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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-18 Daily Xml
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South Australia Police

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.B. Martin:

That this council—

1. Recognises that 2023 marks the 185th year of the South Australian Police (SAPOL), making it the oldest centrally controlled police force in Australia;

2. Acknowledges the significant role SAPOL plays in protecting and reassuring individuals and communities across South Australia; and

3. Gives thanks to all past and present SAPOL officers, staff and volunteers for their service.

(Continued from 4 May 2023.)

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (16:39): I rise in support of this motion and support the amazing work that SAPOL officers, staff and volunteers do. When moving this motion, the Hon. Reggie Martin noted the many achievements of South Australia Police and the ways in which SAPOL has led the way in innovative policing. In true South Australian tradition, SAPOL was the first to implement so many practices that have become commonplace for policing around Australia.

SAPOL was the first police force in Australia to use bicycles for patrols, the first to use fingerprinting systems, and the first to use videotape interviews with suspects. One very significant first was the appointment of a female police officer with the full powers of arrest and equal pay with her male counterparts. Not only was South Australia Police the first police force in Australia to do this but the first in what was then known as the British Empire.

The first women to be sworn in to the South Australia Police were Kate Cocks and Annie Ross on 1 December 1915. Two other women police had been enlisted six months earlier in New South Wales, but they did not have the same powers or pay as the male officers. The appointment of Cocks and Ross occurred after petitioning by community groups who were concerned about women who had been widowed during the war and who were finding themselves without financial support.

The Crown Solicitor at the time, Charles Dashwood, gave advice that there would be no barriers to appointing female officers but they had to be given the same pay and authority as a male officer. Not everyone was in favour of this, so the Labor government at the time, led by Premier Crawford Vaughan, amended the act so that every word of the masculine gender would be construed as including the feminine gender, and then the term 'policeman' went on to be used, which, again, could be seen as a very big debate in what we see as gender neutral now.

The amendment to the act removed the need for a vote or debate about the necessities or virtues of women police or whether they should receive equal pay. Kate Cocks was appointed to the position of principal woman police matron, and Annie Ross was her assistant. They were essentially responsible for safeguarding the moral welfare of women. Over time, the team grew to have 12 policewomen, and Kate Cocks was instrumental in resolving cases, including drug smuggling and the poisoning of children.

SAPOL is also leading the way when it comes to inclusive practices today. In 2022, SAPOL commenced autism awareness training for all its officers through Autism Spectrum Australia, as part of SAPOL's Disability Access and Inclusion Plan. This is also important because not every witness or suspect will behave in a way that might be expected of them. Many autistic people do not like making eye contact, a characteristic that police officers might have thought was someone being evasive or a sign of guilt. The training helps officers understand that everyone thinks and behaves differently and that there may be other reasons behind their characteristics.

The Malinauskas government is working hard to increase community knowledge, understanding and support for autistic people. We are doing this through developing the state's first Autism Strategy, guided by extensive consultation with the autistic and autism communities, and by working with the public sector, agencies and departments to sign up to an autism charter. The fact that SAPOL is already implementing strategies to ensure its policing practices are sensitive to the needs of autistic people is testament to their culture of continuous improvement and an example to other organisations.

I commend SAPOL for leading the way in this space. I also thank Mark Carroll, the president of the police union, and also the team at the police union for their interview recently and contribution to their local magazine, so that we can further share knowledge about what is important to the autistic community.

Lastly, I want to express my personal gratitude to all the SAPOL officers who put their lives on the line every single day to protect South Australians. There are not many people who go to work in the morning knowing that they could be walking into an environment that is dangerous or threatening. This was seen just recently at Crystal Brook a couple of weeks ago, and it was a very strong reminder to us all of the sacrifices that police officers and their families make in order to keep the rest of us safe.

My thoughts are with Brevet Sergeants Ian Todd and Jordan Allely, who were injured that day. Thankfully, Brevet Sergeant Allely was able to be discharged from hospital after being treated for his injuries, and we had the excellent news that on Monday night Brevet Sergeant Todd was released from hospital and is also on the road to recovery. I know that SAPOL, as well as the Police Association, will provide the support and guidance that they need through this time. In closing, I congratulate SAPOL on 185 years of service and commend the motion to the chamber.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (16:45): I rise to speak in support of the motion and to congratulate SAPOL on 185 years of dedicated and exemplary service to the people of South Australia. Frontline police continue to serve us admirably and bravely in the face of challenging times and confronting issues in our society. Suffice to say policing today is a far more dangerous occupation than it was 185 years ago, unless you were in Victoria or New South Wales, where bushrangers the like of Ned Kelly would not hesitate to turn their guns on police.

