Батыс Австралия Полициясының Тарихы

Australian state police and law enforcement agency

The genesis of the police was the appointment of a Sheriff by Captain Stirling on 18 June 1829, as part of the proclamation of the Swan River Colony, charged with maintaining public order in Perth and Fremantle colonies. The proclamation provided for the appointment of a sheriff having under his direction a high constable, constables, bailiffs, and surveyors of highways. The Sheriff still exists as an officer of the Supreme Court of Western Australia (Department of Justice), but no longer has jurisdiction over police or highways. The Sheriff retains responsibility for enforcement of civil court judgments and the administration of jury service. Police do occasionally carry out Sheriff and Bailiff duties, particularly in remote country locations. Early colonial policemen were recruited by Magistrates and worked part time, employed on a local, "as needed" basis. They were paid only for specific tasks, such as one shilling for serving a summons. By 1830, there were fifteen part time constables in the state, of whom five worked in Perth. A Mounted Police troop was established in 1834 as the needs of the colony changed, in particular after the introduction of convicts. This troop proved unpopular with citizens due to the perception that it was not efficient and was being paid out of their taxes for duties which the military should be performing. In the same year as its establishment, the Mounted Police were involved in a major incident, the Pinjarra Massacre, in which Captain Ellis, the police superintendent, was killed together with a large number of Aboriginal people. In 1840, the first full time constable for Perth was appointed. On 11 May 1849, the colony's Legislative Council passed a Police Ordinance which outlined police powers and responsibilities. The Ordinance noted that 'distinct general and town police forces' did not yet exist. By 1870, after transportation had ceased, some 1,244 ticket of leave men had to be supervised by 146 police employees. Applicants for police service were required to be aged under forty, literate and physically fit. Leave was difficult to obtain for officers and officers were not to appear in public when out of uniform. Until the end of the nineteenth century, the monthly pay day was marked by a parade with band. A Criminal Investigation Department was set up in 1873, although two detectives had been sent out from Britain in 1854. A fingerprint bureau was set up in 1902.

On 5 March 1853, the Western Australian Colonial Secretary, W. A. Stanford, signed a notice published in the Government Gazette, formally establishing the Police Force as a "united, structured body". The Colonial Secretary appointed John Augustus Conroy as Superintendent of Police (sometimes referred to within the colony as Chief of Police): "His Excellency the Governor directs the following appointments to be notified for general information: T. A. Conroy (actually J. A.) to be Superintendent of Police". On 15 March 1853, the Gazette published a Code of Rules for the Western Australian Police Force, signed by the Colonial Secretary on 11 March, which outlined a formal command structure and listed basic duties of commissioned and non commissioned officers and constables. Since the police numbering system, a system wherein police officers are assigned a Police Regimental Number (PD Number), was introduced for members in 1898, approximately 1,112 had been paid for police services between 1829 and 1898. Between 1898 and August 2023, over 10,000 men and women have served in WA Police. In 1917, after two years of concerted effort from women's groups in New South Wales and South Australia, and amidst concerns that male officers were "not resourced or trained to address the moral or physical wellbeing of the women and children of WA", Western Australia's first female police officers, Helen Blanche Dugdale (1876–1952) and Laura Ethel Chipper (1879–1978), were appointed in August 1917 to commence duties on 1 September 1917 as Women Police Constables (WPCs) under the newly established Women Police Office. Dugdale and Chipper were employed under the Police Act with full constabulary powers, but were officially commissioned to "patrol slum neighbourhoods", "look after drunken women", and "obtain assistance for their neglected children". Early WPCs were initially segregated from the male policing divisions, being assigned to the female only Women Police Office, and assisting male only units as required. and a magistrate's courtroom. The structure is entered on the State Heritage Register. Recruits are trained at the Western Australian Police Academy at Joondalup. Previously, the academy was located at Maylands, in premises still used by various units including the mounted and K 9 (police dog) sections. The command structure has the state divided into eight major policing regions, with the metropolitan policing region sub divided into eight districts. Policing command is divided into 3 major executive divisions; Executive Director (responsible for technology, workforce relations, assets and governance, and finance), Deputy Commissioner for Operations (responsible for metropolitan and regional policing, and operational support), and Deputy Commissioner for Professional Standards (responsible for standards and legal, state intelligence, state crime, and specialist and support services). Politically, the service comes within the portfolio of the Minister for Police. In early 2022, it was revealed that WA Police was struggling to attract new recruits and keep existing numbers amidst low morale issues within the organisation, prompting resignations of 40 police officers per month between January and June 2022.

