalty to the motherland given the Ambassador’s threat to harm them economically. Unhappily, their pride in their cultural heritage and ancient civilisation seems to prompt them to be vocal boosters for Beijing and its aggressive geopolitical activities.
Some have business interests in the PRC and feel compelled—like some Australian apologists for China—to express support for Beijing to protect their financial interests. (Naturally, our Chinese citizens from Taiwan and elsewhere do not share this self-serving outlook).
Subversion, threats, and political interference from Beijing are not new phenomena in this community. Last year an alleged “community” event saw the PRC flag raised over the Box Hill police station by local state MP Paul Hamer. Federal member Gladys Liu joined the celebration to cut a cake to mark Mao’s Cultural Revolution—one of Beijing’s great crimes and political/economic disasters.
I criticised these events as insensitive to the diverse Chinese and non-Chinese communities I represent. A newsletter published in English and Chinese smeared me as incompetent, ignorant of multi-culturalism and promoting fake news. I was also subjected to insults and subtle threats after referring to the gaoling of Falun Gong and Uighurs in China.
Now, in the post-COVID-19 world, there are calls throughout Australia for recriminations, changed migration policies, and reset diplomatic relations with Beijing. It is critically important that Canberra take effective action to stop the corrosion of community confidence, unity, and resilience caused by Beijing’s influence in local communities. New vigilance will be required to confront Beijing’s disruptive activities.
Strong and resilient businesses will be more important than ever during the economic recovery from the pandemic. So the federal government would do well to increase counter-subversion programs further. When it is safe to do so, it should support new marketing initiatives to attract and reassure international students and tourists.
In a recent article for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute emeritus professor Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to China, noted astutely: “Australian criticisms of China’s policies and activities at home and abroad are routinely met with accusations of racial prejudice.” A renewed commitment, alertness, and willingness to withstand the inevitable threats and accusations of racial prejudice from CCP subversives are now more essential than ever if we are to emerge as united and resilient communities.
Nothing in the Xin Hua bookshop offers any guidance on this critical issue. The brain and the heart must look elsewhere.
by CAA | May 22, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
22nd May 2020
A once in a generation, or perhaps once in many generations, an opportunity presents for there to be a meaningful attack on illicit drugs.
It is now entirely possible to bring together, those that see drug addiction as a health problem, and those that see illicit drugs as the criminal problem it is, all thanks to COVID-19
In response to the COVID-19 threat, the Government embarked on a major effort to increase the number of hospital beds to deal with the estimated number of people requiring hospitalization as a consequence of the Pandemic.
This has been an outstanding effort, and places like the old Peter Mac and facilities at Geelong and elsewhere have been established and fitted out to deal with the number of expected COVID patients that thankfully has not, and is not now likely to occur.
We now have all of these Hospital beds that we could repurpose creating more jobs and impacting positively on the management of the other Pandemic, illicit drugs.
Note we have said management not cure, but that could be the bonus outcome.
We have many addicts/users living rough, and all addicts/users live in a perilous half-light where the danger to themselves is ever-present from many quarters.
Equally and just as important is that drug addicts/users often have underlying issues, both physical and mental that are never addressed.
The flip side to the health aspect is the criminality that is ever-present with the illicit drug trade and the enormous impact that has on the broader community both from a financial impact and the personal safety of everybody.
With a lot of publicity that centred on the ‘Ice’ epidemic, there have been no meaningful strategies put forward to address the problem, and often those most exposed to the issues take the easy way out, hoisting the white flag and argue to legalize the drugs.
Even with the misnamed ‘Safe Injecting Room’ there is nothing safe about illicit drugs no matter how they are administered – it is not the delivery method that causes the damage, it is the drugs. This experiment should never have been allowed to trial, as the experiment fails to acknowledge that the drugs used by the addicts in the facility are financed by criminal activity. How a Government can be complicit in this activity beggars belief.
There are proponents that push to legalize these drugs to solve the problem but that is just nonsensical. Firstly most addicts enjoy living on the edge without responsibilities or accountabilities, opting out of the mainstream. They were called Hippies in the 1960s, or the unwashed, and if you think if drugs were somehow legalized the drug Lords of today, will just roll over and give up their rivers of gold the trade creates, you would have to be incredibly naive.
