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ii' 3& nj " Australian Institute of Criminology
•i ~ i Trends· I
andI!lI I Issues in crime and criminal justice rh PillJI Wilson ((~(lll"ln' frlilnr)
Compiled and written by Bruce Swanton October 1987
On 29 July 1987, Queensland police ,.. policing is becoming increas conducted a dawn raid on a Brisbane 'Detective hit by one of six ingly more difficult, both phys house in search of one of Australia's shots, court told' ically and psychologically; and most wanted criminals. A shoot-out fol Age 23 April 87 ~ the health of police officers is lowed which left one police officer dead 'Policemen feared for lives' deteriorating, physically as and another wounded. The wanted man Canberra Times 23 April 87 well as psychologically. was also killed. 'Police: Man Tried to Kill Police officers are not alone in This recent event is a dramatic illus Constable' tration of the grave dangers faced on believing society is becoming har Courier Mail 30 April 87 occasions by members of the nation's sher and more violent. Among 'Army Corporal Kicked others, fonner Chief Justice of the various police forces. They are dangers High Court, Sir Harry Gibbs, has which many police officers, and the 3 Police' Sunday Telegraph 3 May 87 publicly asserted such is the case. public in general, believe are growing Police officers, though, are closer in our society. As such, substantial 'Hero Dies Over AIDS to the streets and see such con concern has been expressed about the Crash Fears' ditions as affecting the quality of impact of an increasingly hazardous Daily Telegraph 5 June 87 their health in addition to the work environment upon the health and 'Threat to Blow People quality of society generally. safety of more than 35 000 police Away during Standoff with Health impacts of police work officers serving around the country. Police' are as important in economic The research results in this Trends and terms as they are on humanitarian Courier Mail 5 June 87 and social grounds. Costs of lost Issues on Crime and Criminal Justice 'Anxiety Compo for Police' time, early retirement, compensa contain some reassuring information. Advertiser 10 June 87 tion and medical and psychiatric During the period 1977-87 the avail treatment, for an Australasian able evidence suggests that the general 'Major Case nearly wrecked police population in excess health and safety of police did not [detective's] Marriage' of 35 000 officers are enormous deteriorate. However, the findings also Daily Telegraph 12 June 87 even when optimal conditions pre emphasise the need to continue the vail. In addition, there are add on search for ways of minimising the occu costs in respect of administration, pational hazards of pQlice work-a task equipment, recruitment, training, which is already being tackled by Aus loss of experience and so on. Some tralian police administrators. Reprinted above is a small selec of these factors, eg, resignations tion of headlines to newspaper art and recruitment, sometimes be Duncan Chappell icles published during a seven come the subject of industrial dis Director week period. The articles highlight pute and political manoeuvrings, some of the dangerous aspects of thus further reducing the quality police work and the health im of police officers' working environ pacts of those dangers. Given the ments. The poorer police em apparent fre'1uency of threats and ployee health generally is, the physical harm to police officers, it greater are the costs of coping. is understandable two widely held Given these concerns, the Aus assumptions have developed with tralian Institute of Criminology in the Australasian police com undertook a preliminary retrospec munity: tive study of police health, for varying periods between 1966 and 1,985. A report dealing with Table 1 Police officers shot/bombed in the line of duty: police health and related issues Australasia; 1976-85 wiII be published later. Year NSW VIC QLD WA sA 1'AS NT AGl' NZ This Research Brief concentrates 1976 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 on selected aspects of police health 1977 2 2 1 0 2 0 2 0 0 during the decade 1976-85. 1978 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1979 1 3 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1980 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 THE RESEARCH 1981 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1982 II 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1983 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 Six measures of police health were 1984 6 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1985 2 selectedl 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Total 26 22 2 7 6 0 2 0 1 II shootings/bombings in line of Annual average 2.6 2.2 0.2 0.7 0.6 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.1 duty Rale/100 000 27.88 28.46 4.76 26.51 19.37 0.0 37.54 0.0 2.06 m accidental deaths in line of duty l'I other deaths in service ~ Compared with some 40 over Deaths from other causes 1'1 non-fatal assaults in line of seas police populations, police The great majority of other deaths duty . shooting fatality rates in Aus resulted from cancer or heart I"! invalidity tralasia were found to be close attack. The only other significant to the average. 3 '" resignations cause was suicide, which occurred at a far lower frequency. Further: Data were collected from police 111 Tasmania, Australian Capital jurisdictions throughout Aus Territory and New Zealand ~ There were no significant in- tralasia, as well as overseas, there Police were the only agencies creases over time in the rates by permitting tentative conclu to experience lower shooling of death of police officers from sions to be drawn as to whether: fatality rates than the police of other causes. England and Wales. 4 In the rates associated with the " With regard to those jurisdic various measures increased m Compared with the United tions in which comparative over time; and States, the rates of deaths and public service data were avail woundings by gunshot of on able, it was found that 'other 111 police officers in Australasia duty police officers throughout death' rates for police were were significantly disadvan Australasia were infinilesimal.5 taged in comparison with other lower than those among public groups. f:!I There were no significant in servants in Victoria, Tasmania creases in shooting/bombing and New Zealand, but higher than public servants in Wes TIlE FINDINGS rates of police officers over 6 tern Australia and Tasmania. Ii .. rt 44 t'ff 'Pf f '1",.-'1 jet.Aft Ii"A:'f'M W i.. ,hi " ..'f"I"tIt time in any jurisdiction.
