News that a parliamentary
select committee was to investigate the staffing, resourcing and efficiency
of SAPOL emerged early last year. Police Association president, Peter
Alexander, informed PASA members – through his Police Journal President’s
Message (May 2003) – that the committee would examine:
- Resource utilization.
- Rural policing.
- The need for and allocation of minimum staffing levels.
- The effectiveness of recruitment and retention of police personnel.
- Recruitment and in-service training resources and requirements.
- Selection and promotion processes and policies.
- Adequacy and standard of equipment.
- Mechanisms for dealing with internal complaints.
- Prosecution.
- The role of police in and the adequacy of crime prevention programmes
throughout South Australia.
- Other relevant matters.
From virtually
the first moment after the announcement of the select committee, PASA
went straight to work.
Peter Alexander, association secretary, Andy Dunn, and assistant
secretaries, Mark Carroll and Tom Scheffler, began painstakingly to
prepare an extremely comprehensive submission.
Over the ensuing months until just recent weeks, they would devote
thousands of hours to the compilation of the submission, and consult
extensively with the PASA membership.
To source and assemble the reams of relevant data, PASA enlisted
the help of a number of respected academics. They included University
of Adelaide Centre for Labour Research executive director, John Spoehr,
BLS; research associate, Steven Barrett, PhD; and research associate
Pat Wright, BA Dip Ed.
Valuable assistance also came from Peter Hannon LLB, BA, of legal
firm Duncan Basheer Hannon, and Nicole Billante, MA, formely with
the Centre for Independent Studies.
The result of the mammoth joint effort was the production of Foundations
for 21st Century Policing, which PASA submitted to the select
committee in late January.
Finally,
on March 18, came the opportunity for Mr Alexander – supported by
Messrs Dunn, Carroll and Scheffler – to appear before the select committee
on behalf of PASA’s 4,000-odd members.
After his opening address, Mr Alexander provided oral evidence through
two-and-a-half hours’ questioning from committee members Ian Gilfillan
(Dem), Gail Gago (Lab), Chairperson Bob Sneath (Lab), Robert Lawson
(Lib) and John Dawkins (Lib).
He responded eloquently to questions on:
- Workloads.
- “Managerialism” practised by SAPOL.
- The lack of incentive for former members to return to SAPOL.
- The increase in unsworn members of SAPOL.
- Whether extra non-sworn members “free up” sworn members for front-line
duties.
- The lack of rank-and-file police officers on SAPOL committees.
Relations
between sworn police officers and SAPOL civilian staff.- Police informers.
After what seemed an afternoon of productive interaction, the committee
adjourned. The PASA team is soon to be scheduled to continue its oral
evidence in the coming weeks.
PASA’s submission to the Select Committee is available for
download in its entirety on its website, PASAweb, at <
http://www.pasa.asn.au >