Any sudden move like legalizing drugs would immediately see the crime syndicates move to other lucrative crime, extortion and kidnapping will be the likely alternatives. The changes need to be incremental and slow to destabilize their market.
We now see the adverse effect on the fitting of cars with engine immobilizers. Because thieves can no longer hotwire a car, the thieves must access the keys subjecting the community to physical harm, home invasions or aggravated burglaries to obtain keys.
In the UK, one high-end car manufacturer introduced very clever fingerprint security technology. That has been discontinued and disabled on the cars fitted with it. Crooks were using the fingers of the victims to access the car, and they were not too fussed whether the victim was attached to the fingers or not.
The principle of unintended consequences, a trap to be avoided.
Our aim should not be too lofty, and a substantial reduction in the illicit trade and an improvement in the wellbeing of addicts would be an achievable target worth pursuing. Removing the trade from public places to reduce the exposure of our children would also be advantageous in the short and long-term.
We can repurpose the Hospital beds?
It will take a brave and innovative Government. The proposal is for amendments to the Health Act to allow Police to randomly test persons they suspect of being under the influence of illicit drugs whether pedestrians or drivers and if they test positive they must be immediately transferred to the Health facility for fourteen days in-patient treatment.
The immediate effect will be to drive the drug trade underground away from our kids, and with the risk of fourteen days treatment, effective immediately, will dramatically reduce the number of drug-affected drivers on the road.
The Health facility must be secure; however, the patients presented by Police should immediately undergo a more sophisticated drug test, and if that contradicts the random test, they are released.
This fourteen-day hiatus in their addiction enables the Clinicians to asses and treat any identified health matters and breaks the nexus of the addict’s associations disrupting the drug trade at a micro-level.
The outcome invariably for a large number of addicts will be to return to their previous lifestyle, albeit far more healthy than they had been, and they have had the opportunity to receive support to beat their addiction.
Addicts are more likely to choose to opt-out of their addiction if they find they are re-admitted to the fourteen-day program on multiple occasions. A couple of admissions might just encourage an addict/user to seek treatment for their addiction. We know for any treatment for addiction, the patient must be a willing participant. This initiative may encourage their willing participation.
There will be many voices in opposition to this approach based on human rights and other nebulous claims. However, we as a community were quite prepared to allow our Government to remove our rights for months without visitors and restrictions on our liberty not to treat but avoid a pathogen and we were not involved in any illegal activity.
In this proposal, it is withdrawing from a group of our community their Rights for two weeks for their own benefit, and this cohort are not merely possible victims of a Pandemic as we were, but in this case, they are the Pandemic.
Victoria is as ready as it will ever be to accept an initiative like this, given what this State has gone through.
We understand this paper is an overview of a concept that needs considerable work to implement however now is the time to start that process rather than the Hospitals being dismantled or purposed for other things that have less impact on our community.
by CAA | May 19, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
20th April 2020
YOGI’S LAW
It is not too often that a really good news story comes along that can have a huge positive and perhaps life-saving impact on others. In this case, first responders who gain the magical assistance of a trained PTSD dog, and those considering it. The outcome of this story, Yogi’s Law, has impact Australia wide.
The fight taken on by former Policeman Sergeant Ron Fenton, given Ron’s health issues, is a true story of courage and gritty selfless determination made more so because the financial impact did not affect Ron, but the principle and impact on fellow travellers on similar journeys will be monumental.
The fight centred on this four-legged guardian angel Yogi.
To fully understand the significance of this fight, you need to understand what bought Ron to this place and the role that Yogi now plays, written by John Sylvester in the Melbourne Age.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-crook-the-copper-and-their-four-legged-mate-20180524-p4zh7k.html
Knowing Ron (and Yogi) is a privilege beyond measure because knowing him and reflecting on his courage will snap anybody out of any negative inward retrospection.
In my book, Ron Fenton is a true hero.
The story of his latest battles is best told in his own words.
BEING STUBBORN PAYS.
“For various legal reasons, I had to wait till today, May 13, 2020, before I could post this.
Around three years ago I decided to stir up the possums (how out of character), and submit a claim to Gallagher Bassett, VicPol’s Work cover Insurer, acting as an Agent of WorkSafe Vic.
