POLICING IN MODERN SOCIETY
by the Han. Gordon Hill, M.L.A.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services;
Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs.
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POLICE FORCE ORIGIN
The police system in Western Australia is based on the English system, which dates back
to 1829 when Sir Robert Peel organised the first police force with the Metropolitan
Police Act.
Peel's idea of law enforcement centred on the principle that the public was the police
and the police were the public - the police were considered to be a service integral to the
society rather than a force independent of the culture. Their emphasis was on prevention
of crime and maintenance of peace.
Over time, and with the contributory factors of shortages of manpower and increase in
crime, this ideal of the police being servants of society changed, with the emphasis
becoming one of protection, security and enforcement of the law.
In Australia the early settlers attempted to structure a police system based on Peel's
model. However, as in England, it did not turn out that way. The practical application
of Peel's concept resulted in police being concerned with protection of security and
enforcement of the laws.
Now, in Western Australia, along with other States and other parts of the world, we are
making a de term ined effort to swing the role of the police back to Peel's original
model. Through the concept of community policing we are attempting to integrate the
police force and the community, so that both work together, the police becom ing part of
the general community again and the community accepting some of the responsibility for
keeping the peace and protecting themselves.
The concept of community policing is not new. It does in fact, go back to Saxon ti mes in
England. The ideal of community policing is enshrined in the ~285 Statute of Winchester
as the system of "watch and ward". The basic principle was the appointment of town
watchmen to supplement the role of the traditional constable. Every town was required
to provide its own watch from sunset to sunrise, all the men of the town being required
to perform regular duty on the watch as a service to their community. In that way,
members of the community participated in policing by becoming the eyes and ears of the
police force.
This turnabout back to the original "watch and ward" system and Peel's principle of the
police and the public being one is, I believe, the best way to cope with the growing crime
rate as society becomes more sophisticated and complex.
RATE OF CRIME
The crime rate can be over emphasised for political gain and this tends to be the case in
Western Australia. However, it cannot be disputed that crime is rising worldwide.
The 1986 annual report of the Western Australia Police Department shows the number of
reported criminal offences to have risen 10.61 per cent over the previous year.
Statistics show that in the five years from 1981 criminal offences reported to the police
rose by 47 per cent, more than four times the 10 per cent population growth in the same
period.
Reported offences which have had a marked effect on this increase include motor vehicle
theft, robbery, arson, fraud, breaking and entering, stealing, and drugs.
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It must be acknowledged, however, that the system of collecting and recording statistics
has also changed during this time. All crimes reported are now recorded instead of only
those for which investigations are undertaken. This change has exaggerated the increase
in crime.
Due to the increasing rate, variety, sophistication and seriousness of crimes, police
officers will have to become increasingly selective of the crimes to be investigated.
From time to time complaints are made about the lack of interest by police officers or
about the response time in investigating certain offences. Eventually the community will
have to come to terms with the fact that not all reported offences can be investigated.
This is already the case overseas. In the very near future we will have to introduce a
point system which determines which offences are to be followed up.
The types and prevalence of criminal activities are constantly changing, along with the
society that breeds them.
For instance, there has been a substantial increase in the number of reported offences
relating to child abuse. However, while some of the confusing influences of modern life
could be contributing to this problem, it is generally attributed to a growing community
awareness of child abuse and the increasing readiness of agencies and the community at
large to involve the police when such matters come to notice.
WHITE CCLLAR CRIME
A significant effect of the sophistication of society has been the increase in white collar
crime and computer cri me.
The "take" in computer crimes can top half a million dollars, yet these thieves are far
from the image of the "crook" held by much of the general community. Very often the
computer thief is a respected member of the establishment - such as a banker, merchant
or industrialist, or a bright young student.
The WA Police Company Fraud Squad inquired into 7,119 offences in the 1986 financial
year - an increase of 52 per cent from two years previously. While the police clearance
record has been good in this area, it is one in which the reported offence rate is
predicted to increase.
An American audi ting expert added his weight to predictions that computer-related fraud
would increase significantly in Australia in the next few years.
While on a visit to Perth, he warned of the growing numbers of criminals who would take
advantage of the access to confidential information through the use of personal
computers.
The modern-day police force will be concentrating more and more on white collar
crime. It needs to be addressed in terms of training and the use of experts in this field.
Computer users too, have to take responsibility for greater security. Companies which
are spending thousands of dollars on the security of their offices, are still unaware that
often their most valuable asset, information stored in a computer is vulnerable.
SOCIOLOGY OF CRIME
The
reasons
for
increased
crime
are
manyfold
the
economic
situation
and
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unemployment, increased leisure time, more homes empty during the day with more
women working, and homes becoming more and more a cache of valuable portable
equipment such as videos and sound equipment, for which there is a ready cash market.
