PUBLIC DISORDER IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA
A REPORT TO THE C R I M I N O L O G Y RESEARCH COUNCIL
April 1988
Robert J. Holton
and
Philippa Fletcher
0994
f
HOL
PUBLIC DISORDER IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA
\
A REPORT TO THE CRIMINOLOGY RESEARCH COUNCIL
April 1988
Robert J. Holton
and
Philippa Fletcher
-^ ,^_ ^t^, <-=>^-< \\op-?
/
\
!
INTRODUCTION
This
that
7r^."i-'-"
far
too
little was known about: the *•• incidence
disorder in Australia.
groups
is
i
research project arose '"as"a result of a growing
of
public
During the nineteen-eighties a number of
in the community have claimed either that public disorder
rising alarmingly or that a sudden upsurge is about
place.
These
diagnoses
depended,
underlying
presuppositions.
recession,
structural
Asian
The
change
undermine the social fabric.
to
in the main, on one
first claimed
take
of
that
two
economic
and increased unemployment
The second claimed that
immigration would have a similar effect.
addition,
as
belief
would
increased
There
was,
in
a sense that upsurges of public disorder overseas such
that
seen
in
the British miners strike of
1984
might
be
repeated in Australia.
Within
this
researchers
trends
context
it
became
apparent
had very little systematic data on
in Australia.
that
public
social
disorder
This problem was evident both to academic
researchers and to those advising the various police communities.
The deliberations of the 1985 Conference of Police
Commissioners
into
have
Civil
disposal
Disorder
and
Crowd Control did
not
an adequate data base on which to base public
policing for the future.
at
its
disorder
(Conference of Commissioners of Police
of Australasia and The South West Pacific Region, Feb. 1985).
Part
Associate
National
project
of the background to the present research emerged while
Professor
Holton
was working as
Police Research Unit on the
was
consultant
'Brixton
designed to review the likelihood
to
project".
of
the
This
Brixton-type
disorders being repeated in Australia,
pro-active
policing
policies,
disorder prevention,
and
to review the efficacy of
such as community policing,
and to prepare material on crowd
to
behaviour
public disorder suitable for police training purposes.
The
scope of this project was limited by lack of a historic data base
on public disorder in Australia.
Unit
The National Police
kept newspaper cuttings on a miscellany of
these
were only available for a 2/3 year period.
Research
disorders,
but
The need
was
clearly evident for the construction of an appropriate data base,
adequate
both
for
the purposes of academic
research
and
for
purposes of police planning.
Associate Professor Helton's long-standing research interests
in
crowd
behaviour
research.
join
are
also part of
the
background
to
the
In 1978, while working in the U.K., he was invited to
the
Social Science Research Council
Committee looking into crowd behaviour.
Research
Initiatives
This led to involvement
in research projects in the U.K. in 1982, and to participation in
a national conference on Crowd Behaviour in 1985,
leave in the U.K.
other
attempts
while on study
Through this experience, a close knowledge of
to measure public disorder
was
obtained.
Two
particular British initiatives worthy of mention are:a)
The
Leicester University team researching 'Violent Disorders
in the UK 1 , headed by Professor Eric Dunning.
b)
The Home Office, Research and Planning Unit contributions to
the
under
Public Disorder Study Group,
the aegis
of
the
Central
set up in
December
Conference
1985
of
Chief
the
major
Constables'.
In
addition
further
material
was
obtained
about
American
'civil
strife1 study undertaken by Professor Ted
Gurr
during the nineteen-sixties, as part of the research commissioned
by the Kerner Commission.
These
overseas
studies
indicated
both
the potential
of
systematic
public order surveys for major industrial societies,
~i
and some of the methodological difficulties and pit-falls of this
research area.
of
the present
They were influential, then, in the construction
research project,
funded
by
the
Criminology
Research Council, alongside the experience gained through working
with the National Police Research Unit.
The
final
shape of the research proposal and
the
design adopted owes a good deal to the advice of those
in
the
formative
stages.
These include
Dr.
Gerry
Director of the National Police Research Unit, Dr.
Director
and
of the Office of Crime Statistics in
research
consulted
McGrath,
Adam Sutton,
South
Australia,
the personnel of the Special Projects Section of the
South
Australian Police Department.
In addition Dr. Peter Grabosky of
the
Criminology,
Australian
Institute
of
gave
considerable
encouragement to the project in his response to a paper delivered
by Associate Professor Holton to the Conference on Law and
held at Flinders University in 1986.
Order
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The
objectives
of the project were to provide a
systematic
description and analysis of both the main trends and the
types
of public disorder in modern Australia.
various
These aims
were
pursued by the construction of a data base distinct from judicial
records
dealing
of criminal offences and from internal police records
i
with offenders and with the detailed
operational
activities of police officers.
The
question
of a new data base of this kind was seen as
way of addressing two objectives.
objective
of
disorder.
of
the
a
First there is the analytical
a better understanding of the
causes
of
public
To achieve this it is important to have a clear grasp
explanandum
- that which
is to be
explained.
This
requires, amongst other matters, knowledge of how rates of public
disorder
vary
category
of
therefore
over time,
disorder.
to
incidents,
construct
and
and secondly how they vary
An important aim of the data
an accurate time series
of
by
major
base
was
disorderly
an accurate index of the relative importance
of
different types of incidents.
Beyond
through
this
the
point,
the analytical
objective
was
pursued
testing of specific hypotheses about the causes
public disorder.
of
The two hypotheses tested in this study are as
follows:
1) That rates of public disorder increase with economic hardship
and recession as measured by levels of unemployment.
2)
That rates of public disorder increase with growing levels of
multicultural immigration, especially Asian immigration.
Second
capacity
public
there
is
the
policy
of
improving
of the police to respond to the threat or
disorder.
of
together with the type of disorder,
likely number of participants etc.
evaluation
presence
the
This objective will be met in part by knowing
how much disorder to expect,
on
objective
of
However it will also
the options available in
policing
depend
strategy,
including the usefulness of pro-active policing, and the range of
strategies available for dealing with specific types of disorder.
It
was
study.
and
not possible to meet all these aims within
the
current
Systematic data has nonetheless been sought on the scale
type of police involvement in different types of
incidents.
disorderly
In this way policy-makers and police strategists will
have a better understanding of the call on resources, on the need
for
additional
police training in areas such
as
riot
tactics, community policing and racism awareness training.
control
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Two
major methodological issues were raised by this project,
namely:1)
The
formulation of an appropriate operational definition
public
disorder and of what constitutes a discrete
of
case
or
example of public disorder.
2)
The selection of a data base, appropriate to the measurement
of public disorder.
These two problems will be considered in turn.
Public Disorder
The
number
question
"what constitutes public disorder?"
raises
a
of difficult theoretical issues concerning the nature .of
order
and disorder within society.
It is important to
clarify
these issues, prior to the selection of a research design, so as
to
avoid misunderstanding and ambiguity about what
exactly
is
being measured.
Clarification
disorder
more
of
the
nature
of public
order
and
can be usefully approached via a consideration
generic terms social order and social disorder.
public
of
the
The first
and most general issue here is the epistemological status of
term
social order.
the
To put it simply is the existence of social
order or social disorder a matter of clear-cut objective fact on
which
all
agree?
rational
Or
persons in possession of
the
facts
could
is it a more complex matter of social perception and
selective
interpretation of the data?
If the latter option
is
the case,
as I believe it is, then we are faced with the problem
that different perceptions or interpretations are possible of the
same set of facts.
What is disorder and chaos from one viewpoint
may
be interpreted and experienced as orderly and coherent
another.
of
from
This problem will apply to the extent that no one
community
standards
exists as to the meaning of
set
order
and
disorder.
The
and
of
problem of selective and quite
contrasting
perceptions
interpretations is most dramatically exemplified in the case
war.
To
the
pacifist or
humanist
war
represents
moral
disorder - an intolerable and inhumane violation of human dignity
and
the
sanctity of life.
To those who believe in the
sacred
obligations of the holy war, by contrast, war is a religious duty
and an ordered expression of the highest values.
Each viewpoint
is interpreting the same set of events.
On a more mundane level,
Australian
divide
duck-shooting
liberationists
who
generates
mateship
own
rules
and
animal
disorderly
and shooters organised in clubs
circles who see it as a legitimate sport with
and
perceptions
between
see the practice as a cruel
assault on innocent animal life,
and
a
conventions.
are evident.
Once
again
quite
In both of these cases,
its
contrasting
or any
where
a plurality of values exist,
it is clear that
acute
problems will be posed for the definiton of order and
case
especially
the
use of police to regulate conflict.
The
theoretical premise of this project is that social order
and social disorder are relative concepts,
particular viewpoint.
relative that is to a
This is not to say that consensus on
meaning of order and disorder is impossible.
after
all,
communal
that
rules
There is evidence,
in many communities and for much of the
involving
a
sense of
the
mutual
regard
time,
and
the
obligation to a minimum level of civility - what we might call
minimum level of order - do exist.
a
On the other hand,
there is
equally
evidence of the collapse of these controls and
conflict
between
quite different standards.
studies
on
street
life
gender
and
Kelling,
about
The findings of some recent
fear or crime and disorder in
cities
and/or
indicate that viewpoints on order vary by
by class (e.g.
1982).
The
Jones and
elderly
Young
1986,
urban
age,
by
Wilson
and women appear most
and
concerned
street-level disorder in the form of gregarious
bands
of
young males, vandalism and graffiti.
It
of
should also be added that media reporting is itself
part
the process whereby events become interpreted as orderly
and
\
disorderly.
exerting
Media
a
definitions
reports have been seen by many observers
major
influence
these
interpretations
by contributing to public fears and
encouraging moral panics.
evidence
on
that
media
anxieties,
as
and
and
At the same time there is little hard
do any more than select
out
and
amplify
particular public attitudes.
It
is also clear that viewpoints on order and
influenced
by
maintenance
courts.
the
of
Such
holding
of
official
disorder
are
responsibilities
for
order and of the law - involving police and
official
viewpoints
will
not
necessarily
the
be
congruent with the viewpoints of various groups of the community,
notably
the young.
This is particularly evident
in
conflicts
between
police and young people over what constitutes legitimate
use of streets and other public places.