Created in 2004, the Regional Operations Group (ROG) provides WAPOL with a specialist public order capability. Their main role is to attend and control violent situations, riots, to assist police officers requesting backup when none is available locally, or as an immediate response to serious emergencies, such as armed offenders (firearms) incidents, domestic violence, and related offences. While ROG operates primarily in the Perth Metropolitan policing districts, officers are occasionally deployed to regional policing districts to attend serious incidents. The unit is split into three sub units, North, Central, and South. North Metropolitan Operations Group provides specialist capability north of the Swan River, covering the Joondalup, Midland, and Mirrabooka policing divisions. Central Metropolitan Operations Group supports the Central (Perth) policing division, bounded by Karrinyup, Guildford, Perth, and Mosman Park. South Metropolitan Operations Group supports areas south of the Swan River, covering the Fremantle, Cannington, Armadale, and Mandurah policing divisions. Regional Operations Group officers undergo intensive public order training and typically carry extra equipment whenever they are on duty. ROG officers are also issued with AR 15 style semi automatic rifles for counter terrorism duties.

In 2013, the organisation opened a new inner city facility at 2 Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge. Accommodating up to 500 police officers, the complex includes the Perth Police Station, the Central Metropolitan District Office, the Northbridge Magistrate's Court, and a new state of the art Multi Functional Police Facility named Perth Watch House. Before long, the police union complained that insufficient staff had been assigned to the new lock up in the context of state government budget constraints.

Traditionally, the Commissioner came from within the service, though in 1994 and 1999, police commissioners were head hunted from outside WA Police ranks. In 1994, Victorian Bob Falconer APM was recruited from the Victoria Police Force where he had served as Deputy Commissioner. Falconer was effective in implementing the Delta Program, designed to achieve organisational and cultural change. Falconer later argued that internal measures were inadequate and that a standing crime and corruption commission was necessary to combat police corruption. In 1999, Barry Matthews, then a Deputy Commissioner of the New Zealand Police, was appointed and served until 2004. Matthews was, however, succeeded in June 2004 by Karl O'Callaghan APM, PhD who had been employed in the WA service since age 17 and was one of the service's first officers to achieve a PhD. O'Callaghan retired on 14 August 2017 and was succeeded by Chris Dawson. Chris Dawson stepped down as police commissioner in July 2022 to become Governor of Western Australia. He was replaced by Col Blanch on 15 July 2022. Because of the weight of equipment carried on officers' belts, Western Australian uniformed officers are issued with load bearing equipment vests fitted with pockets to safely contain equipment including ammunition magazines for their service pistol, pepper spray, telescopic baton, handcuffs, Motorola APX8000 P25 radio, and police issue mobile phone. The vests were traditionally navy blue in colour, however variants exist within the organisation, including a fluorescent yellow version, which is worn for some operations. All WA Police officers, Police Auxiliary Officers, and officers handling property, evidence, and detainees are required to use Axon bodyworn cameras while on duty. In 2022, WA Police began the rollout of a new uniform standard, which is in service today. The standard uniform for General Duties police officers consists of black tactical boots, blue pants, a blue service shirt with the WA Police logo and epaulets bearing the officers' rank embroidered on both shoulders, a load bearing equipment vest, and a branded WA Police hat. The refreshed uniform also includes a bulletproof, stab resistant vest which consists of a black lower section with MOLLE webbing system and an upper, yellow high visibility section which bears a number of stitched patches, including the officer's rank, their name and Police Regimental (PD) number, and the word POLICE. Further specialised equipment is utilised by the TRG, as detailed in that section below.

