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Editors --- "Ethical standards part of everyday police life" [1998] AUFPPlatypus 37; (1998) 61 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 8


Ethical standards part of everyday police life

As part of a continuing series on the AFP's partnerships with key law enforcement and related agencies in Australia and overseas, this edition of Platypus magazine looks at the Queensland Police Service.

One of the major management strategies adopted by the Queensland Police Service to redirect its occupational culture and increase the salience of ethics in policing has been the establishment of the Ethical Standards Command. Commissioner , who established the Command on October 1, 1997, provided the following insight into the new approach.

‘WITH HONOUR WE SERVE' is the Queensland Police Service motto, a constant reminder for members of the Service to adopt ethical standards as part of everyday life.

While most police support ethical standards in theory, recent studies have indicated a different attitude when it came to putting them into practice.

What the studies found was that recruits tend to place more importance on ethical issues than do serving police . . . exposure to operational policing, even for a comparatively short period of time, appears to significantly reduce the salience of ethical considerations in police activity.

This article outlines the approach the Service is taking to the promotion of ethics awareness in the Queensland Police Service.

Ethical standards

The Ethical Standards Command was formed on October 1, 1997, by refocusing and combining two existing units. The former Professional Standards Unit (Internal Investigations) was amalgamated with the Commissioner's Inspectorate (and Internal Audit) and the Inspectorate was renamed the Inspectorate and Evaluation Branch. In January 1998, a separate Ethical Practice Branch was formed.

The present Command structure comprises the Command Office, Internal Investigations, Internal Audit, Inspectorate and Evaluation, Ethical Practice and Administration.

The Command employs 42 police and 23 staff. Each branch deals with different dimensions of police ethics and good practice.

Internal investigations

The Internal Investigations Branch deals with complaints against police and oversights internal discipline and related issues.

The branch maintains a complaints database, which registers details of complaints of misconduct and breaches of discipline against police reported either directly to the Service or indirectly through the Criminal Justice Commission or other sources. Specific branch functions include:

• Investigations and overview of all cases and feedback to investigators in relation to case management.

• Maintaining a complaints database and development of an overview database.

• Developing policy and procedures.

• Promotion and recruitment vetting for purposes of appointment or promotion, confirmation of appointment, separation from and re admission to the Service.

• Liaising extensively within the Command, with other Service units and external agencies.

Inspectorate and evaluation

The Inspectorate and Evaluation Branch consists of three areas — inspection teams, projects and the Review and Evaluation Unit.

The branch provides internal control through measuring and evaluating other Service controls. Operational, financial and personnel systems are independently appraised and regular reviews are conducted of efficiency and effectiveness of all Service operations.

Inspection teams inspect police establishments throughout the State, usually on a regional, command or divisional basis.

A team approach is adopted for inspections. The team applies risk management principles: to establish the level of compliance with Service policy and procedures to assess managerial effectiveness; to identify good practice; and to provide advice designed to improve the management, supervision and administration of the establishments.

Following Bingham Review recommendations in November 1997, greater integration of the roles and functions of the Inspectorate, Internal Audit and Research and Evaluation units has occurred through joint projects, inspections and audits, and greater skill sharing between teams.

A new initiative is the application of a three-tiered inspection process. This shifts the focus of operations audits from compliance to an examination of systems and processes, the auditing of major risks and service-relevant strategic issues.

The branch also conducts specific projects to address issues of Service-wide relevance. For example, Project Alchemy is a statewide review of drug and property handling procedures which arose out of the State Drug Audit conducted by the Inspectorate in 1997. Project Alchemy is examining recommendations of the Criminal Justice Commission's Carter Inquiry.

It is anticipated that this review will recommend substantially improved handling practices and computerisation of the property handling process.

The Review and Evaluation Unit is staffed by a group of experienced researchers and undertakes projects, both directly and in a consultative capacity with the CJC and other areas of the Service, designed to identify and encourage good practice with respect to programs, strategies and corporate goals.

Internal audit

The Internal Audit Unit consists of a team of professionals capable of conducting both financial and information technology audits. The focus of the Unit's strategic plan is proactive in minimising/eliminating risk to Service operations.

Better practice and systems reviews are performed to identify cost saving opportunities and to improve system efficiencies. In order to ensure audits are thorough, the unit conducts interviews with relevant personnel, reviews internal and external documents and performs statistical analysis on data.

Achievable recommendations are provided for auditees, and auditee feedback from exit interviews is included in final audit reports.

Internal auditors work with inspection teams and external auditors from Queensland Audit Office.

The work of the unit is monitored by the Service's Audit Committee. Audit clients are selected on the basis of their risk to the Service, requests for assistance by Assistant Commissioners and Directors, and current issues being examined within the Service.