This
brings us to a second theoretical problem,
relationship
namely
between order/disorder and crime - as reflected
8
the
in
the
official mechanisms of public order operated by
and
by
the
complex
criminal justice system.
one,
but
it
is
the
police
This relationship
reasonably clear
that
there
is
is
a
an
analytical distinction to be made between the function of keeping
the peace, and the policing function of fighting crime as part of
the
criminal justice system.
emergence
watchman
of
policing
framework
From a historical
can be seen very much
within
specialist
the
behaviour.
and urbanisation,
solve more crimes,
organisational
and
these objectives.
more
effective
disorder
This
then
roles.
this public order
of
a
In
of
function
practised
by
The predominant objective here is to
to make more arrests, and to utilise whatever
technological means seem likely
If para-military tactics seem
in
sense
development
become combined with crime-fighting functions
professional police forces.
night-
generally did not require
and 20th centuries however, with the
industrialisation
has
Policing
the
wild animals and
full-time body organised in occupational
19th
a
- maintaining public order in the
controlling and removing threats posed by fire,
disreputable
viewpoint
fighting
escalating
levels
many advocate they should be
to
achieve
technologically
of
crime
instantly
and
adopted.
kind of argument is an important part of the background
to
the emergence of star force and the tactical response groups, the
riot-shield and snatch-squads.
para-military
which
are
incompatible
What is as yet unclear is how far
policing creates modes of public order
incompatible
with
the
with,
and
seen by the
conventional
monitoring and control of boundaries.
and
regulation
public
largely
to
be
pro-active
These two policing strategies need not be mutually exclusive,
but
can be seen as two different options available in
circumstances.
continues
police
Recent evidence shows that street-level policing
to
in
involve a considerable discretionary
peace-keeping
moreover,
take
place
community
anxieties
in
a
context where
directed not only at
diffuse kinds of public disorder.
rowdy
teenagers,
that
in
Such
there
criminal
activities,
remain
crime,
by
but
many
also
at
The fear of being bothered by
and loiterers matters as much as
fear of being a victim of criminal assault.
suggest
activity
roles that do not result
charges being laid against alleged offenders.
drunks,
different
the
Such considerations
the distinction between public disorder and
crime
remains a significant part of public attitudes, and not merely an
interpretative
framework unique to the police.
It follows that
measures of criminal offences will not be adequate to the task of
measuring public disorder as such.
Summing
are
up so far we may say first that order
relative terms dependent on the viewpoints,
interpretations
public
of
social actors.
Secondly we
and
disorder
perceptions and
may
say
that
disorder is not solely a matter of criminal activity
and
crime rates - important though criminal disorder may be.
Guided
possible
by
to
these
move
theoretical
considerations,
it
towards an operational definition
of
is
now
public
disorder and of what constitutes an example or incident of public
disorder.
In
selecting a suitable definition,
care
should
be
taken to distinguish the phenomena of most concern to this study.
First
we
general,
are
not concerned with social order and
disorder
but with those forms of disorder which occur in
10
in
public
rather than in private.
from
Secondly, and following in large measure
this,
we
are not concerned with disorder carried
individuals
or
very small groups,
including those
out
by
micro-level
crimes of violence which either take place in private, or involve
a relatively trivial impact on the public domain.
is
The
rather on collective modes of public disorder by
numbers
of
individuals.
'collective
such,
we are
not
significant
concerned
with
violence* - a term used by Charles Tilly (1969) - as
but
rather
disorder,
Thirdly
emphasis
with
all
categories
of
collective
public
whether or not violence was intended or actually
used
by some or all parties concerned.
Collective
violence
is in fact a very difficult concept
operationalise as a measure of public disorder.
This is
to
partly
because some violent actions organised collectively are generally
regarded
as legitimate e.g.
most but not all legally sanctioned
use of violence by Government and body-contact team
is
also
because
particular
criticism
public
incident
of
is
often
participants.
interpreted
violence
as
a
Many supporters of the
It
to
a
pejorative
rights
of
assembly and peaceful demonstration would object to being
categorised
want
the attribution of collective
sports.
as participants in collective
violence,
and
would
to make a distinction between disorderly riots and peaceful
demonstrations.
There
is
a
tendency
to
insist
on
this
distinction even though peaceful demonstrations may incorporate a
high level of symbolic violence,
for example in banners, slogans
and other artefacts which take strong adversarial stands
opponents.
against
Such demonstrations may be perceived as disorderly by
some even in spite of the non-violent good faith of participants.
11
An
operational
definition of public disorder is
left
then
with three main decisions.
1)
How
to
decide what
constitutes
public
disorder
when
perceptions of disorder vary in society?
2)
How to distinguish the broad category 'public disorder1
from
instances of overt 'collective violence'?
3)
What
is the minimum cut-off point distinguishing public
and
collective disorder from private and/or individual disorder?
Ted Gurr's conception, 'civil strife1 (1969, pp. 573, 626) is
the
most useful starting point for an operational definition
public
disorder.
governmental
political
This
is defined
as
"All
collective
non-
attacks on persons or property that occur within a
system, but not individual crimes".
purposes
of
For operational
the reference to 'attacks' was not restricted to overt
violence,
but "included symbolic attacks on political persons or
policies such as political demonstrations and political strikes".
Again
no normative judgement is implied here simply the wish
group
together
Finally
all
collective
manifestations
of
Gurr adopts a minimum cut-off point of 100
to
disorder.
participants
for an incident of civil strife to qualify for inclusion.
This
operational
difficult
problems
qualification
sufficiently
essentially
those
overtly
on
definition
we
have
two counts,
grapples with many
noted.
still
First
Gurr
the
requires
does
not
strife
is
an administrative one, based on the evaluations
of
emphasise
however.
It
of
that his definition of civil
legitimately responsible
violent and
for public
symbolically
12
violent
order.
incidents
To
group
together
reflects
order
a
concern on the part of those responsible for
for both
actual
disorder
challenges.
Both
agencies
public order,
of
protection
or
strife,
and
public
potential
of these require appropriate responses by the
in terms of
of persons and property,
deployment
of
police,
and the apprehension of any
criminal offenders.
Given
the
interpretations
plurality
of
of
possible
definitions
disorder there seems little
and
alternative
adopting an administrative definition of public disorder.
we
might say that public order is essentially an
to
Indeed
administrative
concept, while social order pertains to a wide range of sometimes
conflicting views in the community.
Operationally, therefore the
measurement
of
public disorder within this study
estimations
of real or perceived threat made by police and other
social
disorder according to the competing definitions which may
advantage
the
the wider society.
pretend
measure
however
an
from a public policy viewpoint in that it focusses
on
challenge
This delimitation is
to
on
authorities.
in
such it does not
based
public
exist
As
is
actually placed on the
police
forces,
and
the
second qualification necessary with Gurr's definition
was
responses made.
A
concern over the minimum cut off point of 100 participants.
was
designed for an international cross-national study aiming to
pick out major incidents of civil strife.
it
In the present
study
was felt that this cut-off point was unduly high for purposes
of a national survey.
to
This
10
enough
Consequently the cut-off point was reduced
persons - too high for
trivial
street-brawls,
but
low
to pick up those public disturbances involving between 10
13
and 100 participants which require a significant police presence.
There is of course a certain arbitrariness in this
cut-off
point
of
10
did however succeed
in
choice.
excluding
The
small
personalised brawls from consideration.
In
civil
the
light of these modifications to
Gurr's
concept
of
strife the final operational definition for this study was
formulated as follows:
'Any violent or illegitimate action involving 10 or more
persons, other than actions by agents of the Government,
directed against persons or property1.
Public disorder and the search for an adequate data base
The
second major methodological issue at stake in this study
was the problem of securing an adequate data-base.
in
the
grant
involved
the
application
the
research
As indicated
methodology
adopted
construction of a new data base generated
primary research.
through
It is important tc emphasise why existing data
are inadequate for the purposes of this study, since the decision
to create a new data base requires commitments to intensive timeconsuming research which is expensive.
Two
public
sources of data of prima facie relevance to the study of
disorder are crime statistics for various
disorderly
behaviour,
activities of officers.
adequate
as
a
categories
and police log-books recording the
of
daily
Neither of these sources was regarded as
means of generating the kind of data
on
public
disorder required by this project.
Crime
offenders,
statistics are typically organised
and
prosecutions
around
for specific offences.
14
individual
The
main
problem
with
usually
fails
individuals
committed
public
to differentiate between
acting alone or in very small groups,
order.
This is not always the case,
like
been
episodes
1985,
offences
that
it
committed
by
and
offences
as part of some collective group whose actions disturb
offences
have
using this to measure public disorder is
since
common
law
riot and affray or unlawful assembly
exist,
and
used
of
on occasion during some
public disorder (e.g.
Cuneen et al,
occasions
of
the
more
violent
Bathurst Bike Race Riots
in
1986) . Nonetheless it appears that on most
offenders are more likely to be charged with
offences
relating to disorderly behaviour, destruction, public drunkeness,
and
use
of
offensive language - and it
is
these
very
broad
categories that are well-nigh impossible to differentiate between
incidents
involving
collective
public
disorder
and
those
occurring at an individual or very small group level.
A
measure
second
problem
statistics
of public disorder is that not all disorderly
results in a charge.
either
with the use of crime
There have often been occasions when police
felt it unwise to attempt to arrest and charge all
where
police
strategy.
a
behaviour
apparently involved in disorder for fear of escalating
or
as
had
insufficient numbers
to
those
violence,
affect
such
a
Even where crime statistics are organised in terms of
unambiguous
collective disorder categories,
the charge patterns
will only measure some part of the disorderliness of an incident,
and
there
is no guarantee at all that the proportion
of
those
charged will remain roughly the same across different incidents.
A
offence
third
problem
categories
with crime
do
change
statistics
over
15
time
is
as
that
new
criminal
legislation
appears,
This
and
old
legislation is either repealed
public
the
One example,
disorder
pertinent to the analysis of
disorder concerns the use of intoxicating
recent decriminalisation of drunkeness,
drunk and disorderly available to them,
liquor.
With
police do not
have
as they once did, to aid
the policing of those collective disorders where intoxication
by alcohol is involved.
in
modified.
makes the construction of a time-series measuring
extremely difficult.
in
or
this
Wherever offence categories have changed
way it is very difficult to use crime statistics
as
a
means of measuring trends in public disorder over time.
