It is very heartrending, and I agree they do a splendid job in the main. But.. didn't the QPU also fund an advertising campaign taking Beattie to task for daring to charge a policeman with relation to the one and only black death in custody ever been brought to trial in Queensland? Even after Chris Hurley- who kept changing his story- was acquitted. Like a man can just 'fall over' and tear his liver in half. I couldn't believe it when I heard the verdict. And I couldn't believe the monumental insenstivity and arrogance of the post-verdict QPU campaign when I heard about it.
To be fair, I think the Palm Island police had been given a "Mission Impossible" to keep law and order going in "the most violent peace-time location in the world"
The attendant fact that there is a very low proportion of Aboriginals in the police force, and a very high proportion in jail makes it almost impossible to apply any sort of policy fairly.
A start would be to train a "self-police force" and quotas on aboriginal police to redress this extreme imbalance.
Yes, I'll hsve to watch the video again to see if I can spot any Aboriginal police. I was going to mention something about there not being any, but I wasn't quite sure.
The few aboriginal police in the force are classed as Aboriginal Liason's officers (AILO's). I was absolutely flabbergasted to hear there was only 1(one) working on Palm Island at the time of the incident. Even though they are "high maintenance", AILO's are absolutely indispensable in defusing just this type of incident. Even more unfortunately, the one that was working there was ill-trained for just such a situation that arose, which is common enough (death in custody).
Hi Marco just looking around and found your blog in relation to this matter and I'd like to clear up a few things. Firstly there are fully sworn and operational Police who are ATSI, the QPS also goes to great lengths to recruit ATSI staff; however, the issue with recruiting is a cultural one and unfortunately those that do join the QPS are often ostrisized by there families so this makes it a very difficult decision for any ATSI folk to make. Also in relation to Police Liason Officers (PLO's) these are unsworn staff that serve as a bridge between the QPS and a number of cultural groups ATI, Asian and many others. Again these guys and girls can face a difficult choice when becoming PLO's especially in places like Palm Island where there is a strong anti-police culture stemming from old issues.
In relation to "self Policing" there are a number of programs which satisfy this, including Community Police, and ATSI court, where most matters involving ATSI's are handled. Of course we need to consider that Australian Law is Australian law and while I acknowldege ATSI's as the orginal inhabitants of Australia, there must be a time where we all accept that we are now Australians and with that in mind Australian law applies to all Australians regardless of Race, religion, sex, or any other difference of the human condition.
I would also like to point out to dr.clam if he is still following this blog that the union's issue is not that an officer was charged. As Police most are happy to face there accusers in a fair system and it would be hypocritical not to. The issue stems from a couple of points. Firstly the fact that a number of enquiries (including royal commissions) have been held in relation to a number of deaths in custody and Beattie and his governement (not the Police) have failed to implement all recomendations of those enquiries. As an example the installation of CCTV at "All" watch houses, which in this matter may have been of great assistance. Further was the fact that Beattie was initially supportive of the DPP recommendation that there was insufficient evidence to support a charge and later reversed his decision for "political" reasons. I would further clarify that at no time did Hurley change his story.
If anyone does read this I hope you find it informative.
6 comments:
It is very heartrending, and I agree they do a splendid job in the main.
But.. didn't the QPU also fund an advertising campaign taking Beattie to task for daring to charge a policeman with relation to the one and only black death in custody ever been brought to trial in Queensland? Even after Chris Hurley- who kept changing his story- was acquitted. Like a man can just 'fall over' and tear his liver in half. I couldn't believe it when I heard the verdict. And I couldn't believe the monumental insenstivity and arrogance of the post-verdict QPU campaign when I heard about it.
Well, the QPU, I reckon has the best marketing arm of any union in the world.
To be fair, I think the Palm Island police had been given a "Mission Impossible" to keep law and order going in "the most violent peace-time location in the world"
The attendant fact that there is a very low proportion of Aboriginals in the police force, and a very high proportion in jail makes it almost impossible to apply any sort of policy fairly.
A start would be to train a "self-police force" and quotas on aboriginal police to redress this extreme imbalance.
Yes, I'll hsve to watch the video again to see if I can spot any Aboriginal police. I was going to mention something about there not being any, but I wasn't quite sure.
The few aboriginal police in the force are classed as Aboriginal Liason's officers (AILO's). I was absolutely flabbergasted to hear there was only 1(one) working on Palm Island at the time of the incident. Even though they are "high maintenance", AILO's are absolutely indispensable in defusing just this type of incident. Even more unfortunately, the one that was working there was ill-trained for just such a situation that arose, which is common enough (death in custody).
Hi Marco just looking around and found your blog in relation to this matter and I'd like to clear up a few things. Firstly there are fully sworn and operational Police who are ATSI, the QPS also goes to great lengths to recruit ATSI staff; however, the issue with recruiting is a cultural one and unfortunately those that do join the QPS are often ostrisized by there families so this makes it a very difficult decision for any ATSI folk to make. Also in relation to Police Liason Officers (PLO's) these are unsworn staff that serve as a bridge between the QPS and a number of cultural groups ATI, Asian and many others. Again these guys and girls can face a difficult choice when becoming PLO's especially in places like Palm Island where there is a strong anti-police culture stemming from old issues.
In relation to "self Policing" there are a number of programs which satisfy this, including Community Police, and ATSI court, where most matters involving ATSI's are handled. Of course we need to consider that Australian Law is Australian law and while I acknowldege ATSI's as the orginal inhabitants of Australia, there must be a time where we all accept that we are now Australians and with that in mind Australian law applies to all Australians regardless of Race, religion, sex, or any other difference of the human condition.
I would also like to point out to dr.clam if he is still following this blog that the union's issue is not that an officer was charged. As Police most are happy to face there accusers in a fair system and it would be hypocritical not to. The issue stems from a couple of points. Firstly the fact that a number of enquiries (including royal commissions) have been held in relation to a number of deaths in custody and Beattie and his governement (not the Police) have failed to implement all recomendations of those enquiries. As an example the installation of CCTV at "All" watch houses, which in this matter may have been of great assistance. Further was the fact that Beattie was initially supportive of the DPP recommendation that there was insufficient evidence to support a charge and later reversed his decision for "political" reasons. I would further clarify that at no time did Hurley change his story.
If anyone does read this I hope you find it informative.
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