June 2000 Volume 81 Number 6 "serving the protectors"
The Last Shift

Dear Peter

Please accept my resignation from the Police Association effective April 25, 2000. I wish all members the very best and special thanks to those in the Yorke/Barossa LSA (particularly Kadina) who have made my second stint with SAPOL a memorable one.

Kind regards
Jill Lawry
Constable 8879/6
Kadina Police

Dear Andy

I hereby tender resignation from the Police Association effective May 3, 2000, as I am taking up employment as a firefighter with the SAMFS.

To all those I have worked with during my time in both metro and country (especially the BCCs at the Bay), thanks for all the good times.

I leave SAPOL with no regrets at joining or serving seven years in a great job and I would like to have my say on a couple of things.

Firstly, it is disappointing that this is the only forum that most coppers (including myself) feel comfortable with for raising issues which may entail criticism of management at LSA level or above. The perception that criticism of management especially in open forms will delay secondments or promotion opportunities is real and widespread.

Secondly, I would like to explain a situation and then pose a question.

On December 31, 1999, I was one of the majority rostered on for New Year’s Eve festivities at Glenelg. Upon arrival at Glenelg I saw an Asian male in handcuffs at the back of the station with a patrol and CIB.

Before a briefing members were told to remove their holsters from their belts and then placed in teams of four or five and issued equipment. The equipment for my team of five consisted of two ASPs (PR24 was not allowed to be carried), two OC sprays, three mini mag torches, five radios and my memory fails me on the number of cuffs/flexi cuffs.

We were all given a briefing by Sturt Intel and BCI which informed us:

• Of the likelihood of violence between two Asian gangs.
• That there was confirmation the gangs had purchased a number of machetes.
• That a prior confrontation in town between these gangs had been thwarted by police as a result of a tip-off.

The information was that the dispute would be sorted out at Glenelg on New Year’s Eve. Finally the Asian male arrested as we arrived had been found with a machete strapped to his leg.

The crux of the matter being that even with all this information police were still out ill-equipped to deal with a likely threat (lucky for us nothing happened). My question is, if a confrontation occurred in the above circumstances and a member was injured, could that member take civil action against the commissioned officer(s) who made the decision that members weren’t to carry firearms or defensive batons for their own protection?

Well, enough gripes. I look forward to seeing some familiar faces at MFS-involved jobs and will still look after coppers wanting refrigeration/air conditioning work done.

Craig Charles

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