Such
problems
do not totally invalidate the
use
of
crime
statistics to measure trends in public order, since the extent of
criminality
is
generally
assessing orderliness.
such
statistics,
restricted
offences
do
a
major
component
to the extent that offence categories are
not
and
as
represent
to
in
They do however reduce the usefulness of
to collective disorder,
disorder,
offence
regarded
the
a
to the extent that
constant
proportion
extent that legislative
not
criminal
of
actual
changes
render
categories incommensurable or difficult to
compare over
time.
An
alternative way of proceeding would be to focus on actual
police behaviour,
operational
typology
of
drawing on police patrol logs and other formal
records
public
to
build up a picture
disorder.
This data could
combined with interview or survey data,
the
of
the
in
scale
and
theory
be
of the type collected in
Policy Studies Institute's major survey of the London police
concerning
the
distribution
of police time
16
(Smith
and
Gray,
1983) .
There
are of course a number of other studies
of
this
kind.
There
The
are three problems with this methodological
first
is
involved.
take
the lack of sociological observation
The
detailed
factual
sociological field-notes,
details
of
the
time
detail
and
and
in
public
against the police.
place
to
at
record
which
though it is of extreme
in monitoring individual's activities,
loads,
but
specific
importance
adjudicating complaints made by members
of
these too will
justice
police administrative procedures first and
foremost.
only
ever
sociological
interests
improvements
in
of
the
Where police are required to record
organised to fit the demands of the criminal
will
basic
in assessing police work-
additional information on offences and offenders,
demands
to
Such reporting is necessarily highly
routinised and rationalised,
and
and
primary purpose of police patrol logs is not
activities were undertaken.
be
strategy.
be
partially
the
present
such areas as crime
congruent
project,
statistics
system
Such
with
even
are
the
though
currently
being made.
A
second
problem
practical one,
activity.
defined
time,
in
assessing police
logs
is
a
namely the extremely time-consuming nature of the
Since involvement in coping with public disorder - as
here
the
- represents only a limited proportion
use
of research time.
problem
of
between
different police areas,
"A
of
police
scrutiny of police patrol logs is not likely to be
cost-effective
paper
patrol
variations
Classification
Finally,
in reporting conventions
there
and
is
a
the
standards
noted by Carole Willis
in
her
of Public Disorder dealt with
by
the
17
Police1
(Willis,
difficulties
1986) and between different
officers.
introduce problems of comparability in
These
data
which
appear insurmountable.
As
a result of difficulties associated with the use of crime
statistics
and
measurement,
systematic
has
this
logs
study
for
purposes
to be justified,
with
the
of
is based on measurement
newspaper content analysis.
itself
connected
patrol
use
public
by
means
This research
however, given
of newspapers
for
of
strategy
certain
social
order
problems
scientific
purposes.
The most basic objection to this procedure is that newspapers
are prone to bias, distortion and sensationalism.
they
are
emotion,
vulnerable
to
ideology,
proprietorial
standpoints,
or
highly
personal
subjective
and
In other words
influences
editorial
political
perceptions will influence
selection and the coverage of news items.
where
both
the
There is, in addition,
a widely canvassed sociological critique, advanced amongst others
by
the
Glasgow
electronic
- tends
controversial
and
Media
- with
skew
of
the
reporting
print
and
sensitive
or
news items towards the viewpoints of the
influential.
reporting
to
Group that the media
For
example,
the
claim is
made
powerful
that
the
of industrial disputes is slanted more to the employer
than the workers' case.
Both
study
of
these criticisms carry some weight in relation
public disorder.
reporting does,
treatment
of
There is evidence
that
to
the
newspaper
on occasion, involve the emotive and sensational
public disorder,
both in the reporting of
18
actual
events
and in the creation of
about
emotionally-charged
events, before they actually happen.
expectations
The New South Wales
team
researching the Bathurst motor-cycle disturbances
this
tendency
to heighten expectations of extreme
disorder
sections
1986).
Similarly there is evidence of social and political bias
giving
uneven
coverage
(Cuneen
to different parties
that
et
in
various
in
of the New South Wales press
identify
al,
may
be
involved in disorder.
The
fact
that such criticisms carry weight is
not
however
surprising given the basic theoretical standpoint of this study namely that order and disorder are not objective terms,
according to the moral viewpoint,
observers.
Even
rival
regard
sex and class of
if there are certain events such as the
Angel Shootout at Milperra,
parties
and the age,
but vary
N.S.W. during 198
as disorderly,
which almost all
there are far more
interpretations and evaluations exist.
Hells
about
which
Newspapers cannot
be expected to be immune from these pressures and problems.
The issue is not whether newspapers are sources of
fact,
they quite clearly are not.
stake here are twofold.
in
the
print
The methodological issues at
Firstly, does the type of data contained
media carry substantially
content to be usable as an index of public
is
this
data
largely
objective
accurate
disorder.
or wholly unobtainable
fron
sociological
Secondly,
any
other
source. .We are not talking here about pure laboratory conditions
for a controlled experiment,
range
of
possible
but of pragmatic choices between
sources,
containing
imperfection and bias.
19
varying
degrees
a
of
Crime
statistics
reported
certainly offer quantifiable
crimes and details on
prevailing
categories
offenders
measures
apprehended,
of offence and offender
of
within
characteristics.
Within these parameters, they are almost certainly more objective
than
general newspaper reporting of crime
they
do
not
disorder
result
provide is first of all a
and
disorder.
measurement
What
of
public
in the broadest sense including behaviour that did
in a criminal offence.
Secondly,
the crime
not
statistics
categories do not measure collective events but rather individual
offences.
Newspaper
selective,
reporting,
personalised
and
by
contrast
selective
contains
highly
commentary.
It
is
uncontrolled by rules of criminal justice procedure attending the
official
definition and reporting of crime.
It is
also
clear
that reported incidents of disorder are not identical with actual
rates
of
disorder
problematic
- though this problem is
analogous
to
the
relationship of reported criminal offences to actual
offences - that is behaviour that would be classified as criminal
if detected.
The
methodological problem of relating reported disorder
actual disorder is of course a difficult one.
for
The major strategy
dealing with this problem is to identify
which
might
change
actual incidents.
the ratio between
those
reported
influences
incidents
expected where economic changes affected the size of a
or
the
ratio of news and copy to advertising.
where changes of ownership and editorial
decisions
to
and
As far as newspapers are concerned this might
be
arise
to
cover
certain events, although
It
might
paper
also
policy
affected
it
doubtful
is
whether major instances of public disorder could ever be entirely
20
ignored.
It is not at all clear that either of
occurred
these
changes
to the Australian press during the time period of
this
study.
It should also be added that additional methodological checks
and
balances
attempt
can
be
built into a newspaper-based
to control for bias and inaccuracy in
survey
reporting.
to
Such
checks include:
a)
comparison
of newspaper reporting with official data of
the
same event - to compare for accuracy
b)
selection of more than one newspaper covering the same
event
as another check on accuracy or bias
c)
selection
data
of
more than one newspaper as a basic
- to bring
the scale of reported disorder
source
of
closer
to
actual disorder
d)
selection
of the less sensational, 'quality1 press
as
data
bases
At the outset, it was anticipated that all of these checks could
be
built
into
the research design,
and operated on
the
data
possible,
this
collected.
While aiming for the most accurate data base
project chose to develop a newspaper-based data index for reasons
that
the
may ultimately be described as pragmatic.
gains
to be expected from the breadth of coverage
scale
of
print
media and no other single source, were
sufficient
In other
observational
to outweigh
and
the
by
the
detail and commentary.provided
the
costs of
dealing
sources prone to bias, and selective reporting.
21
believed
with
words
to
be
imperfect
It is worth noting that the same kind of pragmatic judgements
have
disposed
many other
and
researchers - including
political
scientists
reporting
as a major source,
historians,
sociologists - to utilise
newspaper
though not the only^possible
data
source in analysing public disorder.
the
Prominent examples include
'':=Xf~*.
major American 114 nations survey of civil strife conducted
by Ted Gurr at the American University, Washington'JD.C.
1960s
as part
of the evidence made available to
Commission on the Causes and Prevention of
sources
of
the
the National
Violence.
Newspaper
have also been used by the University of Leicester study
violent disturbances in 20th century Britain headed
Dunning.
in
In Australia,
source of data,
Eric
too newspaper sources have been a major
for example for the N.S.W.
Bathurst Motor-cyle
by
team researching the
disturbances for the Criminology
Council.
22
Research
RESEARCH DESIGN
The
public
original research design was to record all incidents
disorder
utilising
occurring
during the 36 year
two newspapers.
period
of
1950-85,
This period was seen as relevant
the
testing of the two research hypotheses listed
the
onset
of economic recession and Asian
above.
immigration
to
With
in
the
nineteen-seventies, it was decided that a sufficiently long timeperiod
should be chosen,
secular
during which any marked change in
the
trend of public disorder might reasonably be expected to
become
apparent.
In other words any marked upturn in rates
of
public disorder from the mid nineteen-seventies onwards should be
taken
as confirmation of the plausibility of the
hypotheses
in
question.
Due to constraints of funding, however, the original plan was
subsequently
cut-back to the 16 year period 1969-84 (inclusive).
When the Council's funding for research on this reduced scale was
confirmed,
possible
preliminary
to
take
work
indicated
detailed incident-data
newspaper across this time-period.
that it
from
would
more
not
than
be
one
It was felt to be preferable
to provide in-depth data from one source over the full time-span,
rather
than
retaining the 2 newspaper comparative design for
lesser time-span.
to
be
addressed,
a
This would still allow the research hypotheses
though at the cost of a less
than
desirable
reliance on one source only.
To maintain some element of methodological control, two major
newspapers
the Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald
sampled for the quality and quantity of their coverage of
disorder
incidents.
After
sampling 3 months coverage
23
were
public
it
was
decided
that
incidents
outside
the
and
Melbourne
Age
tended
(a)
to
(b) tended to report interstate
Victoria) more fully than the
report
more
incidents
corresponding
(i.e.
interstate
reporting (i.e. outside N.S.W.) of the Sydney Morning Herald. For
this
reason
the
Melbourne
Age • was
chosen
for
systematic
attention.