The claim was to have Yogi, my PTSD Assistance Dog regarded as a ‘Medical and Like’ Expense, and therefore to have the Insurer pay Yogi’s Vet and food costs. I claimed ‘Up to $2,000pa’, such figure per estimates from Assistance Dogs Australia.
At the personal conference, I had with my Case Manager and her Supervisor, it was all smiles and nods, and total verbal agreement that my claim was justified. Three weeks later, AusPost delivered the standard ‘Rejection of Claim’ letter.
Numerous calls and emails only got me as far as, “The decision was made by WorkSafe.” Then began the merry hunt for answers, which only resolved in, “We’ve examined the case in accordance with the Act, and our decision is made.
Left with no alternative, off we trot to the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service (ACCS). And this is where Paul Sambell comes into the fray as a guide and mentor (he doesn’t give legal advice), and helped me tremendously, even initially setting up this Support Group.
At ACCS we discover that…. (now it gets messy here….. WorkSafe based their decision on the current Department of Veterans Affairs Ruling, which in turn was based on an American STUDY. However, the findings of the study itself was currently under critical review. The study had concluded that “There is no empirical evidence to support that Companion Dogs provide any therapeutic benefit to the treatment of PTSD. And yes, I know, Yogi is an Assistance Dog, not a Companion. Just another word-game by DVA.
Neither Party would budge, so I was awarded a Certificate of Genuine Dispute which then allowed me to take legal action.
In the meantime, the Review of the American Study upon which DVA based its Ruling was produced, finding overwhelmingly in favour of Assistance Dogs as beneficial to treatment. At that stage, DVA decided to conduct its own four-year Study into Assistance Dogs, because now it needed Australian data.
All around, however, Assistance Dogs were appearing. Vic Ambulance had ‘Bruce’ and his team; dogs were consoling victims in Court. DVA saw the writing on the wall, and late last year created an Entitlement for Defence Veterans with PTSD to receive an annual amount to feed and care for their Assistance Dog. As such, WorkSafe’s last line of avoidance melted in the snow.
Later on, I instructed Counsel to institute proceedings against WorkSafe. Suddenly this report, and that report, and this examination are required, but I’m not surprised by the delays. Pretty predictable, I guess.
Then ironically, January comes along with Medical news that curtails all delay tactics and places the Court under the moral obligation to hear the matter promptly. As such, we were listed for a Special Hearing today, May 12.
Imagine my surprise when I get woken by my Barrister Fiona Ryan by phone yesterday morning. She’s at the Pre-hearing Conference between barristers for both sides. WorkSafe have walked in with a prepared offer. A set cash amount as recompense for past expenditure, nothing going forward, closure of the claim, and a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
Our response was that this, and any further offer that included an NDA would be automatically rejected, as would any offer that provided anything less than parity with the DVA Award of $560per quarter.
The rest of the day was spent negotiating back and forth, with me sticking to the same basics. With my Super at my call, and my Medical diagnosis, I made it clear that I had the funds to fight, and nothing to lose. Did they dare take a sick man before a jury because they wouldn’t pay for the upkeep of his Assistance Dog?
The answer is a resounding NO.
We won the case, and now WorkSafe must reimburse me all reasonable costs of the care and upkeep of Yogi from the day I brought him home until now, and ongoing whilst he continues to be able to perform such functions. And thereafter, should Yogi be unable to fulfil those functions due to death or injury, WorkSafe will pay such reasonable costs for the care and upkeep of a replacement dog, providing such dog comes from an Accredited PTSD Assistance Dog Provider.
It’s a deal better than the DVA Entitlement, and one which every First Responder who works for an organisation using WorkSafe Vic Agents like EML, MetLife, etc, AND has an accepted work-related PTSD Claim, AND has an Assistance Dog supplied by an Accredited PTSD Assistance Dog Provider can claim.
It’s been before the Court; it is now Precedent Case Law – Yogi’s Law
Enjoy. Its been a long battle.