Sadly, too often in recent times, we have seen police officers killed, seriously wounded and assaulted in the line of duty to protect communities. In Queensland earlier this year, two police officers were shot dead while bravely doing their job. More recently, two police officers were stabbed and injured in Crystal Brook. We all wish them a speedy recovery.

Community trust and confidence in our frontline police continues to be high. Our expectations of them are also high, sometimes too high. However, I am not sure the public have a true understanding of how tough and demanding the job is, not only in confronting violent and unpredictable criminals and individuals but also in the toll the job can have on their mental health and social and emotional wellbeing.

They are not robocops: they are humans. They have families and loved ones they go home to after each shift. The pressures of achieving a healthy work-family balance are immense. In interactions I have had with police officers of all ranks over the years, I have found them to be persons of great character and resilience: sensitive, caring and compassionate. I have heard of the damage and hurt their job has caused them.

They continue to cry out for more support and understanding from within and outside. Just consider the risks they are exposed to daily, the trauma they witness, their hypervigilance—the feeling of constantly having to be on alert to everything and everybody—and the intense scrutiny on their performance in public and by their superiors and colleagues.

The South Australian Police Association's excellent booklet, A Cop in the Family, covers the many personal sensitive areas that today's serving police must face. It points out that the job can be all-consuming, with long and often unpredictable hours, putting at risk personal relationships with partners, kids, other family and friends. Mental health and being able to deal with it at home and in the workplace is perhaps the single most significant issue within the police community. Because there can be a stigma attached to it, there are police officers who might be reluctant to come forward and seek help. As the booklet says, a mental health issue does not mean you are soft: it means you are human.

A national report compiled by the Western Australian branch of the police union reported that the suicide rate among police in Australia has more than doubled since 2000. New South Wales had the highest number between 2000 and 2020, while Tasmania and South Australia recorded the highest rates. The figures also reveal around 83 per cent were male, at an average age of 44, and who had an average of 21 years' service.

The PTSD bill I have reintroduced is designed to recognise this acute condition as a presumptive mental health disorder, but more about that some other time. In the meantime, the Premier's task force, set up last year at the behest of PASA, is yet to report on submissions and recommendations to boost dwindling recruit numbers, improve resourcing and the contentious district policing model that has been pushed by Commissioner Stevens in the face of stiff and vocal opposition from rank and file officers as well as PASA.

The DPM has created four police districts with 48 dedicated teams in the north, south, east and west, and it is designed to spread the workload and resources across those districts to achieve faster and more effective outcomes. The architect of the model is Assistant Commissioner Noel Bamford, who claimed in 2018 in an article in the Blueprint South Australia Police Magazine that there had been a reduction in crime in recent years—a statement that simply does not stack up today where crime against persons, violent crime, is high and climbing while SAPOL has failed to achieve better than 50 per cent of its recruitment target, with just as many leaving the job. The road toll is also alarming.

The model revolves around the State Crime Assessment Centre, which is a receiving point for reports made to police and then they are farmed out in order of priority and availability of patrols. But, as one police officer pointed out to me, how much time are you going to waste having to get to an incident in the northern district if the only patrol available is in the south? PASA President Mark Carroll says that, by the most objective measures, SAPOL is a significantly weaker police force than it was eight years ago and labels the DPM as an abject failure, compounded by chronic staff shortages, record resignations and an epidemic of low morale, because of what he describes as 'SAPOL's disastrous policies'.

This is not just union speak, it is from the feedback from its members, and they have more than 98 per cent of the force on their membership books. Mr Carroll says for the DPM to work an extra 470 officers are needed, and that could take years. Currently, his members are overworked, overburdened and overstressed.

Commissioner Stevens claimed a huge amount of research analysis and development went into constructing the model. I have been asking through freedom of information for SAPOL to produce all that information, the model, relating to the DPM for months with no success and beyond the statutory requirement under section 14 of the FOI Act. On 5 May, the FOI officer at SAPOL—and I will point out here that in the past they have been quite efficient and forthcoming in previous requests—has asked for a further extension until September. I am unclear why we need to wait that long, unless of course it may coincide with the release of the task force report.

Our state owes a debt of gratitude to the hardworking men and women in our police force, but it is vital that our government and the SAPOL hierarchy recognise the need to have and embrace a harmonious workplace culture that remains loyal and committed to their objective of protecting our community. I commend the motion.

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (16:53): I rise today to speak in support of the motion and to indicate that the opposition will be supporting this motion. This year marks the 185th year of our state's police force, commonly referred to as SAPOL. They have played a significant role in protecting and reassuring individuals and communities across South Australia. Their willingness to step in and fill the gaps of what is required and needed in service to protect the community is evident when you look at SAPOL's history.