Selected findings of the study are 1\1 On-duty police officers were presented here, mostly without murdered at a greater rate than Non-fatal assaults qualification. The principal report the general public in their res should be referred to for further pective jurisdictions, with the Non-fatal assault'S data included details. exceptions of Tasmania and all weapons other than firearms Australian Capital Territory. (except where used as a club Shooting/Bombing (see Table 1) there was one such case) and ex The majority of shootings of plosive devices. Tlms, feet, fists, on-duty police officers were car Accidental deaths clubs, motor vehicles, knives, etc., are all used.to attack police ried out with rifles. Bombings were The great majority of accidental largely confined to New South officers and such attacks were deaths were the result of motor included in the study. Unfortu Wales and Victoria. Circumstances . vehicle accidents. Very few of the surrounding inciden ts varied con nately, insufficient data were accidents involved police in high available to permit analysis of siderably but attempting arrests speed pursuits. Further: and attending disturbance calls weapons used and the circum figured prominently. The incidence " Accidental deaths were low in stances in which they were used. of shootings arising from domestic all agencies. Only three police Further: disturbances was small overall. forces averaged one or more ,., There were no significant in Further: such deaths per year. No acci creases in assaults on police dental deaths occurred in the over time, in respect of those l\'I Nearly all murders of on-duty Northern Territory. Australasian police officers agencies for which data were were committed through use of " There were no significant in available, i.e. Victoria, Western firearms or bombs2 (65 in Aus creases over time. Australia, Tasmania and Nor tralia, one in New Zealand). thern Territory. n Rates of accidental death in FIt Tasmania and Australian Capi United States police agencies /"! Police officers were subjected tal Territory Police suffered no were broadly similar to those to higher assault rates than the gunshoVbomb casualties dur found in police agencies in general public in their respec. ing the period. Australasia. tive jurisdictions. rrI Assaults on police in South /'! There were no significant in in their respective communi Australia and Tasmania appear creases in police resignation ties; and high by limited international rates over time. ,., greater numbers of police offi comparison; but more detailed " Police resignation rates were cers were shoVbombed in New agency-specific research is South Wales and Victoria in necessary to determine found to be lower than those occurring in their respective recent years, although the rates whether such is really the case of such events did not increase or if the apparent situation is public services in jurisdictions for which comparable data significantly. largely a product of more rig were available. Comparable These results do not une orous record keeping and!or public service data were not qUivocally rebut police employees' definitions of assault. available in respect of Queens perceptions which are based more land and Northern Territory. on experience than objective data. Invalidity There may, for example, be greater /'! Resignation rates for Northern In validity refers to members being violence and threats of violence in Territory Police were found to the police workplace which have discharged from service on medi be particularly high but this is C'.al grounds. Major medical cate not yet translated into recorded thought to be primarily due to assaults, shootings, etc; possibly in gories identified included nervous non-operational factors, such disorders, heart conditions, back part due to increased police exper as isolation and distance from tise in survival, negotiating lechni·· problems and hypertension. parents in southern states. Further: ques, and improved equipment. It is understood, for example, that at I'.! There were no significant in DISCUSSION least two officers have been struck creases over time in those juris 14, E.... ;: i • , J ,I ,¥ ""'" '1 , with rifle shots on their body dictions for whkh data were On the basis of these admittedly armour and, as a result, were not available, i.e. New South imperfect measures (and ack wounded. Similarly, the psych Wales, Victoria, Western Aus nowledging the lack of sick leave ological stresses of operational tralia, Tasmania and Northern and stress related data), there is no policework may have increased Territory. substantial evidence that police perceptibly, remaining within the n In Victoria and Western Aus officers throughout Australasia bounds of tolerance and thus not tralia, police invalidity rates were: resulting in increased rates of were slightly more than double JI'I murdered at an increasing rate; stress related medical