Yogi’s offsider Ron.
by CAA | May 13, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
113th May 2020
Service of Trust
By Sue Ellson
As we lie in our bed tonight
Cosy and warm and out of sight
We will pause to remember our blessed opportunity
To be protected and safe in our community
Served by police
Through education and enforcement
Served by police
Who endure so much stress and torment
We admire their bravery
Their courage and valour
We respect their authority
Without fear or favour
They are there in a crisis
At the front line of chaos
They are there in the stillness
When tears are shed in silence
So much is unseen
So much is unspoken
So much we mourn
When they are broken
Carry on they will
Carry on they must
But let us never forget
Their service of trust
by CAA | May 11, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
11th May 2020
So now junior members of Vicpol have been suspended for their apparent involvement in publishing an inappropriate photo of an AFL figure. Not nice at all, and they deserve to be censured.
However, compare their conduct to the case where the High Court found police conduct regarding Informer 3838 was “reprehensible”. Nobody was stood aside – nobody. To the contrary, the only person who had the integrity to blow the whistle on this police misconduct, Sir Ken Jones, was himself forced out of VicPol.
By any standard the sheer waste of taxpayers’ money in pursuing the foredoomed effort to conceal that reprehensible conduct was disgraceful – but that’s OK, it seems, because it was the bosses who did that, not the worker bees.
Compare the Assistant Commissioner who flagrantly lied to protect corrupt detectives who framed a citizen because the (previous) Chief likewise covered up his own blunders. That Assistant Commissioner (a friend of a Chief) gets off scot-free, and the Superintendent and Chief Superintendent who refused to follow the Police Act – a sworn duty – in order to protect HIM, go on to bigger and better things.
By all means, discipline members who breach proper standards of conduct, for example by publishing embarrassing photos of people in custody, and by all means let the process be swift, but also, by all means, let our police leaders ensure swiftness in investigating fairly simple claims of theft and false accounting involving members of the government; let there be Equality of treatment for all classes of suspects in such an imbroglio.
Why are different standards of conduct applied depending on where one sits in the hierarchy?
The Victoria Police stands condemned of failing to follow its claim to Uphold the Right. It does not respect the principles of Equality Before the Law, and it continues to thrive on concealing from the public its manifold failures of management and leadership – including failures to simply obey the law.
STOP PRESS. Just as this paper was about to be released it was revealed that IBAC, the watchdog that achieves so little in improving police behaviour, is to take over this “investigation” – to see if there are “cultural issues” that underlie the disgraceful publishing of the objectionable photo.
IBAC has not investigated the cultural issues underlying the persistent refusal of Chief Commissioners to investigate complaints of police corruption – refusals that were and remain contrary to law. IBAC has refused to investigate the toxic and dysfunctional culture at the top, described before the McMurdo Commission by Sir Ken Jones. As did its predecessor, the Office of Police Integrity, IBAC chooses to ignore faults at the top, no matter how serious, how entrenched, or how destructive.
Unlike the OPI, IBAC does not break the law; it just breaches our trust.
So we also ask IBAC, why are different standards of conduct applied depending on where one sits in the hierarchy? Why are cultural issues important in influencing only the conduct of constables, but not the conduct of commissioners?
by CAA | May 5, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
5th of May 2020
(Please note that this article has been made available to the Minister for comment but no response has been received)
The Health Minister, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, is funding a drug counselling service, ‘Turning Point’, that is actively promoting criminal activity under the guise of illicit drug harm minimisation.
We have no problems per se, with the harm minimisation approach for drug addicts, but there is a line that must never be crossed, and that line is the law. It applies to Law enforcement and must equally apply to medical services.
Once the line is crossed, and practitioners in this field actively promote criminal offences, they are as guilty of those offences as the perpetrator.
There is often vigorous debate over the approach to the illicit drug problem, law enforcement versus harm minimisation, neither side of the debate can claim the moral high ground as neither approach has provided the panacea for the challenge.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) has long argued that there needs to be a new approach both legal and medicinal and central to that approach, there must be strategies developed which reduce the exposure of our children to drugs.
Trying to alter the behaviours of addicts is only marginally successful, so it is essential to influence the action before they become entrenched in the lifestyle and addiction. We need to focus on influencing children to avoid the behaviour in the first place.
Our children are exposed to the temptation of drugs from a very early age and are confronted consistently and in ways that parents are usually unaware, by smooth-talking addicts motivated to expand their own market to feed their habit. The children must be equipped to deal with this exposure, pressure and temptation.