QAO and Internal Audit perform joint audits where input is required by both areas (such as annual Financial Statements, Firearms Compensation Project, and Human Resources Audit).

Ethical practice

The Ethical Practice Branch was formally established earlier this year and its structure and direction are still evolving.

The essence of the branch's mission resides in the ‘practice' of ethical behaviour throughout the Service.

All members are obliged to accept the Service's Code of Conduct which forms an explicit component of the conditions of employment. In part, the Code of Conduct identifies the minimum standard of behaviour acceptable within the organisation and the Code of Conduct, together with the Statement of Ethics, lays down standards of performance.

However, while written behavioural codes define ethics in general terms, these are then subject to varying interpretations.

For example, many situations police face in the course of their duties are complex and inherently ambiguous. Indeed, in many instances boundaries between right and wrong action are unclear and it is impossible to develop a sense of moral certainty.

In 1996, the Service conducted a major research project, Project Honour, which examined matters pertaining to ethics and organisational integrity. This research indicated that police find it particularly difficult to attend to the ethical implications of a decision when the decision must be made in a hurry.

To this end, the ‘S-E-L-F test' was developed and adopted to guide decision making in circumstances where an officer must make critical decisions under pressure.

The S-E-L-F acronym provides an easy formula for police to adopt in operational situations and has been well-received by police and staff.

Feedback has been promising. For example, a number of officers have sought advice from the EPB in recent months and the Victoria Police Service has adopted the S-E-L-F test in their own ethics program.

Training

A carefully considered approach was adopted relating to the integration of ethics awareness into training curricula.

It was agreed that in the context of training and the development of training programs the focus should be on practical ethics. This means training programs should strongly emphasise that, in the context of policing, ethics is about ‘doing the right thing'.

Changes to existing curricula have reflected this shift in focus rather than introducing additional and distinct ethics components.

Internal witness support

A simple measure for an organisation which embraces ethical standards is the degree to which its members feel confident to report corrupt and unethical behaviour.

Over the past 10 years a growing number of police have been coming forward to report misconduct by other officers.

Police services have an obligation to support a member's decision to report by fostering managerial commitment to professional practice and the eradication of misconduct and corruption. To this end, the Service has developed the Internal Witness Support Program which was modelled on a similar program adopted by the NSW Police Service.

Once an internal witness is identified, an Internal Witness Case Officer liaises between all parties involved in the case. In particular, the case officer coordinates the flow of information, frequency of reports and schedule of meetings. Advised by the case officer, the member nominates a support officer who provides support at the particular work site.

A senior police or administrative officer of the Service acts as mentor to the support officer and member, and may pursue issues on their behalf.

Additionally, a Police Service Human Services Officer (usually a psychologist and counsellor), contacts the member at least once a week in the early stages of the case and later as required.

If necessary, the Service funds three professional/specialist consultations with an external medical practitioner or psychologist. In the context of this program, disclosures to all interested parties are treated as strictly confidential.

Aside from the provision of support during the course of a particular case, EPB staff also attempt to offer long-term support to the member.

Currently, the EPB is conducting seminars throughout the State to alert and inform Service personnel of the rights and responsibilities in connection with the Internal Witness Support program.

The response has been encouraging to date. It is particularly gratifying that the frequency with which members of the Service contact EPB staff for advice in relation to job-related ethical issues has increased steadily over the past few months.

Research and profiling

A civilian researcher works closely with the IIB and liaises with CJC Complaints and Research units in relation to issues relating to complaints of police misconduct and breaches of discipline.

Regardless of whether any given case is investigated by CJC or the Service, complaints about police have traditionally been approached from a disciplinary perspective — the process is essentially reactive and person-centred — particular allegations have been substantiated or not substantiated and, if substantiated, some sanction or other disciplinary action has been directed towards the individual or individuals concerned.

While such processes remain a necessary part of police service activity, the new focus on developing a proactive, organisation-centred managerial strategy has, in turn, altered the significance of police complaints information.

Research staff coordinate the development and distribution of statistical reports concerning various aspects of the disciplinary process for senior executive conferences and quarterly and annual statistical reviews prepared by the Office of the Commissioner.

In the past, routine reports have favoured detailed statistical summaries of past performance. Adoption of a more proactive orientation has entailed extensive changes in reporting, including changes in the style of analysis and interpretation of complaints data.

Conclusion

The Ethical Standards Command has been in operation for a little over a year and I am pleased with the progress to date and the level of acceptance of the new command by members of the Queensland Police Service.

The formation of the command has sent an important message to both the community and members. This message is that police service reform in Queensland is a fact rather than a promise — the reform process that has been in progress throughout the 11 years since publication of the Fitzgerald Report has been further invigorated by establishment of the Ethical Standards Command.

Our approach has raised the level of public accountability and at the same time put in place a mechanism that assists officers to ‘do the right thing'.


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