The
almost
decision
certain
incidents.
to
In
skew the data
this
comprehensive
disorder.
to rely on the Melbourne Age,
to
of
Victoria-based
survey
of
all
incidents
of
be
a
public
is presented here is not therefore an index
the absolute number of disorderly incidents in Australia
1969 and 1984.
course
sense the study does not pretend to
national
What
collected
was
of
between
Rather it is a survey of relative changes in the
numbers of incidents across time, together with a typology of the
incidents of public disorder, and a survey of police responses.
The
skewing
comprehensiveness
significantly
of
the study to Victoria
of the study.
diminish
clearly
At the same time,
the capacity of the research
test the key research hypothesis.
limits
the
it does not
design
to
This is because Victoria is a
state with economic and social characteristics germane to
issues
of economic recession and Asian immigration.
In the first place,
Victoria
proportion
economy
during
this
period
had a higher
dependent on manufacturing industry,
average,
though
than the
of
its
national
its unemployment rates were slightly below
the
national average.
Secondly, Victoria during this period had a higher proportion
of
Asian-born in the population,
Australia.
As
than the national average
for
a result the sample-bias of this study does
not
24
significantly
impede the testing of the two research hypotheses.
If there is no significant increase in public disorder since
the
early nineteen-seventies on the basis of this data, skewed as
it
is
at
to
Victoria, then the hypotheses would
be
disconfirmed
least in respect to the measures recorded here.
Recording of information
Files
the
of the Melbourne Age were systematically examined
period 1969 to 1984 inclusive.
Using the definition of
incident of public disorder described above,
recording
age-sex
composition,
composition,
possible
a separate incident
type of
ethnic
together with
injured and arrested and the estimated value of
Data was also collected on the
of police intervention for
additional
characteristics
disturbance,
composition,
scale and duration of each incident,
killed,
type
location,
occupational
property damage incurred.
and
of
each
incident.
data was collected on the more
each
incident including
the
scale
Wherever
qualitative
existence
'generalised beliefs' (see Smelser 1962) among participants,
degree of formal organisation involved, the presence or
of
institutional mediation of conflict,
the
incident, and
subsequent
every
an
sheet (see Appendix 1) was compiled for each incident.
Data was collected on the date,
numbers
for
incident, and
the
absence
the presumed origins of
the connection (if any) with
disturbances.
of
previous
and
Such information is not available for
proved to be extremely
time-consuming
to
research in each individual case.
Within this mass of data,
the
particular note should be taken of
typology of public disorder utilised.
typology
This drew
developed in the UK by Eric Dunning and his
25
upon
the
associates
(Dunning
et al.,
1987).
four major categories,
namely political,
leisure
and community.
defined
in
allowing
For operational
industrial,
purposes,
terms of the criteria proposed by
some
degree
Australia and the U.K.
(i)
This sub-divided public disorder into
Political....
of
international
sport and
these
Dunning,
were
thereby
comparison
between
The criteria are as follows:
refers 'not just to collective disturbances
in connection with the activities of political parties and
at elections, but also to disorders connected with public
demonstrations and protest marches' .
(ii)
Industrial....
refers
to
disorders
'related
to
the
industrial protests of workers',
(iii)
Sport
and
leisure....
refers
"not
only
to
the
diorderliness of spectators in and around stadia, but is a
more general category which includes the broad spectrum of
leisure
activities,
such
as
fairs,
carnivals, public
dances, theatres, cinemas etc.1,
(iv)
Community....
refers
to
"racial,
ethnic
or
religious
disturbances'
and large scale 'street fighting and brawls
not otherwise included;.
In using this typology it is of course necessary to bear in
that
incidents may combine two or more of the elements of
typology,
matches.
such
as
disorders
between ethnic groups
at
mind
the
soccer
The instructions given to the research assisant were to
code incidents in terms of the most important characteristic, and
where
this
was
impossible to discern,
incident.
26
to code
as
a
complex
One
major
amendment
classification,
namely
the
categories
into
more
disorders,
for
example
classifications.
was however made
sub-division
precise
These
were
sub
groups
over
the
typological
of
the
four
components.
sub-divided
major
Political
into
18
further
included sub categories such as Vietnam
War protests (including anti-conscription),
ethnic
to
events outside
disorders
Australia,
involving
disorders
over
womens issues, disorders involving conservation issues, disorders
over
issues of policy affecting aborigines and,so on.
digit coding manual was developed for the Typology
order
to
register
fine
distinctions
in
the
A
three
variable,
in
sub-typological
classification.
A
final
measure
such
should be made of the procedures
the scale of disputes.
participants
and
note
in
average
number
of
most disorderly events represents an
estimates tend to vary depending on the
organisers,
for
example,
estimate,
position
produce estimates
of
unavoidable
all
loss
estimates
obtained.
There
of precision involved here,
crowd
The procedure
here was that every estimate should be recorded
of
and
It is well known that
participation well in excess of police estimates.
adopted
to
Data such as to the
standpoint of those making the estimates.
protest
adopted
is
but
and
an
clearly
an
there
seems
little alternative to proceeding pragmatically in this fashion.
27
RESEARCH FINDINGS
Preliminary observations
The basic components of the research methodology and design centering on the operational definition of an incident of
disorder,
and
on
the
different
categories
workable.
Between
main
of
typological
disorder
distinctions
- did
in
the
1969 and 1984 (inclusive),
involved
arrest,
which
33%
event
representing
is reflected in the fact that 94% of these
police
prove
an
The 'disorderliness1 of this set
average of nearly 36 per year.
events
between
a grand total of
570 incidents of public disorder were recorded,
of
public
intervention, over 70% involved
and 50% more than five arrests.
at
incidents
least
one
Of those incidents, for
data on injuries and property damage is available,
reported personal injuries to participants and 42%
around
property
damage.
Data
of
Australian
this
kind
public
does not support
disorder
collective violence.
exhibits
the
high
contention
levels
of
This finding is consistent with
Ted Gurr's 114 nation study which ranked Australian civil
that
overt
Only 12 deaths were recorded across the 570
incidents reviewed, for example.
at 96 out of 114.
that
strife
Nonetheless it shold be emphasised once again
the data presented here are not intended solely as measures
of overt violence, but rather as measures of the broader category
of public disorder,
embracing symbolic aggression and threats of
criminal behaviour as interpreted by the police.
Another
criterion
collective
preliminary
observation is that the
minimum
of 10 participants did seem to separate out
scale
genuinely
and public disorders from private disorder and micro-
28
level
crime.
participants
more.
Of
those
are known,
In this sense,
incidents
criminal
which
numbers
of
almost 90% involved 25 participants
or
phenomena such as small street-brawls did
not enter into consideration,
scale
for
though one or two typically small-
disorders such as a gang rape did appear in
the
marginal 10-12 participant category.
The
area
research
where
design
operational
most amendments were made
was
in
the
typology
to
the
initial
classification.
The
decision to code the typology question on the
basis
of the most prominent feature of disorders proved workable in the
sense
In
that all but 2 disorders could be treated in this fashion.
other words the problem of complex heterogeneity was
not
as
difficult as might have been expected.
It did however prove necessary to amend Dunning's basic fourcategory
classification
including
major
categories
identified.
generally
the addition of
of
disorder
not
not
a
fifth
category
to
the
applicable
'community1
or
Two particular types of disorder of this
kind
'industrial1,
'political',
'leisure/sport*.
were
types
by
The first were the prison riots.
politicised,
did
not
fit
the
These
labour
were
market
categories of the 'industrial1 category, at best represent only a
weak
quasi-community,
conventional
was
and
cannot be regarded as
definitions of leisure/sport.
fitting
The second
into
category
student disorder over internal institutional issues such
university
issues,
political
government
rather
than
broader
such as the introduction of fees.
in
the conventional sense,
29
political
as
policy
This category was not
could not,
as
with
the
prison riots be fitted easily into the industrial
at
best
weakly quasi-community like,
category,
yet was too
was
specifically
focussed on education issues to be regarded as leisure/sport.
A
final
point to make at this stage is that
the
predicted
skewing of the data to Victoria was indeed confirmed.
TABLE 1: DISTRIBUTION OF REPORTED INCIDENTS IN THE MELBOURNE AGE,
1969-84 BY STATE/TERRITORY
% share
No. of incidents
306
102
52
34
Victoria
N.S.W.
Queensland
A.C.T.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
WEST AUSTRALIA
TASMANIA
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Table
Age
53.7
17.9
9.1
6.0
4.7
4.7
1.9
1.9
27
27
11
11
1 indicates that the majority of incidents reported in The
were,
not
surprisingly
from
Victoria.
This
skewing
effectively rules out the use of the findings reported here as an
accurate
measure
of
the
total amount of
public
disorder
in
Australia as a whole, and as a reliable indicator of the relative
scale
of
disorder between the states
and
territories.
These
limitations are the direct effect of funding constraints and
abandonment of the 2-paper research design.
the
At the same time the
data presented here remains of considerable value as a measure of
relative
types
of
changes
disorder,
intervention
this
in public disorder over
permits
over
and
of
the
time,
typical
the
demands
time and by category of disorder.
the empirical testing of the
hypotheses.
30
two
major
different
on
police
In
turn,
research
MAJOR FINDINGS
(a). The Recent Evoluton of Public Disorder in Australia
The
first
major set of findings in the study
concerns
aggregate pattern of public disorder in Australia 1969 and
This
pattern
aggregate
recorded
is outlined in Table 2.
numbers
each
of
year
Table 2
individual incidents of
between 1969
and 1984.
represents
public
the
1984.
the
disorder
This data shows no
TABLE 2 ANNUAL NUMBER OF INCIDENTS
PUBLIC DISORI>E£ AS REPORTED IN THE
MELBOURNE f\G£ :
.
NUMBER.
Of
Iff
1170
I'm.
HIS
ITTT
31
OF
secular
trend
contract
- either
for
public disorder to
over the 16 year period involved.
expand
or
to
Instead there is
complex fluctuating pattern with peak years such as
a
1970, 1971,
1972, 1978 and 1984 each recording 40+ incidents, and slack years
such as 1973, 1976, 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982 where less than 30
incidents
consistent
with
overseas studies by Dunning (1986) and by Gurr (1969) which
find
no
are
evidence
recorded.
of
These
findings are
a progressive diminution or
of
a
progressive
increase in levels of collective violence or civil strife for the
U.K. and the U.S.A. respectively during the 20th century.