Make no mistake this trade in illicit drugs is evil, and often closer than you could imagine as friends and acquaintances of your children, some of whom they grew up with, are the pushers.
The priorities for Law Enforcement should be to make it more difficult for pushers to ply their trade targeting the drug supply chain, damaging their marketing model that is central to their success.
The priorities for harm minimisation must be on the medical treatment of drug addicts aimed at reducing and or eliminating their dependency and use.
We are an empathetic society but facilitating drug use must not be acceptable in any circumstances.
The argument that forcing the pushers off the streets underground is a bad thing promoted by proponents of drugs defies reasonable logic when it will minimising the exposure to our children and is a highly desirable outcome.
However, harm minimisation proponents long suspected of being apologists for the drug trade, are now blatantly promoting themselves as such.
This accusation is vigorously opposed by the proponents. Still, the accusation has just gained considerable credence thanks to Professor Dan Lubman, the Clinical Director of ‘Turning Point’, a drug counselling service as reported in the Herald Sun and the Melbourne Age 28th April 2020.
You may be forgiven for assuming, as we did, that a counselling service would be a service that would assist and steer clients away from the problem and harm they face, but that appears not to be the case for “Turning Point”, don’t let the implication in the name fool you. This is a service provided to drug addicts and has just received additional funding of $1.5 million from the Health Minister, to scale up services during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Obviously not to ensure addicts remain 1.5 meters from their dealer.
While we are under house arrest thanks to COVID-19 drug addicts are receiving the following advice for $1.5m:
- “If possible, talk to your dealer about what might happen if your regular drug supply may be restricted and stock up on your drugs of choice.” (The drugs can be stored with the hoarded toilet paper no doubt.)
- “Avoid bingeing on drugs that you have stockpiled” (That has got to be an oxymoron)
And from our good Professor Clinical director, ‘doubling down’ on the hoarding drugs he allegedly said,
- “The reality is a substantial proportion of the community use drugs, and we’ve got a pandemic.” (Doesn’t he mean another pandemic?)
- “We need to give people strong, clear, practical advice on how to cope when the door is being shut and they (users) might not have drug supply and might end up going into withdrawal.” (Isn’t withdrawal the course that needs to be taken to escape the addiction, and that is somehow bad?)
The CAA demands the Minister immediately withdraws all Government funding of this Service as they are past totally irresponsible, they are arguably criminal.
By withdrawing the $1.5 million grant, we can at least be assured that none of this $1.5m will go to funding drug addicts to create the recommended stockpiles.
The Government is complicit in promoting the illicit drug trade by continuing to fund this organisation.
The continued funding of all these types of services must be pro-rata to the number of addicts that are cured. Public money promoting the continuum of the illicit drug trade must cease live resin vs distillate better.
Something that may have escaped the good Professor is just how the drug addicts will pay for their stockpiles, other than with the $1.5m; for that matter, how does he assume the drug addicts service their current addiction, it is with crime.
Yes, we get reamed out financially, twice. The poor victims, (us) not only have our taxes spent on promoting the drug trade but we pay for the crimes committed on us to service this trade, whether directly or indirectly through our insurance. But that is only the property aspect. The trauma of crime that, in many cases, is horrendous and life-changing for victims, who are sentenced to a lifetime of misery.
And now the good Professor wants all that to ramp up to avoid some drug addicts going into withdrawal, unbelievable!
The CAA cannot even get paltry funding to support a prevention program in our schools. We cannot achieve Government support for our Police Veterans In Schools program that is aimed at tackling this and other social issues before they manifest rather than spending a fortune trying to deal with the problem later. Instead of government support, the Police Veterans predominantly cover all costs from their own pocket. They are paying for the privilege of volunteering their time, to help the community.
This whole debacle brings into sharp focus just where the Governments priorities lie, funding the illicit drug trade and those who promote it.
by CAA | May 3, 2020 | Uncategorized, Library
4th April 2020
After a stroll with the dog in the reserve that abuts my back yard, I came back to find my back gate ajar.
The dog, as is her habit, was quite a few paces ahead and as she trotted into the yard let out a couple of unusual barks. Not particularly savage or persistent, but something was not right.
