Dale Mills, Sydney
A mere two months after NSW police numbers were boosted by 600, another 750 officers are being added at a cost of $80 million per year. This brings total police numbers in NSW to more than 15,000, not including an estimated 3000 "civilian personnel".
The NSW Police Association's Bob Pritchard described the March 19 announcement as a great "first step", but demanded even more officers. Similar demands for extra police are being made by most state and territory police associations.
The very next day, the third boost in police numbers this year was announced. More police, "on top of 750 extra officers pledged yesterday", are being recruited, reported the March 20 Sydney Morning Herald. Police Commissioner Ken Moroney also announced the doubling of the Public Order and Riot Squad, from 50 to 100. This specialist squad is "backed up" by another 1200 officers.
Also on March 20, NSW Premier Morris Iemma announced that the state's police are to be given water cannons. The use of such "less lethal" technology is a logical outcome of the way policing has developed over the last 10 or so years. Why arrest and charge people when you can deliver on-the-spot summary justice?
Water-cannon injuries are not caused by the water itself, but by the person being violently pushed against the ground or stationary objects. As the aim of water cannons is imprecise, bystanders are likely to be hit.
The official reason for the purchase of these weapons is the recent rioting in Cronulla, Redfern and Macquarie Fields. However, water cannon is ineffective in these circumstances, as "rioters" can simply run away from a heavy, lumbering vehicle that needs to be stationary for the operator to take aim.
On the other hand, water cannons are supremely effective when attacking a largely stationary crowd, such as a political rally. NSW Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said: "We have already seen the NSW police use pepper spray on student protests, so it seems logical to predict that water cannons will be used against protesters as well."
"Far from being effective policing tools, water cannons can maim and injure innocent bystanders with indiscriminate use and can also be electrified and have irritants mixed with them", Rhiannon added.
Even Moroney said on March 11, 2005 — before an evident change of opinion — "When we've got to the stage of issuing water cannons ... in that sense we have really lost the plot".
In a further escalation of police powers, the March 21 Australian reported that 40 "specially trained" NSW police officers will be given powers to enter school classrooms and assemblies on a regular basis to detect "troublemakers" and "potential criminals". Iemma denied that particular schools would be targeted, but this was contradicted by police minister Carl Scully who said that some schools will receive more attention than others.
"When a student is displaying behavioural problems, the first port of call should be to refer them to a trained professional, and that's a school counsellor", NSW Teachers' Federation deputy president Angelo Gavrielatos responded.
Meanwhile, the attorney-general's department advised the media last week that five ASIO raids were conducted on March 9, in Hoxton Park, Bankstown and Goulburn. Such raids are becoming increasingly common while receiving less and less corporate media attention.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, March 29, 2006.
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