There is no evidence here in support of theories or anxieties
about the imminent collapse of public order - as we have
this
term.
disorder,
street
This
such
Disorder,
does not however mean that other measures
as patterns of serious
conflicts
defined
crimes
or
of
micro-level
will necessarily point in the same
direction.
as we have pointed out, can be measured in
different
and not necessarily congruent ways.
Having said this it is equally apparent that public disorder,
as
defined here,
models
of
historic
the
is not in steady decline as predicted by
institutionalisation
institutionalisation
establishment of the nation-state,
industrial
of
of
conflict.
conflict
some
While
through
representative democracy,
arbitration systems may well channel a good
deal
the
the
and
of
political disorder into institutional procedures, it clearly does
not lead to the erosion of all serious disorders.
the
The limits to
institutionalisation of conflict theory are indicated by the
periodic
upswings
in
aggregate disorder
Table 2.
32
levels
indicated
in
(b) The Typology of Public Disorder in Australia
. Further
analysis of public disorder trends requires the dis-
aggregation
disorder.
of
the measures reported in Table
2 by
type
of
This strategy is necessary in order to answer the two
specific research hypotheses of this study, namely:1)
That rates of public disorder increase with economic hardship
and recession, as measured by levels of unemployment.
2) That rates of public disorder increase with growing levels
of
multicultural immigration, especiall Asian immigration.
Testing
of
these two hypotheses requires attention both
the typology and chronology of public disorder.
the
first hypothesis was seen as dependent on
increase
involving
in
disorders
in the 'industrial
disorders involving the unemployed.
Confirmation of
demonstrating
category',
trade union-employer relations over
involving
over government economic policy
to
would
'political'
confirm the hypotheses.
is
issues,
disorder,
specifically
would
The timing of such
also
increases
be expected to occur after 1973 with the secular
in unemployment.
an
In addition increases in the
of
tend
that
economic
sub-classification
disorder
to
increase
If such trends did not occur then this
should
be taken as disconfirmation of the hypothesis.
Confirmation
on
of the second hypothesis was seen as dependent
demonstrating
an
increase in disorders
in
the
'community
category', especially in the sub-category dealing with ethnic and
racial
disorders.
In
addition
increases
classification of 'political' disorders,
disorder
over
government
policies
33
in
specifically
on
the
sub-
involving
immigration
and
multiculturalism especially as they affect Asians.
of
This
timing
such increases would be expected to occur after 1975 with the
increase in Asian immigration after Government policy changes
the immigration make-up.
If such trends did not occur then this
should be taken as disconfirmation
It
should
be
in
of the hypothesis.
noted that this analysis of
possible
causal
influences on public disorder is quite rudimentary insofar as
fails
with
to
allow for the interaction of changes in
changes
the
in social and cultural arrangements.
it
economic
To be
more
specific
it does not allow for the possibility that
changes
in
economic
performance and structure may have indirect effects
on
inter-cultural
problem,
the
relations
or vice versa.
This is an
important
but it is one about which we feel consideration can for
moment be suspended while we examine the basic
patterns
of
public disorder by type.
The
basic
according
frequency
distribution of
disorders
to the five major categories is outlined in
This data has at least three major features.
demonstrates
the
and sport/leisure disorders represent a
involving
the
significance
student
3.
disorders
Secondly it indicates that industrial
comparatively
small component of the overall pattern of disorder.
indicates
Table
Firstly, it clearly
over-riding importance of political
over all other categories.
disorders
classified
in-house
of
the
other
disorders
and
Thirdly, it
residual
prison
category
riots
as
important elements in the national picture.
It
is worth pointing out at this stage that these Australian
data yield rather different conclusions from the Dunning study of
the
U.K.
Here,
in
the period up to 1975 for
34
which
data
is
available, the overwhelming trend of disorder fell into the sport
and leisure and community categories,
with industry and politics
being very small components of the whole.
/
the
importance of soccer crowd violence,
with police,
which
is
This pattern reflects
youth group
conflicts
and racial violence in Britain, producing a pattern
on
the face of it rather different
from
the
highly
political context of Australian disorder.
TABLE 3: DISTRIBUTION
OF
PUBLIC
DISORDER
TYPOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION,
INCIDENTS
BY
MAJOR
BASED ON INCIDENTS REPORTED
IN THE MELBOURNE AGE 1969-84
Political disorders
288
Community disorders
129
22.6%
Other disorders
i.e. student intrainstitutional disorders and
prison riots
60
10.5%
Industrial disorders
48
8.4%
Sport/Leisure disorders
43
7.5%
Further
additional
public
•
50.5%
analysis of the typology of public disorder requires
data on the distribution of the major
disorder over time.
categories
Table 4 provides this data for
period 1969-84.
35
of
the
TABLE 4- ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF PUSLIC DISORDER
INCIDENTS BT HATOR -nTPOLOGrlCAL
NUMPff or
AS REPORTED IN THE
MELBOURHE AG-E
$0
10
10
I'm (178
Table
numerous
mi
ii?o
nsi
mi. nsj nsi».
4 reveals that political disorders represent the
category
of disorder in all years
except
community
disorders represent the dominant category.
disorders
fluctuated between 63.3% and 28.6% of
while
all
when
Political
disorders,
community disorders consistently represented over 15%
all disorders except in 1970,
8.3%
1900,
most
and
46.4%
of
the
of
1971 and 1976, fluctuating between
total
figure.
The
other
category
fluctuated from zero in 1982 to 21.1% in 1974, being particularly
36
marked
in
Industrial
the
early
disorders,
seventies
period
of
student
fluctuated between 2.6% and 17.9% of
whole being slightly more prominent since 1979 than
never
on
a
unrest.
massive scale.
Sport and leisure
the
before,
incidents
but
were
significant in 1973 and 1976 respectively reaching around 20%
of
the whole, but fluctuated between zero in 1975, 1979 and 1980 and
20.7% in 1976.
From
changes
this
in
nonetheless
mass of detail,
there are no
dramatic
the importance of the major categories.
some
noteworthy changes over
time,
relative
There
which
are
can
be
picked up in Table 5.
TABLE 5: NUMBERS
OF DISORDERLY INCIDENTS BY MAJOR CATEGORY 1969-
75 AND 1976-84 AS REPORTED IN THE MELBOURNE AGE
Political
Community
Sport/Leisure
Industrial Other
1969-75
(7 yrs)
142
av. 20.3pa
53
av. 7.6pa
22
av. 3.1pa
14
44
av. 2.0pa av. 6.3pa
1976-84
(8 yrs)
146
av. 18.3pa
76
av. 9.Spa
21
av. 2.6pa
34
18
av. 43.pa av. 2.3pa
First
community
of
all
there
is an increase in
and industrial based disorder in the years after
compared with the years before.
the 'other1 category,
activism.
the. importance
In
all
of
1975
There is similarly a decline in
mainly explained by the decline in student
of this the predominance
category remains clear-cut.
37
of
the
political
The
overall patterns reflected in Tables 3,
4 and 5 do not,
in and of themselves point to a clear verdict on the two research
hypotheses under consideration in this study.
The
'political1
emphasis
seems to
that
industrial and community disorders
overt
significance
disorder
of our Australian data,
- though
compared
noteworthy.
are
the greater absolute scale
with
industrial
overwhelming
disorder
suggest
of
of
limited
community
is
certainly
On the other hand, the growing significance of both
community and industrial disorder since 1976 is at the very least
consistent
with
analysis.
requires
further
It is at this point necessary to dig deeper,
by dis-
aggregating
precise
the
and
the
two
general
hypotheses,
typology
usable sub-categories,
and
classifications
into
more
and to bring to bear
other
relevant data.
Taking
the
'economic' hypothesis first,
economic recession,
far
in
scale
in a massive explosion of industrial
that
1-2%
has
not
disorder.
Given
of Government intervention in the economy in
general
and the labour market in particular,
it is important to consider
the
additional possibility that economic and
has
been transposed into the political domain.
aggressive
clear
and increased unemployment levels since 1973
excess of the typical post-war levels of
resulted
the
it is
industrial
unrest
In other
words
industrial conflicts at the workplace may have become
less important than political demonstrations and challenges
over
Government economic policy issues.
Given
disorder
this
over
possibility,
it is important to
add
political
economic policies affecting the labour market
the disorder levels,
directly experienced in industry.
38
If
to
the
288
cases
of
political
disorder,
recorded
here,
are
disaggregated, however comparatively few would appear to fit into
the
economic policy/labour market category.
the
large numbers of political disorders associated with
such as the Vietnam war,
maximum
of
demonstrations
elsewhere.
market
from
or
over
around
less
than
12%
connected
domestic public policy issues not
with
included
policy/labour
figure1
'industrial
This new total would still represent only 14.2%
one-seventh of all
be
involved
- i.e.
it would lift the aggregate
48 to 81.
issues
and so forth we are left with
If all these were related to economic
issues
however
33
discounted
civil liberties protests, womens issues
and uranium and anti-war protests,
a
Having
too
high
disorders.
in that a number
of
This
the
measure
would
policy
issues
in disorders were not connected with economic policy as
it affects labour markets.
To discount the economic hypotheses entirely,
would however be premature.
increase
Secondly
may
in
industrial
on this
basis
In the first place there remains the
discontent
since
1976
to
explain.
it is apparent that the skewing of the data to Victoria
have produced an under-counting of the scale
of
industrial
disorders.
Table
6 outlines the distribution of industrial disorder
State/Territory.
as
Western
From this data it is apparent that states such
Australia and New South Wales have a
rate of recorded industrial disorder than Victoria.
of
by
rather
higher
The skewing
the national data to Victoria therefore leaves a good deal of
suspicion
counted.
that the scale of industrial disorder has been
under-
The total absence of reported disorder in Queensland is
39
a
particularly
base,
given
graphic example of the limitations of
what
is
known from other
disputes during this period.
to
have
a
sources
the
about
data
serious
It would clearly be preferable then
more adequate national
data
base
before
entirely
writing off the economic hypothesis.