boardings. It seems possible that in those those of their respective public M shot at an increasing rate; and services. jurisdictions in which numbers of !'lI assaulted at an increasing rate. assaults and shootings increased, III In Tasmania, police invalidity There is also no substantial evi the greater numbers of officers rates were marginally lower dence that the overall health of operating in urban districts was than those found in that state's police officers throughout Aus not sufficiently taken into account public service. tralasia deteriorated over time. by members in forming their per There is evidence that: ceptions. That is to say, it is poss ible in some areas for personnel to Resignations (see Table 2) l"I police officers, with the excep increase at a faster rate than tions of those in Tasmania and Resignations pose problems as a attacks with the result that Australian Capital Territory, although the number increases, the measure due in part to the number were murdered at a greater of insincere reasons offered when rate of such incidents does not. rate than occurred in their re Increasing specialisation may leaving org,misations. In any spective communities; event, data concerning reasons for well result in small numbers of resignation were insufficient to '" police officers were assaulted officers being frequently at the permit analysis. Further: at a greater rate than occurred sharp end of violence prone opera tions, e.g., crowd control, anti-drug operations, undercover work and an ti- hostage! terrorist operations. Table 2 Police officer re~ignations: Australasia, 1976-85 The heightened impression Year NSW VIC QLD WA SA TAS NT NZ among some such specialist field ----- officers of society slipping into a 1976 115 142 141 55 57 37 42 175 1977 126 189 119 59 49 46 35 223 vortex of violence could easily 1978 148 157 80 60 42 52 44 186 generalise to become part of the 1979 156 153 85 69 38 30 35 205 accepted wisdom of police depart 1980 171 138 77 73 78 41 46 203 ments. 1981 237 170 67 50 54 21 54 163 It may be, too, that police 1982 ) 145 67 97 70 23 35 135 officers' impressions of increasing 1983 189) 105 49 33 51 18 35 119 violence are based not only on per 1984 119 111 65 36 72 15 34 120 sonal experience but of growing 1985 164 160 62 38 71 14 36 137 general violence in some societies, Tolal 1425 1470 812 570 585 297 396 1666 e.g., a claimed threefold increase in assaults in New South Wales over Annual average 142.5 147.0 81.2 57.0 58.5 29.7 39.6 166.6 Rale/l00 1.54 1.90 1.94 2.16 1.89 3.06 7.43 3.44 the decade 1977-86 and in creases in armed robberies in Vic toria and Queensland. However, despite those con M Larger police agencies could search and development initiatives siderations, the best evidence at fruitfully research the structure address: this time suggests police health did of employees' perception of not deteriorate over the period workplace hazards. 1"'1 apparent discrepancies bet studied and that the streets did ween perception and reality not become more violent toward ,., Attention could usefully be concerning workplace dangers police officers in practice. given to researching and de and health hazards; and veloping improvements in ,.., means to minimise impacts of police occupational health and workplace hazards to employee II\U'LIGA'flONS l'OR nESRAHClI safety practices, as well as health generally. , , ,.. '---' equipment and training needs. A number of research related pro It is pleasing to note some agencies posals flow from the foregoing: have already embarked on the lat ter course. r'I Police employee health should ideally be monitored for both Tl~e widely held view among NOTES economic and humane reasons. police officers throughout Aus 1. Sick leave was not included as a health .., Individual agencies need to re tralasia that their working lives are measure as insufficient data were avail becoming tougher and more dan able. Only two of the data sets selected search employee health in fine were completed in respect of all juris detail utilising in-house experi gerous, to the detriment of their dictions-thus, the preliminary nature ence to interpret internal fac health, requires serious considera of the study. tors, such as administrative tion. Preliminary evidence, albeit 2. Swanton, Bruce and Psaila, Trish (1985) delays creating an appearance limited, suggests police aggregate Descriptions oj Police Officer Murders of periodic upsurges in invali health has not deteriorated. Gross and WOllndings by Sltooting alld Bomb measures of workplace violence llIast 1964-83. Australian Institute dity figures. It is only in this of Criminology, Canberra. way the preliminary findings show no significant increases. it 3. Lester, P,,-Ild lit "'" " . ., Australian Institute of Criminology ISSN 0817-8542 PO Box 28, Woden, ACT 2606 Telephone: (062) 83 3833 ISBN 0 642 122202 I'tfnltd In 1\lutl1lll .. by Union omrt Ca. Ply Lid. C.nt:>crra