As I came through the gate, as is my habit, I locked it and put in the security catch.
As I turned and started to walk towards the house, from between the bushes on the lawn, a male materialised, prompting the dog to bark again.
This man, in his mid thirty’s dressed in black with the regulation Adidas black tracksuit pants, (the crooks uniform) was far from relaxed at being confronted.
He claimed that he had thought this was access to the reserve. Given that a whole street terminates into the reserve 80 meters further south from my back gate, I knew, exactly what he was,—an opportunist thief, sprung.
It was pretty evident that he was drug-affected, displaying the characteristic twitches and avoiding eye contact. He reeked of cologne that he had bathed in probably to avoid washing, (there used to be a myth that Police dogs were put off by strong cologne – you wouldn’t need a dog to track this bloke most non-COVID suffers could do it). I knew from instinct (former plods never lose that) this encounter could end up a mess.
I warned him to watch the dog as he was in her backyard. This was no idle threat as he was in mortal danger from her licking him to death if he showed the slightest interest in her, a common trait of Labradoodles. But Bonnie stood her ground behaving differently to when she is typically confronted by a stranger.
For some reason, drug addicts do not like dogs and dogs return the emotion; it has to be the odour, and or the odd behaviours that make dogs warry which unnerves addicts and in this situation, she would have picked up on my demeanour.
I let him out the back gate without incident with him watching the dog intently as he skirted around me with my faithful dog now set at my side. He then made relatively fast tracks down the reserve path.
The purpose of this note is not really about the drug addict but me, I was now a Victim and standing in a Victim’s shoes. Although the event was minor on the Victim scale, the shoes nevertheless became uncomfortable.
I rang ‘OOO’, and the operator was fine and engaging, and to the choice as to whether I would like the Police to call in, I agreed. As a former plod, it is always good to chat with the current members, and apart from that, I had reported he entered the property from the front but had subsequently determined he most likely came through the back. It may have been useful additional intelligence.
So I waited and waited and waited, and quite a deal later having given up on a visit or follow up I saw the Div Van drive by, so at least I knew they had maybe a cursory look for the suspect. They would have my phone number so a call would have been easy on the drive back to the station.
My neighbour is a single mum, and strangely her dog, Friday, (weird name for a dog, but they have a cat called Barry so it sort of works), remained silent throughout the incident, and that was unusual, so I went to check on her.
Fortunately, she and her boys were fine, and Friday had been inside staring down Barry for the last hour or so, willing the cat to make a break for it so a chase would be on.
However, I discovered from my neighbour, who was told by another neighbour, that the person in black had been arrested by the Police and put in the van.
This convoluted story is probably repeated many times an hour right across the state. Still, the issue that gets me is the lack of Victim follow up (service delivery) and given the Police are always asking for public help; you would reason it would be a two-way street, but not so, apparently.
Although it is the members at the coalface that will cop the blame as being lazy and unprofessional, I know enough about Policing to put the blame where it should properly lay.
Clearly, and obviously, this is a management issue where the systems and accountabilities to develop good service delivery practises, either do not exist or are ineffective.
The excuse will no doubt be that they were busy, and it is all down to priorities, that euphemism that explains all Police failures to avoid accountability.
The Community Advocacy Alliance (CAA) has heard many stories where the lack of service is evident. The CAA position is that the allocation of resources is a significant contributor to this and other problems with insufficient Police staffing at the Stations and General Duties patrols. This problem will continue to exacerbate while the current staffing allocations and philosophies persist.
It is not the number of Police in the force, but the numbers of Police Policing.
Chief Commissioner, it is about time you fixed this essential Policing function; you might find greater cooperation from the public if you do.
by CAA | Apr 23, 2020 | Library, Uncategorized
23rd of April 2020
The Chairman and members of the Board of the Community Advocacy Alliance Inc (CAA) mourn the loss of the four members who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Our thoughts and prayers go to the families, friends and colleagues of those so tragically lost.
We may not know your names right now, but you are our brothers and sister, and your current anonymity does not lessen the pain of your loss.
Rest in Peace; your duty is done.
The CAA commends the announcement by the Chief Commissioner that at an appropriate time we can all gather to pay our respects to our colleagues lost.
CAA