Social forces also affect the way crime is viewed in the community. The changing social
and technological environment leads to new definitions of crime and new challenges for
the police and justice system.
Crime differs from country to country and from year to year. For example, while
making a profit is the American dream, profiteering is a crime punishable by death in
Communist China. While a juvenile delinquent can be jailed in America, juvenile crime
does not exist under the laws of Denmark and China.
Attitudes to crime and justice have changed over the past two decades according to the
economy and social conditions.
They have undergone an lBO-degree turn from the
concern for individual rights of the 1960s to the concern for law and order now being
espoused, fanned over the past few years by the Liberal opposition and by such
organisations as Citizens Against Crime.
During the 1960s the economy was buoyant with a substantial and secure middle income
group, providing the setting for social concerns such as poverty, individual rights and
civil rights. Criminals were seen not as a threat to socioeconomic security but as
victims of poverty.
But with the economic downturn in the 1970s, crime and justice were reappraised and
pragmatism replaced humanism. Thus we are seeing the present mood of "get tough on
crime", vindictiveness and retribution replacing compassion and rehabilitation. To much
of the general public, again encouraged by the Liberals and other reactionaries, crim inals
are not a victim of society's failure but pathological predators who should be eliminated.
The demands for the return of capital punishment in the Birnie case are a prime example
of this.
TRADITIONAL POLICING
This government is working with the senior police executive to make an all out effort to
provide the police force with the manpower and other resources which they require.
The Burke Government increased police strength by 300 new officers in its first three
years in office, and has given a comm itment to further increase the size of the force by
another 300 in this second term".
At this point we are well ahead of schedule in
recruiting these officers.
That compares positively with the previous Liberal Government. In the last three years
of the previous administration only 144 police officers were recruited - and in one of
those years, 1981, there was no nett increase in police strength at all.
I also support the Police Commissioner's policy of optimisation of manpower resources
and recently a decision was made which resulted in the operational strength of the police
force being increased by 30 officers.
This was made possible by the Government
agreeing to employ 30 public servants to perform non-operational duties.
As well, we have provided the most up-to-date equipment - for example, spending
$l-million on a computerised fingerprint identification system and a further $1.5-million
on upgrading the computer system at police headquarters.
The
computerised
fingerprint
identification
system
was described
by
the Police
_-----
----------------------~----_ ..__
...
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Commissioner as the most significant breakthrough in criminal investigation this
century. It scans more quickly and tasks which previously could take months to achieve
now take a few minutes.
With the facilities provided by the Government, the Western Australian Police Force has
achieved a high success rate in solving serious crime.
In the last financial year they solved 36 of the 37 homicides, 172 of the 197 and sexual
assaults, and 789 of the 998 serious assaults.
While breaking and entering is no doubt serious to the householder, it obviously cannot
have top priority in taking up police resources. This necessary policy is borne out by the
figures which show tht 4,936 breaking and entering cases were solved of the 29,447
reported.
COMMUNITY POLICING
Tradi tional policing methods cannot effectively contain cri me and we have to look to
new methods. This does not mean that traditional policing has necessarily failed, but
there is a need to augment it.
Studies have shown that increasing the numbers of police does not necessarily reduce
crime rates, nor raise the proportion of crimes solved.
It is widely believed that saturating an area with patrol cars would prevent crime - while
it does in fact reduce crime it does so only temporarily, possibly by displacing it to other
areas.
It has also been shown that response time, traditionally the measure of police efficiency,
has little effect on the likelihood of arresting c'rirn ina ls or even in satisfying citizens
involved. One recent large study overseas showed that the chances of making an arrest
on the spot drops below 10 per cent if even a minute elapses from the ti me the crime is
committed.
As I said before, the best way to move policing into modern times is through community
policing. Community policing - bringing in the previously untapped resource of the
general public - is becoming the modern style of policing in many countries, including the
United Kingdom, USA, Norway and Japan.
Police-community reciprocity involves improved police/community relations, improved
responsibility by the community for their own wellbeing, and a general willingness by all
parties to work together to prevent cri me.
The Neighbourhood Watch scheme is the flagship of community policing in Western
Australia.
Its introduction in Sunbury in October 1983 was a first for Australia and it has grown
successfully here and in every other State.
In Western Australia there are now 16 Neighbourhood Watch schemes involving 19 local
authorities and covering a total population of 523,000 people. This year the Government
has increased its allocation to Neighbourhood Watch by 300% and the scheme has also
achieved corporate sponsorship through the S.G.I.O.
While the number of crimes reported generally rises when the scheme is introduced, this
is due to more reporting of crime rather than to more crime. The incidence of crime,
particularly housebreaking, drops over time - as much as 88% in some parts of the ACT,
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63% in Victoria and 46% in NSW.
