PASA conference scene of Premier’s
police-numbers announcement

“I will deliver...”

Police union delegates and officials from across two nations applauded Premier Mike Rann when he promised SA police an unprecedented boost to their numbers.

He claimed to understand the pressure staff shortages had caused police, and said he would deliver more officers than any other premier had in the state’s history.

Mr Rann’s commitment came in an address to the Police Association annual delegates’ conference in Fenwick Hall last October. Up until then, the association had fought a long, hard campaign to secure the increase.

Flanked by Deputy Premier and Police Minister Kevin Foley, Mr Rann explained how the proposed recruitment would unfold.

Premier Mike Rann, PASA president, Peter Alexander, and Opposition Leader Rob Kerin address the conference.

“Kevin Foley will be talking with Commissioner Hyde about recruiting more police from early in the new year,” he said. “So let me be very clear with you today: I will deliver on police numbers.”

Although pressed by the media after his address for a specific number, Mr Rann declined to elaborate, saying he would announce details the following month.

Three weeks later, he announced that his government would fund the recruitment of 200 extra police over the next two years.

Police Association of SA president, Peter Alexander, said PASA had, through its campaign, played a part in bringing about the government commitment, but sought no kudos.

Messrs Alexander and Rann with PASA secretary, Andy Dunn, and Deputy Premier Kevin Foley after the conference opening.

He said that, from discussions he had had with Mr Foley since the announcement, he understood SAPOL would recruit 75 officers by mid-2004, 50 in the second half of next year, and 75 in 2005.

“That will see 200 extra on top of natural attrition,” Mr Alexander said. “We say that’s positive, and we’re pleased with it. But there will be that lead-in time, so it will be a while before those numbers are on deck.

“The problem always is that police continue to get more responsibilities and challenges, and to have allowed recruitment to drop to natural attrition, at best, was a real concern to the association.

“The government has listened to that (concern) and, hopefully, has begun to fast-track recruiting, rather than leaving it – as they had intended to do – until later in their term of office.”

The delegates’ conference hosted not only the Premier and Deputy Premier, but also their opposite numbers, Opposition Leader Rob Kerin and Shadow Police Minister Robert Brokenshire.

In a speech that followed Mr Rann’s police-numbers announcement, Mr Kerin acknowledged the association’s case for special measures to guard officers’ personal details – particularly in the Land Titles Office – from criminals.

“The association has called for legislation...and we support that proposal,” he said. “Certainly, you and your families are entitled to that level of comfort.”

Mr Kerin said his party would consider any Police Association proposals that would “assist in looking after the health and safety of police”.

As the two-day conference continued, delegates heard from keynote speakers, Nicole Billante, formerly with the Centre for Independent Studies, and Police Association (Victoria) secretary, Paul Mullet.

Ms Billante, a highly regarded academic and researcher, authored the paper, The Thinning Blue Line. She told the conference that growth in serious crime had, per head of population in Australia, outstripped growth in police numbers by “over 10-fold” in the past 40 years.

She said that, also in that period, the police workload had “just got out of control”. “It became overwhelming when you look at the number of crimes...for the number of police officers in (Australia),” she said.

“Since the ’60s and ’70s, you’ve had, in this country, a real pre-occupation with the root causes of crime. It’s really come at the expense of looking at the deterrence element; the idea that these people are actually making a choice to commit these crimes.

“By focussing on their socio-economic status, family background (and) education, we’ve been removing the individual responsibility from it.”

Ms Billante argued that a more-police-on-the-street approach had great potential to deter criminals. Confronted by a strong police presence, she said, they would perceive their chances of capture as far higher.

Her advice on how to argue the case for more police was to show that extra numbers could impact on crime in certain areas and, therefore, deliver results.

“The politicians are going to be much happier, because they’re actually going to think there will be a good election spin out of it for them,” she said.

Mr Mullet, in his address to the conference, spoke of the “very close link” between the police associations of Victoria and South Australia. He said both unions had assisted one another in their respective campaigns for improved wages and conditions.

Mr Mullet went on to give an overview of his association’s last campaign, Out of the Red and into the Blue, in 2001. He explained how bitter negotiations became, and described the battle as the second most serious after Victoria’s police strike of 1923.

From his experience, Mr Mullet offered delegates some key advice. “Never forget the strength police unions have in achieving outcomes – without trade-offs,” he said. “If you prepare well, you will get the result at the end of the day; and never forget the support you have out in the community.”

In the conference business session, the association president and secretaries delivered their reports, and delegates debated and carried almost 40 motions. Among them were resolutions for the association to:
LOBBY SAPOL to provide personal-issue ballistic vests.
UNDERTAKE a campaign to highlight – to SAPOL, the government and, if necessary, the public – the unserviceability of the current-issue revolver.
LOBBY the government and SAPOL to provide sufficient resources to maintain officers’ driving skills.
LOBBY SAPOL to ensure it issues an appropriate number of police vehicles to country LSAs.
NEGOTIATE with SAPOL to increase field-intelligence-officer positions.
IN EB4, negotiate for a permanent shift-manager (senior sergeant) position in each LSA.
LOBBY the government to improve the standard of police housing.
PURSUE a higher penalty rate for shifts that finish between midnight and 2:30am.
LOBBY SAPOL to re-establish a uniform committee that consults with officers.
LOBBY SAPOL and/or the government to remove the LSAs’ requirement to be subject to performance outcome reviews.

Mr Alexander praised the delegates for their input, saying they had “acted well for the wider membership”. “While there was disagreement, as you’d expect, about ranks and pay structures between patrols and specialist areas, I thought it was done in a very professional way,” he said. “It certainly helps the association prepare its claim for EB4.”

In the final sessions of the conference, association vice-president, Trevor Haskell, spoke on police superannuation issues, and interstate and New Zealand representatives gave brief industrial reports on their jurisdictions.

Among the speakers were Police Association (Victoria) president, Shane Butler, and Western Australia Police Union president, Mike Dean.