In September 2023, it was also announced that WA Police had successfully trialled low earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet for use in remote areas without mobile reception, marking WA Police the first law enforcement agency in the world to make use of Starlink LEO internet. The effort is part of a AUD$8.5 million upgrade to WA Police's communication infrastructure which will see the technology deployed to 550 vehicles and 129 regional police stations. General Duties police vehicles (which form the vast majority of the fleet) carry additional equipment for general policing duties, including breath alcohol testing and drug testing facilities, firefighting equipment, defibrillators, spike strips, handheld radar speed detection gun, traffic cones and other traffic direction equipment, high visibility raincoats, medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), and other occupational specific equipment such as ticket books, incident report pads, vehicle affixable stickers, and evidence bags, among others.

Tactical Response Group (TRG) is a police tactical group, a component of the Counter Terrorism and Emergency Response Command of WA Police. Since 1978, the Australian Government's National Anti Terrorism Plan has required each state police force to maintain a specialised counter terrorist and hostage rescue unit. TRG officers are trained for high risk situations and provide support to police and other agencies. Such situations include dealing with armed offenders, attending sieges and civil disorder incidents, protecting endangered witnesses, undertaking searches of premises, securing and escorting dangerous prisoners, heads of state, VIPs and internationally protected persons, as well as the state's counter terrorist responsibility. Specialist positions include marksmen, bomb technicians and negotiators. The TRG is equipped with a wide range of less lethal devices as well as specialist firearms and equipment for 'domestic' and counter terrorist operations. Training includes tactical roping, fieldcraft, water borne operations, paramedical courses, the use of chemical, biological and radiological equipment, self contained breathing apparatus and various weapons systems. The TRG has in recent times also expanded its capability to respond to counter terrorist and high risk incidents in a maritime environment including specialist divers, swimmers and the ability to board ships and oil/gas platforms.

On 8 May 1992, the police Polair One helicopter crashed while attempting to land on a sports oval for a public display in Kelmscott. The helicopter, an Aerospatiale AS355F1, was destroyed after a fire started in the engine bay following ground impact. The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation report determined "The helicopter probably entered a vortex ring state during the final approach". The pilot and crewman received minor injuries, and the two passengers serious injuries, as a result of the accident.

On 26 January 2001, four police officers died when their Cessna 310R plane crashed at night near the mining town of Newman. The plane was returning from Kiwirrkurra, on the edge of the Gibson Desert, when the aircraft's engines failed due to fuel starvation on the approach to Newman airstrip. The crash was the single biggest loss of police lives in West Australian history, and the first involving a police aircraft. The officers killed in the crash were: Senior Constable Donald Richard Everett 4600 – 49 years Pilot of Karratha Police Airwing; Senior Constable Phillip Gavin Ruland 7877 – 32 years Newman Police Station; First Class Constable David Adrian Dewar 9178 – 31 years Newman Police Station; Constable Gavin Ashley Capes 10305 – 27 years Newman Police Station. A remembrance ceremony is held each year by the people of Newman to honour this tragic event.

Recognition of the bravery and diligent service of Western Australia Police Force personnel is through the awarding of honours and awards. Personnel are eligible to receive awards both as a part of the Australian honours system and the internal Western Australia Police Force honours system.

Shirley Finn was a Perth brothel keeper and nightclub operator who was shot dead in her car around midnight on 23 June 1975 in South Perth. The murder of Finn has long been rumoured to have resulted from a police conspiracy with political ramifications. The specific circumstances surrounding Finn's death, including her alleged sighting at the canteen bar of the WA Police headquarters in East Perth shortly before her murder, have never been officially disclosed, despite several purported investigations and a Royal Commission. In 2017, following persistent public interest in the case over the years, a coroner's inquest was opened to take evidence from witnesses regarding the killing, which sat through 28 days of evidence and heard from some 70 witnesses. The inquest returned an open finding with Coroner Barry King closing with the announcement that there had been "incompetence" in the police investigation and that there were "too many suspects", while vital evidence had "disappeared", including the murder weapon and the victim's luxury car. The Coroner's report further acknowledged that the "most compelling theory" about why she was killed related to her "[attempts] to blackmail police about corruption", with the report further providing "it is a curious feature of this analysis that the circumstances of the murder and the existence of the motive appear to be interdependent." No suspects have ever been formally charged in the matter and, as of 2023, the crime remains unsolved.