Another aspect of community policing involves efforts to break down the traditional
hostility to police by young people.
Links between the police and young people are being forged by the Blue Light Discos,
which are being held throughout the State thanks to police and other volunteers. They
are proving to be extremely popular with young teenagers.
Late last year I launched a scheme involving high school students who were either old
enough to obtain a motor vehicle driver's licence or approaching that age. The scheme
involved students accompanying police officers from the Traffic Branch on patrol for
about an hour, during which time the officers pointed out potentially dangerous situations
and misdemeanours on our roads. The scheme is still operating on a trial basis. Its ai m is
. to improve new drivers' knowledge of defensive driving - but a community policing spinoff is that a better rapport is established between police and young people.
Another move by our government is to establish a Police-Youth Liaison Committee. I am
hopeful that the committee will provide on-going liaison between young people and the
police.
This process of building an understanding with young people is essential in
developing the level of co-operation necessary to assist the police in future.
A new scheme which started this year is the introduction of police officers into
schools. In a pilot scheme five police officers are working within 25 schools to foster
respect for the law and to encourage positive relationships with students, as well as
taking part in teaching various police-related subjects.
Community policing also involves a general change in attitude by police to the
community and vice versa, through work done by the co mmunity affairs sec tion of the
police force, through media relations and through the attitude of each individual officer
and member of the public.
.
The new community policing policy will be enhanced by the extension of schemes
involving the police and general public, in line with consolidation of the method overseas.
PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN POLICE INTEGRITY
So that the community has the respect and confidence in our police force necessary for
maximum co-operation in the crime fight, the police must be seen to be totally
honourable.
We have moved to give the public more confidence in the handling of complaints they
may have against police officers by putting such complaints in the hands of the
Ombudsman.
Since this legislation took effect nearly two years ago, the numbers of complaints against
police have dropped considerably. In the first four months of operation the number of
complaints dropped by half over the previous four months, and in 1986 there was a 25 per
cent reduction over the previous year.
Some commentators say it is also necessary for full confidence in the police that
videotaping of police interviews be introduced. I understand that in this State the Police
Union is opposed to it. However, I see the electronic recording of police interviews as
inevitable.
Moves have been afoot for some years now to introduce taping of interviews, with its
introduction recommended by virtually every inquiry into police and crim inal law and by
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the Australian Law Reform Commission and the Criminal Law Review Division of the
NSW Department of the Attorney General.
The detail of the law in regard to the taping of interviews needs to be clarified. In
addition to the general requirements of admissibility (for example, authenticity,
originality and voice identification), associated issues such as unintelligibility, editing,
enhancement and the right to silence also need to be addressed.
While videotaping or tape recording should not be regarded as a panacea for any
perceived failings of the present system, it should go a long way to restoring public
confidence not only in the police, but in the administration of criminal justice.
In order to retain and improve the public's respect and trust for our police officers, the
force clearly needs to adopt appropriate recruiting qualifications, recruit training
techniques and further training.
Within a few years I believe police officers will be able to obtain some of their
qualifications at tertiary institutions - we will have degrees in policing.
In the meantime we have taken a significant step in the training of our police officers
with the launch of Promotional Assessment Courses.
In the past training following the initial course was ad hoc and was limited mainly to
knowledge of statutes and procedures.
The force has now started sequential courses covering the whole range of those other
skills necessary for modern-day policing, including those needed for supervisors and
managers.
The courses are in three stages - Senior Const able to Sergeant, Sergeant First Class to
Senior Sergeant, and Senior Sergeant to Commissioned Officers, selected officers then
going on to the Officers Management Course. The courses mark the formal introduction
of promotion on merit.
CONCLUSION
Because of the continual sophistication of society and changing public attitudes, there is
a continual need for updating and upgrading of methods of policing.
While we still need aspects of traditional policing such as bricks and mortar and police
numbers, policing in a com temporary society involves far more. Many commentators on
the debate of policing, including in particular the State Opposition, fail to understand or
acknowledge that fact and this raises the frightening spectre for the community should
they ever be placed in a position to govern.
This Government is continuing its provision of traditional police resources while also
funding and promoting the move into community policing.
Apart from the initiatives involving the community with the police and their work,
community policing includes changing the attitudes of the general public to the police.
To be effective this push needs to be underpinned by public confidence in the calibre and
training of police officers and in their honesty and integrity.
Modern day policing in Western Australia is basing policing on the Saxon system of the
co mmunity and police working together.
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It is leading to the public perception of the police as a section of the commurity
rendering service to the rest of the community, with the help of the whole community.
This should and could lead ultimately to the "police force" being more appropriately
described as the "police service."
GORDON HILL
1987