SAPOL an Animal Farm?
Dear Andy
Okay, I admit it. I’m a child of the ’70s. While I
missed out on getting down to the Myponga Pop Festival (Adelaide’s version
of Sunbury), I nevertheless was a fan of headline act, Fraternity, whose hit at
the time, Seasons of Change, featured Bon Scott on recorder.
This was before Gough’s dismissal, but around the period
that George Orwell was still on the 4th year English curriculum. Imagine, a
16-year-old student taking seriously the notion of the animals of Manor Farm
taking collective action against the farmer to advance their social cause. The
idea that Orwell was attempting to introduce to me, in his classic fable,
Animal Farm, was totally lost on my tender mind at the time.
A quarter of a century on, having experienced a little more of
life, I find myself more open to Orwell’s suggestions. Revisiting
Animal Farm, as I have in the past year, it’s remarkably easy to
identify many of Orwell’s characters in contemporary institutions.
Orwell points us to the corruptions of propaganda, slogans
that were rewritten to suit the powerbrokers, and the growth of the
organizational apparatuses and their apparatchiks.
In Animal Farm, Orwell characterizes the loyal but
naïve servants as the work horses, Clover and Boxer. These large and
strong beasts labour enthusiastically to rebuild damaged infrastructure but, in
the end, their weary bodies give way under the stress of overwork.
Clover is eventually carted off to the glue factory – his
“reward” for years of unquestioned dedication. The voice of dissent
is personified in Snowball, an intelligent pig whose questions pose a threat to
the leader, another pig named Napoleon. When he openly challenges
Napoleon’s leadership, Snowball is chased away into exile by
Napoleon’s enforcer dogs.
Are such things evident in our own organization? The answer
lies in our own experiences. For me, a recent tragic event involving a number
of PASA members at my local “farm” brings this question into sharp
focus.
Now, it has become increasingly clear to me why my 4th year
English teacher put so much effort into developing my young mind to be so
critical. I lament, then, that the Napoleons in our midst often fail to heed
the utterances of the critical minds around them, instead dismissing them as
radicals or heretics with the threat of punishment if they persist in raising
the alarm.
Loyal workers labour in vastly under-staffed situations and
are discarded to the glue factory when they break down. More of a concern,
however, is the willingness – following a catastrophic systems failure
– to scapegoat workers rather than support the front-line staff and
address dysfunction at the most appropriate level.
Peter Schulze
Vice-President
PASA Metro South Branch
Overwhelming response
Dear Andy
My wife, myself and our 15-month-old girl moved into our
brand new house that we built in late January this year. A very exciting time
for us.
However, recently we were the victims of a malicious and
cowardly act of vandalism, where someone threw a Molotov cocktail through our
bedroom just after midnight one night whilst we slept.
As you can imagine, it was a very frightening experience that
has left my wife and I very concerned and afraid. We do not know who did this
to us, or why it was done. Fortunately, the device went out when it came
through the window and did not ignite once inside.
We are coping with the aftermath of the incident reasonably
well and each day that passes leaves us feeling a little more comfortable in
our own home.
The reason that we are getting over this incident and, more to
the point, the reason for this letter, is largely due to the timely and
overwhelming response that my colleagues and SAPOL alike have demonstrated to
both Melissa and myself.
On the night, the response from the Salisbury Response crews
(including the vixen) was immediate. The state duty officer on duty –
Senior Sergeant Mark Wieszyk – came out and was very supportive. Technical
Services operator, Senior Constable Bruce Wells, was recalled and attended
shortly after the incident and left no stone unturned in his endeavour to
gather what evidence he could. Elizabeth Operations manager, Chief Inspector
Hardwick, was advised of the incident and chose to attend on the night to check
on our welfare. Dog patrol senior constable, Scott Powell, also attended on the
night and gave it his best shot with his partner (whose name I don’t know)
but unfortunately did not find anything.
Superintendent Roger Zeuner and Chief Inspector Brian Smith
from Elizabeth LSA both gave my wife and me a visit later that day to see how
we were holding up. Trevor Haskell from the Police Welfare Branch visited too.
I would also like to acknowledge a phone call that I received later that day
from Deputy Commissioner White – his support and concern was greatly
appreciated.
Members from the Elizabeth CIB and Elizabeth Intelligence have
demonstrated to us a willingness and desire to do everything they can to find
out who was responsible for this incident.
And, to all those colleagues who rang, e-mailed and spoke to
me to offer their words of comfort and support, a big thank-you to all of them
also. Notwithstanding the terror of the incident, it is encouraging and
refreshing to know that members of the “Blue Team” still rally around
their mates and colleagues in times of crisis.
A heartfelt and sincere thank-you is extended to all those
coppers who assisted both Melissa and me in this crisis. Thank you.
Yours Sincerely
Matthew Knowles
Constable, 2560/9
Elizabeth Community Programs Section