Corryn Rayney was an Australian Ugandan refugee who was found dead in Kings Park on 16 August 2007. The circumstances surroundiung Rayney's death remain mysterious with no clear cause of death being identified, though police announced early on that her death was being treated as a murder inquiry. Rayney's husband, Lloyd Rayney, a prominent barrister specialising in criminal prosecution, was charged with her murder, but was found not guilty by Justice Brian Martin. In handing down his not guilty verdict, Justice Martin was critical of some police actions, stating that "there were instances of unacceptable conduct by some investigators ranging from inappropriate to reprehensible". He added that he had found "no evidence that lines of inquiry were not properly investigated". Some five years before charges were laid, the Senior Sergeant in charge of the investigation had publicly named Lloyd Rayney as the force's "only suspect" and the "primary person of interest". At the trial, which extended over three months, the Judge found that "the State case is bereft of any evidence [establishing] a crime scene". He concluded "The case for the State is beset by improbabilities and uncertainties. Crucial evidence is lacking and the absence of evidence tells strongly against the State. Endeavours by the State to fill critical gaps and explain away improbabilities are primarily no more than speculation without foundation in the evidence." An April 2014 report of the Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) cleared two police officers of any serious misconduct in the Rayney murder investigation. Their behaviour in threatening a female lawyer had been described as ranging from "inappropriate to reprehensible" by the trial judge. A second matter reviewed by the CCC related to "attempts by a third officer to encourage an independent pathologist involved in the case to change a report to better fit police evidence. That officer was found to have acted unreasonably." In September 2014, lawyer and former State Governor, Malcolm McCusker, supported calls for an independent review, and also a CCC investigation of "claims that police manufactured evidence to incriminate Lloyd Rayney". As of 2017, the senior investigating officer in the Rayney murder case continued to regard Lloyd Rayney as "the prime and only suspect", despite Lloyd Rayney's comprehensive exoneration by the courts. A defamation action brought by Lloyd Rayney resulted in a record compensation award of over $2.6 million and legal costs of over $10 million. On 21 April 2020, Lloyd Rayney was struck off by Legal Practice Board. Later the same year, Lloyd Rayney sued one of the lead forensic investigators on the case for allegedly making defamatory comments at a seminar at Curtin University in 2014. Lloyd Rayney was awarded $438,000 in damages.

Justice Martin's criticism of the Corryn Rayney investigation followed the exposure of a number of notorious cases of wrongful prosecution by Western Australia Police, including those of John Button, Darryl Beamish, the Mickelberg brothers and Andrew Mallard, resulting in reversal of long standing convictions and large compensation payouts by the Western Australian Government. In the case of Mallard, who spent 12 years in prison after an unjust conviction, a former WA Police Assistant Commissioner concluded "Mallard is a very clear example of how police and prosecutorial misconduct can lead to a wrongful conviction and a miscarriage of justice It is also another clear example of the difficulties in holding people to account."

A clemency petition drafted by the eminent barrister Malcolm McCusker, and lodged with the Western Australian Attorney General in 2012, alleged that "key evidence was planted, withheld and misrepresented" in police investigations leading to a 2009 murder trial in which Scott Douglas Austic was found guilty and sentenced to a minimum 25 year jail term. After two successive Attorneys General declined to act on the petition, a fresh petition for clemency was lodged in March 2018 with Attorney General John Quigley, who also proposed legislation to allow people convicted of crimes to apply directly to the Court of Appeal. Quigley, formerly an honorary life member of the Police Union of Western Australia, subsequently became a fierce critic of the WA Police culture and hierarchy. After spending over a decade in jail, in May 2020, Austic won an appeal against his conviction, and was acquitted at a retrial in November 2020. and is seeking compensation from the State of Western Australia. Reports by the state's Corruption and Crime Commission in 2013 and 2023 "formed no opinion of misconduct among police or prosecutors" involved in the investigation or prosecution of Austic, and said "limitations in evidence collected by police meant it was not possible to determine issues around evidence being planted." Austic asked the Western Australian Government for $8.5 million in compensation but, in May 2023, was given an ex gratia payment of $1.6 million, following "comprehensive legal advice". Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan apologised for the investigative failure, but disclosed the three officers "had not accepted blame and would now face an internal disciplinary process".

