|
|
|
| NEWS > 24 November 2006 |
Other related articles:
The ‘ethics’ of fake encounter
If you know your history, you know that there is no such thing as a benign dictatorship. Similarly, there can be no ethical Encounter Specialists. The old saying, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely,” applies in both cases. Which is why, wherever “encounters” have been openly permitted by the state (or the government has turned a blind eye to them, which is the same thing), they have gone beyond their original intended use and degenerated into abuse of the worst kind.
The former Punjab police chief KPS Gill, who readily owns up to instituting “encounters” as an impo... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
The Australian - Sydney,Austra
24 November 2006
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
|
Former cops slam Bracks's secr
A FORMER top Victorian officer recruited to help clean up police corruption in Queensland after the Fitzgerald inquiry yesterday slammed as entirely inappropriate the secret election deal the Bracks Government struck with the police union.
And Bob Falconer, another former deputy commissioner in Victoria who went on to run the West Australian police force, joined Noel Newnham in condemning the pact that has seen the previously hostile police union strongly urge its members to back Labor at tomorrow's election.
Mr Newnham, a former Victorian deputy commissioner now retired from a senior role at the Australian Graduate School of Police Management, said it was "unbelievable" that Victorian police chief Christine Nixon was not involved in the talks.
"Policing ought to be above politics," he said.
"It should always be overt and open. Policing is about enforcing the law, the preservation of police and the safety of the public.
"The public have a right to know about the decisions that affect policing. There has to be accountability so that corruption is not even seen to be an issue."
Mr Bracks yesterday denied any wrongdoing but admitted he "argued and urged" the police union to support Labor's policies at a secret meeting revealed by The Australian yesterday.
The Premier also confirmed he gave Police Association secretary Paul Mullett a series of written commitments but yesterday refused to release the signed letter sealing the pact.
Mr Bracks said Ms Nixon - who refused to comment yesterday - was not involved in the talks in which he personally lobbied the union to support Labor. He confirmed he discussed police numbers with Senior Sergeant Mullett before Labor's policy was announced. "We hoped that they would (support us) because it's a good policy," he said. "We argued and urged them to support our policies."
Despite declaring "war" on the Bracks Government leading up to the election, Sergeant Mullett has, since the pact, campaigned strongly for Labor.
While Liberal leader Ted Baillieu - who also met Sergeant Mullett during the election campaign, but did not agree to his demands - has offered more police recruits, the union chief has publicly written off the Opposition in favour of the Government.
One of the key findings of the Fitzgerald corruption inquiry in Queensland in the late 1980s was that the state premier should only meet the police union in the presence of the police commissioner.
Mr Newnham, who took over as Queensland police commissioner immediately after the Fitzgerald report was handed down, called for a corruption watchdog in Victoria, saying it was "unbelievable" the police union and the minister were able to meet without Ms Nixon being present.
"In Victoria, you have a corruption body and a chief commissioner who both refuse to take complaints seriously," Mr Newnham said. "There has to be another solution."
Victoria is one of the few states without an independent corruption commission. It has been rocked in recent years by a deadly gangland war and evidence of police involvement in drug trafficking.
Mr Falconer said police unions across the country had become adept at manipulating political parties for their own ends and said if deals had been struck behind Ms Nixon's back her position would be "very difficult".
"You need a certain amount of independence. If a chief commissioner is not even at the table, then the position becomes very difficult," Mr Falconer said.
The deal was also criticised by a former head of the Victorian special operations group, John Noonan, who said it gave the perception that the association was favouring one party over theother.
"We (police) should be seen to be independent in regard to any political party and be there just to do our job," he told Southern Cross Radio.
The Australian understands the union received a series of commitments from the Premier, including that Labor would use its best endeavours to have police command sign off on a new pay deal by the middle of next year.
Government sources said the agreement - a signed letter to Sergeant Mullett from Mr Bracks and Police Minister Tim Holding - did not specifically promise pay rises but committed Labor to having an "open mind" about the union's demands for better pay and conditions.
The union log of claims includes pay rises of between 28 and 35 per cent, an overhauled classification structure allowing quicker pay progression and the ability to salary-sacrifice superannuation payments.
Asked if he had agreed to support the union claim, Mr Bracks said: 'No, absolutely not. That would be the sole discretion in the enterprise negotiating between the employer and the employee. Our job is to resource and to support. All we've said is we'll make sure it's a proper process, as it should be."
Opposition police spokesman Kim Wells yesterday confirmed he and Mr Baillieu met with Sergeant Mullett on November 8, two days after the union chief's meeting with Mr Bracks.
Mr Wells said Sergeant Mullett presented the Liberal pair with a list of demands during the 30-minute meeting but said no agreement was reached.
He appealed to rank-and-file police officers to bypass the union and consider that the Liberals had offered double the number of officers proposed by Labor.
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