TABLE 6: DISTRIBUTION
OF
INDUSTRIAL
DISORDER
WITHIN
EACH
STATE/TERRITORY AS REPORTED
Ind. disorder
% of all State/
cases
Territory cases
A.C.T.
5
14.7
N.S.W.
14
13.7
N.T.
-
-
QLD
-
-
S.A.
3
TAS
-
VIC
20
6.5
6
22.2
W.A.
11.1
-
8.4
48
NATIONAL
Beyond this particular line of argument,
dimension
proposition
impact
on
industrial
community
there is a
further
namely the more
general
that increased unemployment may have a more
diffuse
to
the economic hypothesis,
levels
of
relations
relations
public disorder
impacting
not
only
on
and political demonstrations but
also
on
between ethnic groups and
on
leisure/sport
encounters where young people, particularly prone to unemployment
clash with police.
40
This
might be
public order,
called the diffuse
economic
hypothesis
as distinct from the focussed economic
on
hypothesis
discussed earlier.
One
would
and
way of looking at the diffuse version of the
be to look for connections between increased
general
increases
aggregate
numbers
of
reported
disorders
in public
disorder.
unemployed against
for
hypothesis
unemployment
Table
absolute
the period 1969-84.
If
7
matches
numbers
we
test
of
the
hypothesis that the number of reported incidents varies according
to
the level of unemployment using this data,
NOT
found
confirmed.
No statistically significant
between
the
number
simple
relationship
was
reported
incidents
and
the
regression
analysis
of
this
unemployment
rate.
relationship
produces an R2 of 0.12.
TABLE 7: NATIONAL
A
of
the hypothesis is
PATTERNS OF UNEHPLOYMENT AND LEVELS OF
PUBLIC
DISORDER REPORTED IN THE MELBOURNE AGE 1969-84
Year
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
Unemployment Rate
1.5%
1.4%
1.7%
2.5%
1.8%
2.3%
4.5%
4.7%
5.7%
6.2%
5.8%
5.9%
5.6%
6.7%
9.8%
8.5%
Number of Reported Incidents
39
48
53
51
26
38
30
29
31
49
23
28
25
23
36
40
-
41.
We
now turn to the second hypothesis concerning the possible
relationship
between
multicultural
levels of public disorder.
the
nineteen-seventies,
Asian
presence
in
most
immigration
and
increased
Has the onset of Asian immigration in
and the consequent growth of a.
major
Australian
cities
visible
led
to
a
survey,
it
discernible increase in public disorder?
Before
we
look
at the data collected in
this
should be emphasised that the measures of disorder outlined here,
refer to incidents involving 10 or more people.
As such they may
not pick up certain serious small scale conflicts that may affect
immigrants.
They
would
not for
example pick
up
the
British
patterns of arson, attacks on homes, shops and mosques experienced
by
Asian
immigrants
on a considerable scale in
the
nineteen-
seventies (Home Office, 1981).
If we take the aggregate data outlined in Tables 5,
6 and 7,
there is no very conclusive evidence of a sharp upswing in public
disorder
connected
with
multicultural
immigration.
For
the
hypothesis to be confirmed, one would expect a significant upward
shift
in
upswing
community disorder.
of
community
this
kind
Table 7 indicates a
between
1976
and
1984.
disorder still represents only around one
significant
Nonetheless
quarter
of
total disorder reported for the period 1976-84, and only 22.5% of
disorder
over the period 1969-84 as a whole - see Table 5 and 6.
In addition, disorder connected with multicultural
immigration,
is only one of a number of sub-types of community disorder and so
the aggregate data do not tell us very much.
the
general typological categories,
disorders
If we disaggregate
we might expect to
connected with multicultural immigration in
42
pick up
at
least
two
ways.
disorders
The
of
community
involving ethnic and racial disorders - but
excluding
aboriginals.
disorders
first
The
involves
second
involving
the
that
involves
same
sub-set
that sub-set
kinds
of
of
ethnic
political
and
racial
conflicts.
Using
the
three-digit
coding classifications
of
type
of
disorder, together with a separate classification of participants
ethnicity,
we
arrive
results.
First,
of
disorder,
only
11
ethnic communities.
the
other
young
possibly
129 recorded incidents
surprising
of
community
or
between
This compares with 26 incidents of disorders
and 36 involving Xmas Eve,
and police.
scale
New Year's Eve
These comparisions help to
of community disorders affecting
into perspective.
remains,
following
holiday-based incidents involving conflicts
people
relative
the
or 9% involved disorders within
involving aborigines,
and
at
even
between
get
ethnic
the
groups
The relatively modest scale of such disorders
if
we
add
in
all
12
of
the
soccer
disturbances - usually an expression of ethnic conflict
crowd
- though
classified here as a sub-set of the leisure/sport category.
Secondly,
of
the 288 political disorders,
32 or nearly 12%
involved the participation of ethnic groups in disorders relating
to
events outside Australia,
Middle East and Indo-China.
are
of
in such places a
Yugoslavia,
Such events are important, but they
not in and of themselves evidence of the dislocating
multicultural
immigration
the
on
public
order.
It
effect
is
also
interesting that the number of such events outnumbered the number
of community disorders involving ethnic groups.
43
Overall
then
we have at most
11
community
incidents,
12
leisure/sport incidents and 32 political incidents, which qualify
as
potential measures of public disorder related in the broadest
sense
to multicultural immigration.
What is significant
these numbers is not their absolute values,
that
fraction
Rather
or
of
the national picture
about
which represent only
reported
in
The
it is the relative scale of this sub-set of 55
Age.
incidents
around 10% of total disorder that is significant here.
This
proportion clearly does not support the idea of a massive upswing
of
overt conflict engendered by multicultural
policies,
though
this is not to say that covert prejudice and hostility may not be
of far wider significance.
Finally
specific
public
is
important to attempt
disorder.
in
Of
the reported incidents in
and 'community1 already discussed,
the
sense
of
those
East/East/and Southern Asia,
a
some
measure
of
the
involvement of Asians within these various episodes
'political1
Asian,
it
identified
disorder,
a
categories
only 6
background
involved
in
South
while another 6 involved those from
Middle Eastern background.
already
with
the
of
Around 12 out of the 55 incidents
as being germane
to
immigration
involved Asian or Middle Eastern groups,
- related
that is less
than one quarter of incidents in this category.
The conclusion to be drawn from this data is that there is no
strong
and
evidence in support of the hypothesis that
especially
public
multicultural
Asian immigration is creating major problems
disorder in Australia.
There have been
that indicate areas of conflict,
incidents
but these are as much concerned
with events outside Australia as within it.
44
some
of
These findings apply
even though the Blainey debate on Asian immigration began in 1984
- the
last year surveyed here.
this
There is no hard evidence
debate was a response to increases in overt public disorder
in ethnic relations or that it provoked such disorder - at
in
that
the
short-term.
significant
the
1983
increase
and
1984
in
the
it
is
true
see
in reported rates of public disorder
levels of 1979-82 (inclusive),
concentrated
did
least
Xmas/New
but the main
Year/holiday
a
from
upswings
were
disturbances
sub-
category of community disorder and in the 'conservation movement1
sub-category of political disorder.
SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AFFECTING THE OBSERVED PATTERNS
REPORTED DISORDER
The
two
Melbourne
patterns
research
Age
of
hypotheses,
examined
data-base do not appear to explain
disorder.
significance
when
This throws
doubt,
against
the
therefore
is the pattern of public disorder to be explained?
two
the
observed
on
the
of economic recession and multicultural immigration
as causes of public disorder in contemporary Australia.
think
OF
major
lines
of
interpretation
How then
There are
which
look
I
more
promising.
The
first
primarily
(see
theory,
that
of Charles
Tilly,
addresses
'political1 characteristics of the reported
especially
Tilly,
1969).
Tilly's
the
disorders
argument
is
that
\
collective
social
life.
inevitable
public
violence
in
This
every
and
public disorder are a normal
does not mean that they
case.
are
part
of
desirable
or
The normality of some
measure
disorder is rather connected with constant shifts in
45
of
the
struggle
for power.
institutionally
moments
While many aspects of this struggle
in
a peaceful and
orderly
manner,
occur
there
are
and situations in which disorder and collective violence
break out.
To explain these "wo do not need a stifled universal
instict of aggression",
according to Tilly.
for pathological institutions or individuals.
Nor need we search
Rather the
normal
process by which groups try "to seize hold, or realign the levels
of power" regularly generates extra-institutional
conflict.
The
moments
of greatest significance in this respect are those where
"groups
acquire or lose membership in the political
that is struggles for access to rights and rewards,
community",
or struggles
over exclusion from rights and rewards.
Tilly's
theory,
developed in the first instance to
patterns of collective violence in 19th century Europe,
deny
the
salience
of processes such as
explain
does not
industrialisation
urbanisation to the forms taken by public disorder.
and
What he does
dispute is that material deprivation, or cultural disorganisation
can
be regarded as sufficient causes of collective
any direct manner.
violence
Wealthy nations such as the United States in
the nineteen-sixties can be the scene of domestic turmoil,
it
in
while
is not generally the most deprived or culturally rootless who
are participants in disorder.
What is at stake is conflict over
rights of access to power.
This
violence
disorder.
incidents
forms
essentially
is
highly
As
we
'political' understanding
germane
have
to the
noted,
present
over 50% of
reported here can be classified as
of disorder.
of
study
the
collective
of
570
overtly
public
separate
political
Theories of economic deprivation have little
46
purchase on the pattern of disorder,
disorganisation
and
conflict
while theories of
linked
with
cultural
multicultural
immigration seem equally weak.
Further
closer
support
of Tilly's argument can be
examination
represented
of
the
most
gained
numerous
in the patterns of disorder.
from
a
sub-categories
In Table 8,
the
numerically largest disorder sub-categories are outlined in
ten
rank
order.
