PASA makes second appearance before Select Committee

Most police department committees seem to lack union, country and rank-and-file representation, according to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the staffing, resourcing and efficiency of SAPOL.

Member of the Legislative Council and Select Committee chairman, Bob Sneath (Lab), said that “commissioners, deputy commissioners and Human Resources” seemed to make up most SAPOL committees that considered issues affecting “foot soldiers”.

And, to one of Mr Sneath’s co-committee members, Gail Gago (Lab), SAPOL’s selection advisory committees also “did not seem to involve any rank-and-file police”.

Their comments came as the Select Committee took its second day’s evidence from a four-member Police Association team, led by PASA president, Peter Alexander, on April 29.

Earlier in the proceedings, Mr Sneath had asked Mr Alexander why, in the late 1990s, the Police Association had had no input to SAPOL’s three-year reform programme, Focus 21.

Mr Alexander said he had inferred that SAPOL had not considered PASA involvement appropriate “to any great degree”.

“This goes to the way we are often dealt with,” he said. “The association is advised of things and, then, people would say that we have been consulted. My experience of life is that...if you are going to consult with me, you are asking for an opinion.”

Mr Sneath also asked if PASA had sought involvement in any of SAPOL’s “committees that affect your membership”.

“Very much so,” Mr Alexander said. “Quite often we find ourselves in dispute where, perhaps, being involved in the early part of it – at least in terms of consultative practices – may have avoided the matter degenerating into a dispute.”

The two-and-a-half hour session began with responses to questions PASA had taken on notice from its first appearance before the Select Committee, on March 18. Those questions related to the dynamics of PORs, and the way in which SAPOL compensates officers for their work in community programmes such as Blue Light.

In later questioning, Mr Sneath raised the issue of police recruitment in country regions. He said that, from evidence the committee had taken from SAPOL, he could not “see any great effort being put into it”.

“There are a number of issues that could be changed, certainly, to attract people to the country – not only a good advertising campaign... – if the shortage is as serious as we think it is,” he said.

Mr Alexander said PASA believed that SAPOL had an obligation to act on all country police issues – in a “targeted way”. He also urged the committee to acquire a country policing review which SAPOL has completed but withheld from PASA for two years.

The committee next heard evidence of a dispute between PASA and SAPOL over Operation Safelands 2, an initiative designed to fight violent crime and drug use on the Pitjantjatjara Lands in 2003.

Mr Alexander explained that SAPOL had declared Operation Safelands 1 a field operation which, for the officers involved, attracted higher levels of pay.

For the second operation, however, SAPOL seconded officers to the Lands – rather than declare another field operation – and so avoided the increased remuneration. Under pressure from PASA, it reverted to the payment regime of the first operation, but wound up Operations Safelands 2 early.

“The whole operation was stopped over very small quantums of money,” Mr Alexander said. “People were dying up there...

“We have had police officers contact us in the past few weeks quite upset that anybody would think they were not doing their job, because they were.

“If a decision was taken in relation to policing the Lands on an argument about whether it (the increase) was 28 or 32 per cent...that seems somewhat ridiculous...”

Before it adjourned for the day, the committee heard PASA’s evidence on a range of other issues, including:

• The suitability for SAPOL of the dual career structure recently implemented by the NSW Police Service.
• The lack of an appeal process for police cadets who face dismissal from SAPOL.
• Promotion and selection.
• Breaking the link between rank and salary.
• Interim promotions.
• Inadequate staffing.
• Country police tenure, staffing and housing.
• The suitability for SAPOL of the resource-allocation model used by the Victoria Police.

After the adjournment, Mr Alexander said the extent of the committee’s questions had pleasantly surprised him.

“It goes to show that the members of the committee have read the association submission and made themselves au fait with the very important issues that policing in this state is facing,” he said.

“The members of the committee have shown a commitment to identifying and, hopefully, addressing the problems outlined. We look forward to their report later in the year.”

PASA is scheduled to make its third appearance before the committee in the coming weeks.