In 1836, when the colony of South Australia was proclaimed, authorities at the time did not anticipate crimes to occur. Following concerns of felons from neighbouring colonies entering the new colony, a South Australian police force was formed on 28 April 1838, being the nation's first centrally organised police force.

Today, it is the oldest centrally controlled police service in Australia and one of the oldest in the world. The beginning of the South Australian police force consisted of 10 mounted constables and 10 foot constables under the command of an inspector. They provided policing services to approximately 6,000 people in the colony of South Australia in 1838.

As the colony began to be established and grew, there was also an increased need for public services, particularly emergency services. The police force stepped in and began providing fire services, until the SA Metropolitan Fire Service was formed in 1867. They also operated the civil ambulance service for over 70 years, until it was handed over to the St John Ambulance Brigade in 1954.

The heart of service of the police force to their community is continuously demonstrated by their willingness to take on miscellaneous duties when needed. In the first 100 years, some of these included the register of services for births, deaths and marriages, being funeral undertaker, mail courier services, sanitary inspection, sheep inspection and others. Many of these eventually became established public services that we know today.

Most recently, we saw their response during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included border controls, compliance and hotel security, a time in which our frontline workers were relied on like never before. The South Australian police force has also historically displayed a spirit of innovation in adopting ideas and initiatives. In 1880, SAPOL became the first police force in Australia to adopt the use of camels for police transport as a safe, efficient and effective means of transport in the remote outback areas of South Australia.

In 1884, SAPOL formed the first police band in Australia, initially comprised of 14 volunteer police musicians; today, it is a full-time unit. In 1893, SAPOL became the first police force in Australia to use bicycles. In 1894, SAPOL pioneered the fingerprint system in Australia. In 1915, two female officers were appointed in SAPOL. While there were other female officers in the world, they were the first female officers in the British Empire to be employed with equal pay and arrest authorities as their male counterparts.

In 1960, SAPOL was the first police force in the nation to adopt the Sillitoe tartan cap band, an initiative of the then SA Police commissioner to help distinguish police officers from other organisations wearing a similar uniform. In 1987, SAPOL was the first police force in the nation to introduce videotaping of suspect person interviews.

Today, the South Australian police force consists of 6,000 employees of officers, constables, specialists, administrative staff and volunteers. They continue to provide a host of services that serve to protect and reassure South Australians. As we await the outcome of the Premier's task force that is looking at police resourcing, we have seen reports in the media about police and community safety concerns. There have been reports of the toll of the combined effects of chronic understaffing and additional duties of enforcing COVID restrictions and the impact this is having on the wellbeing of SAPOL officers.

There have been reports of support lacking for the police department's district policing model, with 81 per cent of the 1,349 officers who took part in the Police Association's workplace survey saying they did not support the model and 78 per cent saying they believed it should be abolished. There have been reports of severe resourcing issues due to poor recruiting and high attrition rates. Mark Carroll was reported in The Advertiser to have said:

Our members are experiencing severe staff shortages across many, many areas. The worst of these shortages are on frontline response patrols and district policing teams. We are now at the stage where police simply cannot meet community demand when people call for assistance. There are just not enough police to cope with the daily workloads.

We must continue to honour and value the services of the police force for the invaluable work they do. We here in this place must always strive to do all we can to ensure that they can undertake their work safely with the support that they need. I look forward to seeing the outcomes of the Premier's task force in this incredibly important space. I commend the mover for bringing this motion, and reiterate my support for police, who sacrifice so much to keep us safe.

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (16:59): I will start by thanking members for their contributions made today: the Hon. Ms Bourke, the Hon. Mr Pangallo and the Hon. Mrs Henderson. I also note Mrs Henderson's family connection to policing and I thank them for their service to South Australia as well.

We are very fortunate in South Australia to have a dedicated and professional police service; we have had them for 185 years. They make an enormous contribution to society and, as the Hon. Mr Pangallo pointed out, it is a dangerous occupation. I think it is one of the most amazing things that you can see: when there is an emergency, the natural inclination of people is to run away from it, but police and emergency responders run towards the trouble. I think that is one of the most meritorious things that people can do, and I congratulate them on their service. They have served this state commendably for 185 years.

I was very glad to hear that, earlier this week, the second and the last remaining of the two policemen who had been injured in the Crystal Brook incident has been released from hospital. I am sure we all join in sending our best wishes to the officers and their families as those two officers continue to recover from that horrendous incident. I again thank honourable members for their contributions and I commend the motion.

Motion carried.

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