TABLE 8: AGGREGATE
THE
NUMBERS OF PUBLIC DISORDER
INCIDENTS
TEN MOST NUMEROUS SUB-CATEGORIES,
WITHIN
BASED ON REPORTS
IN THE MELBOURNE AGE 1969-84
No. of Incidents
Type of Incident
66
Vietnam war protests (including anticonscription)
Xmas/New Year's Eve/Holiday disturbances
General
disorders
associated
with
domestic political issues
Trade union/worker demonstrations over
economic issues
Student
protests
over
institutional
issues
Prison riots
Disorders associated with ethnic groups
over events outside Australia
Conservation issues
Anti-uranium/anti-war/anti-biological
warfare
36
33
32
28
27
22
19
18
While
there
list,
it is very striking that so many of the leading categories
are
is a significant measure of heterogeneity
essentially
citizenship
favour
of
students,
concerned
rights,
groups
anti
and
with
political
with attempts
hitherto politically
and
war and pro-peace campaigners
47
this
extensions
to influence
weak,
in
such
and
power
as
of
in
women,
conservation
groups.
here
Although
it
trade union worker conflicts
are
is striking how limited their significance
overall
pattern of disorder.
represented
is
in
the
This in turn seems to reflect
one
area where the institutionalisation of conflict and the
of
workable normative procedures of arbitration over
has
had some effect.
virtually
no
contrasting
direct
struggle
While increased unemployment
effects
for
on
levels
extension of
of
creation
the
has
years
brought
disorder/
political
and
the
social
rights has contributed far more to disorderliness.
Tilly's
though
does
it
argument is an insightful one,
does have some inadequacies.
for these
reasons,
In the first place
not explain in any direct or clear-cut way the
it
significant
levels of community-based disorders associated with
disturbances
around
These
Christmas Eve/New Year's Eve and holidays.
perhaps
and
be
explained
aggression,
community.
for
the
in
through some notion of youth
response to exclusion
from
might
deprivation
the
political
This type of explanation would not, however, account
largely hedonistic context of these disputes
largely
apolitical
achieved
a
character.
Since
youth
or
struggles
far higher level of political identity in
continental
Europe,
Australian
examples
political
in
any
sense
have
parts
it is difficult to categorise most
as
their
of
other
of
the
than
conflicts over rights to the hedonistic use of public places.
Secondly Tilly's argument is directed more to the context of
industrialisation,
it
than to post-industrial society.
In this way
does not engage with the sociological theories of new
movements
Heller,
developed
1984),
by writers like Agnes
Alan Touraine
48
Heller,
social
(Feher
(1981) and Andre Gorz (1982) .
and
In
particular,
Tilly does not consider whether there are particular
distinctive
characteristics to contemporary political disorders,
associated with peace movements,
womens movements,
conservation
movements, student movements and so on.
One
of
movements
the
key
which
I
interpretation
is
features of the
take
as
the
theories
second
of
new
promising
line
of
the
key
the displacement of social class as
feature of conflict,
disorder and violence.
Gorz bids farewell
to the working class as the key social movement at the
of
political
struggle and social change,
non-class struggles of non-producers.
a
shift from Red to Green,
from
power,
towards
forefront
and looks instead
to
Heller and Feher speak of
by which they mean a symbolic
the politics of socialism and movements geared
state
social
to
movements which emphasise the
shift
capture
values
of
life, freedom and personal growth.
Much
of
the
pattern
of
Australian
public
disorder
especially that contained in the category of political disorder appears
groups
to fit this notion of a shift in the characteristics
struggling
political community.
by
labour
policy
for rights to power and influence within
The data reviewed here are not
movements but by struggles for political
changes
on
behalf of a far wider range of
of
the
dominated
access
and
movements
movements which tend to transcend cleavages of class.
Why
then
should this type of new social
public disorder and collective violence?
movement engender
Cannot such demands be
institutionalised within the political system?
Neither line
interpretation altogether answers these questions.
49
of
In
one
sense of course the institutionalisation process
occurring concurrently with episodes of disorder,
that
political
first
extent
parties and governments embody new demands
their programmes.
violence
to the
is
into
Continuing episodes of disorder and collective
are nonetheless to be expected for
emphasised
by
two
reasons.
Tilly is that struggles by
new
The
political
groupings generate measures of disorder conflict as they meet the
resistance
of
existing
interests.
This
has
groups
with
occurred,
albeit
conflicts between ethnic communities,
opponents of abortion.
the
extent
that
their
own
on a
small
between
occasions,
the
defining
two
however,
the
scale
in
More commonly, however disorder arises to
police
perceive public
times find themselves responding to disorder
conflicts
and
and between supporters and
demonstrations as overtly or covertly disorderly.
at
values
or more other
groups.
protests
and
The police may
originating
On
many
in
other
they act as parties to disorder themselves,
actions of another group as threatening to
public
order in general - and hence disorderly.
How
outside
requires
action
far such perceptions are influenced by the
pressure
of
political or economic interests is a complex matter that
specific
attention in each
individual
case.
is however linked not merely to interest group
Police
pressure,
but also to the preservation of normative order, reflected in the
rule of law.
Within the contemporary world where a plurality of
competing values exist, this normative function - otherwise known
as
keeping
the
peace
- requires
the
exercise
of
police
surveillance and control over public space to the extent that the
50
actions
of particular groups may threaten the rights of
others.
In exercising this function, there is clearly much scope for lowgrade
frictional moments of disorder in relations between police
and protests, demonstrations or crowds occupying public space.
To
only
sum up,
because
public disorder may be expected to
persist
not
new political movements may threaten existing
and
entrenched interests,
pursuit
This
by
the police of normative order in the public
kind of two-pronged explanation,
explain
both
disorder,
drunken
the
but
participation
also
the
of
it seems to me
new
involvement of
social
active
domain.
helps
to
movements
in
disorderly
revellers,
celebrants of public holidays and youth sub-cultures
conflictual
that
but in addition as a result of the
relations with the police.
It is doubtful
either category will disappear during the course of
however
social
evolution.
This is because neither category of disorder can
completely
institutionalised
into
orderly
complete value consensus is attained.
channels,
in
be
unless
Such an unlikely consensus
would be required moreover both in the structure of power-holding
in
the political arena,
and in the use and enjoyment of
space by society in general.
developments
public
If we are correct in assuming such
are unlikely then the future demands on
police
to
preserve public order will not diminish significantly even though
the
composition
variation,
and
of
new
disorderly
patterns
incidents
of
implemented.
51
may
be
subject
institutionalisation
may
to
be
PUBLIC DISORDER AND THE ROLE OF THE POLICE
Police
perceptions and operational strategies are clearly
major variable in the analysis of public disorder.
at
the
outset,
this
study is premised
definition of public disorder,
responsible
on
an
As was noted
administrative
in which the perceptions of those
for keeping the peace and law-enforcement,
distinguish between order and disorder.
peace-keeping
and
law-enforcement
task
is
not
set challenges
to
merely to react to disorder
policing
in
a
way
breaking
out
in the
policing
policies
are
not then simply a
effective
response
first
place.
to public disorder,
policies exert their own influence,
Public
matter
that
but also to
pro-active policies that reduce the likelihood of
disorder
of
For police
restores public peace and enforces the criminal law,
operate
serve to
The twin challenges
policy in both a reactive and a pro-active capacity.
the
a
overt
disorder
of
the
since general
most
policing
among other variables on the
presence or absence of disorder.
This
study,
with
its emphasis on overt
disorder,
is
not
designed in such a way as to compare the efficacy of various proactive policing policies, such as community policing.
This would
require
like
on
in-depth
historical
case-study
presented in the Bathurst study (Cuneen et al,
collected
in
the
design
1986).
present study by contrast is limited
characteristics of individual episodes of disorder.
implications
challenge
disorder
for
faced
or
to
policing
policy
focus in
by police in reacting
crowd
behaviour
in
either
public
the
to
The data
to
the
As such its
main
on
the
pre-existing
places
construed as threatening or likely to become disorderly.
52
that
which
is
Within
this
limited focus,
a number of points of relevance to policing
policy emerge.
In the first place,
face
of
Australian police seem unlikely,
the data presented here,
uprising
in
aggregate rates of
to be faced
disorder.
with
Neither
on the
a
secular
heightened
unemployment nor the increase in multicultural immigration, seems
to bring with it an upswing in disorder.
the
case
events,
it,
that
of
democratic
While Australia is not faced with radical challenges to
existing
groups,
disorderly
as Charles Tilly puts
normal part of the political process within a
society.
areas
character
suggests that disorder is indeed,
a
the
the heavily political
However, it is equally
there
order
on the part of labour movements
are
or
ethnic
other newer social movements around
of anti-war protests,
conservation
and
in
feminism,
the
whose
behaviour
is perceived by police to challenge or threaten public
order.
Public disorder, in other words will not go away.
Secondly,
the
scale
and
intensity
of
Australian
public
disorder does not appear as violent, insurgent and aggressive, in
the
main,
the
unrest
experienced by the United States in the nineteen-sixties.
As we
have
as
that
of recent
British
riots,
or
already noted of the 570 incidents reported here,
reported
damage,
personal
injuries
to participants
and
only 33%
42%
property
while nearly 30% of incidents involved no arrest at all,
and a further 20% five arrests or less.
The typical
Australian
incident of public disorder is without fatality.
The
size of individual public disorders varied
considerably
from the minimum cut-off point of 10 to well over 1,000.
bare
In the
majority of cases (52%) where the number of participants is
53
clear
- over
however
100 participants were involved.
disorders
exceptions
being
lasted
only
anti-uranium
one
two
days
of cases
- the
main
as
Roxby
demonstrations - such
Downs - which averaged 7.6 days,
averaged 3.5 days.
or
In 95%
and conservation disputes which
These siege-like episodes contrast
markedly
with the majority of one-day disorderly demonstrations or holiday
leisure-based riots.
involved
In addition the number of persons typically
in political disorders tended to be larger than
involved
in
most
community,
sport/leisure
and
those
industrial
disorders.
Since disorders vary so considerably in size of
it
participants
is not surprising that the scale of police interventions vary
themselves.
Precise figures of police involved were obtained in
only 38% of all incidents,
suggesting that newspaper-based
data
is not especially useful as a source of information on this area.
Nonetheless
of
these
involved
50
police.
Disorders
38%
of incidents
or
52%
over
200
on this scale clearly represent a major
and
or more police,
and 37
(N=219),
113
or 17% involved
very costly deployment of personnel.
