February 2000 Volume 81 Number 2 "serving the protectors"
Chaplains Take It On The Chin

outh Australian police officers regard their chaplains’ independence and accessibility highly, according to a recent survey.

Of 270 officers surveyed last year, 90 per cent knew the chaplains in their workplaces, and one third viewed the chaplaincy service positively. Police academy chaplain, Reverend Mark Thomas - who designed the 11-question survey - said he was grateful to those who responded but recognized indications of room for improvement.

“Even though many find the presence of the chaplains useful, a few recorded negative feelings or dissatisfaction with the service for personal reasons,” he said.

Also revealed through the survey were demands for:

• Chaplains to spend more time at stations to which they are appointed.
• Chaplains to be appointed to stations not currently serviced.
• More information about the chaplaincy service.
• Chaplaincy contact information.

“We have plenty to do to make the service more useful,” said Reverend Thomas. “We hope we can use the officers’ responses to provide a better service to SAPOL.

A copy of Reverend Thomas’s final report - expected in June - will be available at the SAPOL library.

– Brett Williams

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