May 2001 Volume 82 Number 5 "serving the protectors"
by Andy Dunn

Grim statistics

Through a recent Australian Institute of Criminology Trends and Issues paper, statisticians seem to have caught up with what those in policing already knew. The February paper highlights the life-and-death risks that police officers face every day on the job.

It found:

• " In Australia, about one officer per year is murdered."
• "...187 officer homicides in Australia since 1830."
• "...perhaps 10 per cent of officers each year are victims (of assault)."
• "...a number (of police) contract communicable diseases (and) suffer a range of other work-related injuries."
• "Police suffer stress through constant exposure to danger..."

Recorded in the paper's list of references are the journals of four police associations from around the nation. Police representative bodies have long understood the tendency for law enforcement to destroy – as well as reward – its practitioners.

To the now public paper, Adelaide's mainstream press seemed only to devote three paragraphs, and reported mainly on the issue of police substance abuse. If those outside policing ever needed an understanding of the sacrifices officers make for them, they should read the document in its entirety.

Clear to those directly involved in or associated with police work, is officers' great need for support. And to fail to support police is to act counter to one's own interests.

Alternative careers

Time served in a police force can lead – and has led – many officers to alternative careers. Hundreds have over many years ventured into a range of occupations too broad for this column to list.

But some of the paths pursued in that range include real estate, finance, insurance, private investigation, retail, hospitality, media and, as outlined in this month's cover story, the law.

Why Cops Become Lawyers illustrated that the featured former officers – and those who went before them – were more than just academically able. Each showed endless commitment, determination and a strong will to succeed.

It is true that some who venture into fields beyond the police family return to the fold, as revealed in last month's feature, Back in the Job. But many more are lost to policing permanently.

So, for Australian police forces losing such quality personnel, the question should become: "How do we keep such capable, motivated people?" Retaining the best performers in a police force serves the interests of other police, their employer and, of course, the community.

editor@pasa.asn.au

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