The pattern of arrest data is also of some interest.
arrests
516
(172
is available for around 90% of all incidents
out
of 570 cases of disorder.
third
of
arrests.
levels
policing
cases
(174
out of 516) involved
These
data
are not easy to
could
equally
be evidence
- that
Around one-third
out of 516) involved no arrests at all,
of
is
these
while further onebetween
interpret.
that
Data on
police
1
and
Low
succeed
10
arrest
in
threats to disorder by containment leaving little space
for criminal behaviour,
or alternatively,
54
they could be seen as
evidence of the orderliness of many public gatherings in spite of
police perceptions
detailed
to the
contrary.
Without
reviewing
more
case studies it is not easy to resolve this element
of
ambiguity.
At the other end of the spectrum, mass arrests of over 100 or
more
participants
total.
This
patterns
data
into
indicates
occurred in only 30 incidents,
may
different
the
mean
or 6% of
be analysed
by
disaggregating
categories
of
disorder.
number of arrests for those
the
arrest
Table
9
categories
of
disorder which experienced the highest arrest figures.
TABLE 9:
MEAN NUMBERS OF ARRESTS BY SPECIFIC TYPES OF
DISORDER
AS REPORTED IN THE MELBOURNE AGE 1969-84
Type of Disorder
No. of Cases
Mean number of arrests
Civil liberties protests
16
102.9
Motorbike/car event riots
8
87.3
19
72.1
anti-uranium/anti-war protests 18
48.6
Gay rights
4
43.2
Xmas/New Year/Holiday
disturbances
32
43.0
Anti apartheid
15
41.3
Political demonstrations
over aboriginal issues
14
34.9
Conservation disorders
It would
explanation
hostility
rates.
believe,
be
tempting
to seek out
of these arrest patterns,
a purely
ideological
along the lines of police
to radical social movements leading to
high
arrest
Such an explanation would however be premature,
and I
largely
mistaken.
Before
55
reaching such a
judgement
account needs to be taken of the scale,
duration,
characteristics of the disorders in question.
concerned,
the
types
of
disorder
featured
and strategic
As far as scale is
in
Table
generally large, with numbers of participants typically
from
several
categories
hundreds
as
demonstrations
between
that
3-10
we
and
into
have
the
already
thousands.
seen
Two
- namely
are
ranging
particular
anti-uranium
conservation disputes - typically
days.
9
last
These characteristics make it more
such disorders will generally involve larger
than
for
likely
average
arrest patterns.
Beyond
typical
this
considerable
placed
strategic patterns of the political/civil
disobediance disorder.
obstruction
often
emphasis must be
or
on
the
liberty/civil
This often takes the form of non-violent
trespass
by significant numbers
in a seige-like encounter with
police.
of
protestors
Participants
in
such disorders often do not take defensive action against arrest,
relying on the moral affect of arrest in publicising the cause in
question.
Arrests in this context are, from a police operations
point of view,
tend
to
easier to execute and hence arrest numbers
be larger than in disorder where
individuals
will
actively
seek to evade arrest.
Having
policing
pattern
said this,
policies
it is nonetheless clear that
are
a
of arrest-data.
different
strategies
crowds over the years.
variable in their own
a
likely
right
in
The Bathurst study clearly shows
have been used in policing
the
the
that
bike-race
These vary in objectives from saturation
policing to achieve maximum control,
as
operational
concomitant,
and
56
with high levels of arrests
more
cautious
policies
of
containment with a lower police profile, and a more discretionary
approach
to
objectives.
balancing
Such
public
order
with
law-enforcement
insights are however dependent on a
detailed
case study methodology not available in the present study.
What the present study does show is the relative presence
special
tactical
support/riot
overall pattern of disorder.
control
personnel
of
within
the
In the 353 cases for which type of
police intervention is relatively clear, the vast majority - i.e.
221
out
of 353 cases or 65% - involved police on
overt special squad participation.
foot
without
Only 29 cases or around 8% of
disorders saw special squad involvement.
This lower figure is in
part explained by the comparatively recent development of special
squad facilities,
such as the New South Wales Tactical
Response
Group, established in 1983.
There
is
comments
While
insufficient data hereto address
Mark Findlay's
on the shift to a more para-military style of policing.
it
is
clear that the formation of
special
squads
does
represent a shift towards a greater capability in this direction,
it is not by any means clear from this data that such squads
over-used in inappropriate situations.
majority
of
disorderly
It would appear that the
incidents continue to be policed
routine way making use of general police facilities
with
small-scale short-duration
would
not
usually
remote
minority
disorders.
disorders
(i.e.
over
over more than a single day),
facilities
or
rural
areas.
500
larger-scale
nor those which occur
These
may
a
resources
participants,
of cases of disorder and should not be
57
in
able to cope
Routine
however appear to be able to handle the
longer-duration
are
represent
exaggerated
and
in
a
in
their
typicality.
public
They tend nonetheless to be of
significance,
where
they
principle and civil liberties,
involve issues
or whether
considerable
of
political
they dramatise public
fears of social order and collapse of the social fabric.
difficult
to
effectively
with
see
how
handled
such
non-routine
challenges
It
is
could
be
without some involvement by special
training in a range of crowd control and
squads
physical
fitness
whether
special
skills.
There
squads
remains
tend
override
of
fashion,
so
as
to
consent
and
Such questions are difficult to resolve because they
considerations of political philosophy as much as issues
fact
concerning the relative merits
strategies.
that
be used in a para-military
the advantages gained through policing by
compliance.
involve
to
the question nonetheless of
The
community
incipient
different
policing
experience in Australia and overseas
suggests
policing
is
public disorder,
not a
of
panacea
for
dealing
with
but one of a range of policies which
may work pro-actively in some places for varying periods of time.
The
limits
factors
on pro-active policing policies are set
outside
police control such as
political grievances,
Government policies.
been
social
policies
(Scarman,
tend
enforcement.
be
to
and
While saturation para-military policing has
1982) ,
succeed
it
is
not
in securing
clear
1986) and
that alternative
public
order
and
law
In some contexts the underlying social difficulties
too sizeable for any policing policy to
successful.
by
and the perceived deficiencies of remedial
charged with failure at Bathurst (Cuneen et al.,
Brixton
may
underlying
largely
be
continually
In other cases there may be a tension between public
58
pressures
for a greater degree of law enforcement, demanding a
high police profile - and sensitive areas of community
which
favour
low profile
policing
to achieve
relations
public
order
preservation.
CONCLUSIONS
1.
Contemporary
upswing
Australia
is neither faced with
a massive
in public disorder nor with the completely
successful
institutionalisation of conflict.
2.
There
is no hard evidence that either high unemployment
or
multicultural immigration is contributing significantly to levels
of public disorder.
3.
The most widespread category of disorder between 1969 and
1984
involved political considerations, including
Vietnam war
protests, general demonstrations over domestic political issues,
demonstrations by
conservation
battles,
demonstrations.
disorder
ethnic groups over events outside
and
anti-uranium
The political character
Australia,
and
anti-war
of so much
of the
suggests that disorder may be a normal and regular part
of the political process.
4.
Newspaper data-bases
disorder
other
research,
sourced.
are a valid methodology
are useful in developing typologies
disorder, profiles
of
surveys
intervention.
historical case
public
offering data that is often unavailable from
They
of police
for
study
typical scale and duration,
They do
data necessary
59
broad
not provide the
to understand detailed
origins, and to the assessment of different policing
They are also time-consuming to execute.
and
of
policies.
5.
Public
disorder
is
a
highly
heterogenous
disorders varying considerably in type,
challenges
they
pose to police.
accurately
addressed
scale,
matter,
with
duration and the
These differences need to
in both the analysis of disorder
and
be
the
determination of optimum policing problems.
6.
There
policing
is
of
no evidence of a massive shift
public
disorder in
Australia.
On the other hand the scale and challenge of certain
resources
and
disorder,
demands
with
of
resources.
of
handled
majority
small-scale
types
are
The
para-military
relatively
political
disorders
to
non-routine
would appear to justify the existence of
routine
policing
special
squads with public disorder responsibilities.
7.
There is need for an extension of the present data-base
the
period
1985-87 to bring it up to date with the most
trends in disorder and policing strategy.
for
recent
There is also need for
a permanent data-base on a national scale to be maintained as
an
ongoing commitment.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1.
That
$4000
the
Criminology Research Council provide the
sum
to the Flinders team to complete the public disorder data-
base for the years 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988 by the end of
2.
of
That
the
utilise
the
compile
an
National Police Research Unit
approached
to
survey methodology adopted by the Flinders team
to
ongoing data-base for the use of
forces - including annual reports,
to forces.
-oOo-
60
be
1988.
Australian
police
up-dates, and recommendations
c>
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. Cuneen et al (1986) The Dynamics of Collective Conflict. Riots
at the Bathurst Bike Races. Report to the Criminology
Research Council, Sept. 1986.
E.
Dunning et al (1987) 'Violent disorders in twentieth century
Britain1 in G. Gaskell and R. Benewick (eds.) The Crowd ^n
Contemporary Britain (London: Sage)
F. Feher and A. Heller (1984) 'From Red to Green1, Telos Vol. 59.
Glasgow University Media Group (1976 et seq) Bad News (London:
Routledge) Vol. 2 More Bad News, Vol. 3 Really Bad News.
A. Gorz (1982) Farewell £o the Working Class (London: Pluto).
T.
Gurr (1969) 'A Comparative Study of Civil
Graham and T. Gurr (eds.) The History
Australia (Praeger: New York).
Home Office (1981)
T.
Strife1, in
of Violence
H.
in
Racial Attacks (Home Office: London).
Jones and J. Young (1986) The Islington Crime Survey (London:
Gower).
Scarman
(1982) The Brixton
(Harmondsworth: Penguin).
Disorders;
10-12
April
1981
N.
Smelser (1962)
Routledge).
The Theory of Collective Behaviour (Londong:
D.
Smith and Gray (1983) Police and People _in
Policy Studies Institute).
C.
Tilly (1969) 'Collective Violence in European Perspective1 in
H. Graham and T. Gurr (eds.) The History of Violence in
America (Praeger: New York).
A.
Touraine (1981) The Voice and the Eye; an analysis of Social
Movements (Cambridge: Cambridge University Prerss).
London
(London:
C. Willis (1986) 'A Classification of Public Disorder dealth with
by the Police1 paper to Public Disorder Study Group U.K.
J.Q. Wilson and G. Kelling (1982) Broken Windows: the police and
neighbourhood safety, The Atlantic Monthly, March.