In November 2008, Robert Cunningham, an Associate Law Professor, and his wife Catherine Atoms, were tasered by WA Police officers during an arrest following an incident outside the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle. Cunningham and Atoms were both taken into custody and charged with Obstructing a Public Officer. In 2010, charges against both Cunningham and Atoms were dismissed after a Magistrate described evidence given by one of the arresting police officers as "extremely evasive", "imprecise" and "unconvincing". Between 2008 and 2015, Cunningham repeatedly requested that the matter be investigated to no success. In 2016, the couple launched civil proceedings against the State of Western Australia and the three WA Police officers involved. In December 2016, a District Court Judge, Felicity Davis, awarded over $1 million in damages over the incident.

In December 2010, two senior WA Police officers, a 53 year old Sergeant and 45 year old Senior Constable, were dismissed for lying to investigators during an internal inquiry into the misuse of tasers at Rockingham Police Station. Police Internal Affairs investigators found that, between October 2008 and May 2010, on a number of occasions, the Sergeant and Senior Constable misused tasers against other members of staff, including females, during bizarre initiation and farewell ceremonies to the station. Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan noted that the primary reason for the officers' dismissal was that the Sergeant and Senior Constable had repeatedly lied to investigators during the inquiry, stating "the final straw in this whole sorry saga was that neither of the two officers investigated told the truth to internal investigators when they were first required to they continued to deny the allegations and offered improbable explanations for their behaviour", and that one of the officers had to be interviewed six times in order to get a full and proper account of the incident. In April 2012, the CCC made several misconduct findings, recommended charges, and said police used "undue and excessive" force. In April 2013, it was reported that two senior officers were to be tried on criminal charges over the incident, though in a January 2014 hearing, the two officers were fined and given suspended jail terms for unlawful assault. On 6 September 2008, Spratt suffered a dislocated shoulder, fractured ribs, and a collapsed lung in prison following a "cell extraction" wherein he was tasered eleven times by Emergency Support Group officers from the Department of Corrective Services. The CCC later found that seven out of the 11 taser deployments were "reasonable", while no findings were made to the other four due to insufficient evidence. Spratt later pleaded guilty to the charge of Obstructing Police and was jailed for two months. The December 2019 incidents came after a series of disturbing clashes with police, which the WA Police Union expressed concern in regards to Spratt's aggressive behaviour, noting that "Spratt's aggressive behaviour has escalated to the point that numerous police officers and medical staff have allegedly been assaulted by him in separate incidents". In 2019, at the age of 50, Spratt took his own life. In 2019, Keenan was found guilty of two counts of Common Assault against the motorist and received an eight month suspended prison sentence. Keenan was also ordered to pay a fine of $1,500 and court costs of almost $16,500.

On 27 November 2010, an off duty Senior Constable in WA Police's Specialist Enforcement and Operations Team, Matthew Gerard Owen Pow, was charged with two counts of committing an act causing danger or bodily harm and two counts of assault causing bodily harm, after allegedly tying a rope across a Karawara path, known to be used by motorbike riders at night. Two boys, aged 15 and 16, sustained superficial injuries after falling off their motorcycles, later claiming Pow tied the rope across the path. Pow appeared before Perth Magistrates Court on 4 January 2011. Pow's defence argued that insufficient evidence existed for his conviction as the rope alleged to have been used was never located. On 8 March 2012, a jury acquitted Pow, finding him not guilty.

In February 2019, ABC news reported that WA Police Senior Constable, Nathan Robert Trenberth, was filmed repeatedly punching a 20 year old man in the head during the Sky Show celebrations. The presiding Magistrate described his use of force as "unreasonable" and convicted the officer of assault and fined him $1,500. Trenberth had a second conviction for assault in relation to an arrest of a man at a 2006 Australia Day fireworks display.