Background: The Historical Context
The centralized, state-based nature of policing in Australia is historically grounded in the colonial history of Australia, which was settled by England in 1788 as a convict colony. The first colonies in Australia were in New South Wales (NSW) and what is now called “Tasmania” (formerly Van Die-man’s Land). Most of the other states in Australia had been proclaimed “colonies” by the mid-1800s. While the provision of policing services in what was to become Australia was provided by the military in the early days of settlement, the subsequent development of civilian police was aided by the provision of ex-convicts as labor. In 1839, for example, more than half of the police officers employed in the district of Sydney were ex-convicts (Bryett, Harrison, and Shaw 1994). Thus, the line between ”criminal” and ”police officer” is somewhat blurred in an historical sense in Australia. Perhaps owing to these unique qualities, as well as the prevailing economic, social, and political conditions of the period, early colonial policing in Australia was oftentimes harsh and brutal, with police officers enforcing laws as well as meting out punishments (Bryett, Harrison, and Shaw 1994). The absence of local institutions in colonial Australia created a vacuum for police to assume broad social responsibilities, giving them extensive powers to administer not only criminal laws but also public health and hygiene laws (Chappell and Wilson 1969).
Professional police services only began to emerge in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century. While some historians have identified the Sydney Police Act (1833) (NSW) as an important landmark in the development of police forces in Australia, subsequent reforms can be linked to the passage of the New South Wales Police Regulation Act of 1982 as well as similar legislation in Western Australia during the same period (Bryett, Harrison, and Shaw 1994). By the time of federation in 1901, all of the Australian states were centrally controlled by their respective state governments. By the turn of the century, police forces in Australia could be characterized as being ”thoroughly unpopular” (Ward 1968, 154), comprising substandard personnel possessing substantial powers that provided the legal basis for the police to perform a wide range of extralegal activities.
Perhaps owing to their historical development, Australian police organizations have received considerable scrutiny with regard to major failures in internal accountability and corruption prevention.
As a consequence of the increasing public disquiet over police corruption, a series of major inquiries and royal commissions have been conducted. The most recent and significant of these inquiries—the Fitzgerald Inquiry (1989) in Queensland, the Wood Royal Commission (1997) in NSW, and the Kennedy Royal Commission (2002) in Western Australia—have led to significant structural reforms in police accountability. In these jurisdictions, formal civilian complaints commissions have been created to provide formal oversight of police integrity, which is expected to foster greater accountability in policing as well as greater public confidence. In general, the organizational functions of these commissions include receiving and processing police complaints, investigating police corruption and serious misconduct, preventing systemic organizational corruption, and educating officers about ethical police practices.
Current Organizational Arrangements
By comparison to the majority of police organizations in the United Kingdom and North America, Australian police organizations are centralized, state based, and large. A unique feature of such organizations is that they are highly bureaucratized and are ultimately accountable to the citizenry through a minister, an elected member of parliament (e.g., a minister for police). Ultimately, the commissioner of police is accountable to the public via the minister, as a representative of parliament under the Westminster system of government.
Although current policing arrangements in Australia are largely based at the state level, there is a mix of some federal policing bodies. In total, each of the six states in Australia as well as the Northern Territory is served by its own unique police organization. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) force is a federal statutory authority established in 1979. The AFP is responsible for federal law enforcement activities including the prevention, detection, and investigation of drug offenses, money laundering, transnational crime, fraud against the Commonwealth, and organized crime. The AFP also provides general policing services for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), where the national capital of Australia, Canberra, is located.
In addition to the various state-based policing organizations, the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) provides a coordinated national intelligence framework for informing policing priorities and activities. The ACC has access to a range of coercive, investigative powers, which it uses to tackle various forms of crime including organized crime, illegal handgun trafficking, money laundering, and tax fraud.
Australia is generally experiencing an increasing investment in police organizations that is largely driven by increases in the numbers of sworn and unsworn police officers across the country. In 2003-2004, real recurrent expenditure (in Australian dollars) was $5.2 billion or approximately $259 per person. All jurisdictions across the country with the exception of South Australia experienced increases in real expenditures during the previous year. Levels of expenditure varied greatly across jurisdictions from a high of $637 per person in the Northern Territory to a low of $230 per person in South Australia (Productivity Commission 2005).
Across Australia, general increases in sworn and unsworn officers have been observed during the early 2000s, with increases in unsworn officers more magnified as moves toward greater civilianization of several roles within police organizations occurs. Total police staffing in 2003-2004 was 57,626 or 289 staff per 100,000 population. Across the country, police citizen ratios varied from a high of 624 per 100,000 population in the Northern Territory to 251 per 100,000 population in the ACT (Productivity Commission 2005). Across the country, approximately 20% of all sworn officers are female and less than 1% (0.66%) are defined as aboriginal police aides, special constables, or liaison officers (Australian Institute of Criminology 2001).
Current Challenges and Qualities
A series of unique challenges and characteristics help shape the nature of police organizations in Australia. For example, Australia is a geographically large country with a comparatively small population (approximately twenty million) that is unevenly distributed. Indeed, much of the Australian population is concentrated along coastal regions and metropolitan centers. Thus, Australian police organizations are required to provide policing services in large urban areas as well as in remote areas, some of which are only accessible by boat or plane. As a consequence, policing arrangements are highly varied. For example, in some parts of the country, police officers also function as police prosecutors. Additionally, in certain remote regions, police officers rely on the assistance and cooperation of partially trained local community officers who help to maintain order by enforcing local municipal bylaws in the absence of an ongoing police presence.
A second feature of police organizations in Australia is the unique relationship between the police and indigenous Australians. Not surprisingly, the police have an uneasy and oftentimes tense relationship with indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australians are twenty-seven times more likely than nonindigenous Australians to find themselves in police custody (Cunneen and MacDonald 1997). The tense relationship between the police and indigenous people in Australia is linked to the colonization of the country in 1788 as well as the ensuing political, economic, and social marginalization that occurred. The police, as the primary agents of social control, have historically been instrumental in perpetuating some of the discrimination and marginalization experienced by indigenous Australians.
A key opportunity for reform occurred with the development of a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1987. The inquiry was sparked by the increasing concerns raised by aboriginal leaders about the high rates of aboriginal deaths in police custody. The final report of the Royal Commission, consisting of five volumes and 339 recommendations was completed in 1991 at a cost of $40 million. The findings of the report have been highly influential in fostering reform across all police organizations in Australia (Atkinson 1996). While there have been important gains in the quality of the relationship between police and indigenous peoples, as well as the development of more culturally appropriate policing practices and structures during the past fifteen years, the relationship between the police and indigenous communities is still one of conflict. For example, a large-scale riot and subsequent firebombing of a police station occurred on Palm Island Queensland in 2004.
Despite the many unique challenges faced by police organizations in Australia, there exists a highly progressive spirit across most organizations. Issues such as increased performance management through the use of operational performance reviews, which are based on the COMPSTAT model developed in New York City, exist in most organizations. Similarly, police organizations in Australia are well placed for addressing police integrity and a range of other issues including civilianization. In summary, police organizations in Australia are increasingly promoting greater effectiveness in police service delivery and at the same time are working toward greater accountability for the work they do.
