8 ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 1 SERIES (1915-2003 ) Policeman RAY He took a strong stance against corruption and was dedicated to improving standards and lifting the level of education within the force. - - WHITROD tion within the force. In this interview, Ray Ray interview, this In force. the within tion distinguished and long a over back looks career, giving a fascinating insight into police culture. Born in Adelaide in 1915, his memories of childhood are marked by his family’s standards standards and lifting the level of educa - (Series 8) produced by the Na the by produced 8) (Series Biography Australian

his program is an episode of episode an is program his some profiles series well-established This Australia. Film of Program Interest tional of Australians the of most our extraordinary time. Many have had a major impact

missioner of Police as a protest against that stand public very a was It corruption. enhanced his reputation as an officer of improving to dedicated integrity, unusual Ray Whitrod came to national prominence prominence national to came Whitrod Ray Com Queensland’s as resigned he when SYNOPSIS T INTRODUCTION STUDY GUIDE STUDY SHIRLEY CATHERINE AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY on the nation’s on cultural, the political nation’s and social life. All are remarkable and inspiring people who have reached a stage in their lives where they can look back and reflect. Through revealing in-depth interviews, they share their stories - of beginnings and challenges, landmarks and turning points. In so doing, they provide us with an invaluable archival have travelled. we, as a country, and a unique perspective on the roads record ABOVE: RAY WHITROD IN 2001 RAY ABOVE: 8 AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY RAY WHITROD

Great Depression, an economic slump which started in the US & Europe in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. The Depression affected all world economies and rendered millions of workers jobless. By 1932 the total value of world trade had fallen by more than half.

QUESTIONS 1. List the effects of the Depression on the Australian economy and work- force. 2. How did the Australian Government deal with unemployment of such a massive scale? 3. What effect did the Depression have on the education of average Austral- ians? 4. How, internationally, did the Depres- sion affect politics and the rise of extremist forces?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT poverty - always leaving the table hun- 1976, he quit in outrage after Premier Jo THE COLD WAR AND THE FORMATION gry, embarrassed at school by his cast- Bjelke-Petersen insisted on promoting of- OF ASIO off clothes. Like many others during the ficers who were known to be corrupt. The Depression, he took a swag to the country resulting public controversy eventually led The Australian Security Intelligence Or- looking for any job he could get - a time to the infamous . ganisation (ASIO) is Australia’s security he describes as his lowest point. service. Australia had several security After retirement, Ray Whitrod continued organisations between 1915 and 1949, Things changed when he met Mavis, his commitment to serve the Australian beginning with the formation of a branch seven years his senior and a teacher. public. He lectured in criminology at the of the British ‘Central Counter-Espionage She gave him a much-needed boost in Australian National University, worked Bureau’ as part of an Empire-wide ap- confidence and her parents encouraged with cancer patients, visited prisons paratus. him to apply for the police force, where and, together with his wife Mavis, was he was immediately made a detective due the driving force behind the establish- In the late 1940s the formation of the to the matriculation level he had attained ment of the South Australian Victims of Soviet Bloc under the Warsaw Pact at high school. Crime Service. generated widespread public fear of a third World War and the era of Cold War With the advent of World War Two, Ray CURRICULUM LINKS confrontation began. joined the RAAF as a navigator. He had a hard time readjusting to family life after Australian Biography: Ray Whitrod will On 16th March, 1949, Prime Minister Ben four intense years of fighting, but by the have interest and relevance for students Chifley directed that a security service be late 1940s, with the Cold War at its peak, from middle to senior secondary levels. established to counter security leaks from Ray had settled down into a new role, Curriculum links include English, Modern a ‘spy ring’ operating in Australia, which helping to set up the Australian Security History, Politics, Citizenship and Society was being run from the Soviet Embassy. Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). Life Skills, Society and Culture, Media Studies and Legal Studies. [Today] ASIO’s main role is to gather infor- Other appointments included head of the mation and produce intelligence that will Commonwealth Investigation Service, BEFORE WATCHING enable it to warn the government about which he helped transform into the Fed- activities or situations that might endan- eral Police, and Police Commissioner in HISTORICAL & LEGAL CONTEXT ger Australia’s national security. The ASIO New Guinea before he accepted the con- Act defines ‘security’ as the protection of troversial Queensland posting in 1970. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT Australia and its people from espionage, THE GREAT DEPRESSION sabotage, politically motivated violence, His reform efforts met with strong op- the promotion of communal violence, at-

ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION position, both from within the force and Ray Whitrod’s early life and outlook were tacks on Australia’s defence system, and the Queensland Government. Finally, in affected by his experiences during the acts of foreign interference. 2

RAY WHITROD WITH HIS WIFE MAVIS ASIO focuses on terrorists, people who THE FITZGERALD INQUIRY INTO POLICE point that as contact with members of may act violently for political reasons, CORRUPTION the public tended to be in situations of and people who may clandestinely obtain distress, conflict and hostility, members sensitive government information (spies) One of the most dramatic lapses in tended to retain the views and attitudes or otherwise harm Australia’s interests in institutional and personal integrity in they brought into the Force. These atti- order to further their own causes or the contemporary Australia was in the State tudes became internalized, so that after interests of foreign governments.1 of Queensland during the 1970s and years of service they became inflexible 1980s. and outdated. By this time they had DISCUSSION AND QUESTIONS usually been promoted to a position of In 1989, the Fitzgerald report set aside power. 1. Discuss the threat posed to Australia a whole chapter dealing with the notion by the Cold War, and how it was dif- of a ‘Police Culture’. The report detailed The existence of a siege mentality in some ferent in nature and threat from the that as most police are recruited as school police cultures results in an emphasis of previous World Wars. leavers, they enter an environment where crime control over crime prevention, 2. Discuss the concept of the protection they work and socialize almost exclusively thereby isolating the police from the of the State by the establishment of with team mates. Fitzgerald made the communities and the people they serve. a national security organisation within Australia. 3. Compare and contrast the original need for ASIO with its current role. 4. What are the checks and balances that need to be in place in a democ- racy when a security organisation is operating?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT POLICING AND POWER

Policing is a form of social control – “ac- tivities directed at preserving the security of a particular social order. 2

The reality is that the police fulfill a diver- sity of functions: including crime control, traffic control, combating terrorism. Underlying all their actions however is the power to wield legal sanctions and ultimately use force.

What clearly distinguishes the police is their legitimate right to use force - as the repository of the states monopolization of coercive powers in society. 3

DISCUSSION AND ACTIVITIES 1. Discuss the relationship between police and citizens, outlining what ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION a society should ideally expect of its police. 2. Discuss the role of education in as- sisting police to manage their jobs on a day to day basis. 3. Research background material that has been written about contemporary policing issues, paying particular at- tention to the groups in society who feel that they attract an undue amount of attention from police. 3

RAY WHITROD IN RAAF UNIFORM 8 AUSTRALIAN BIOGRAPHY RAY WHITROD

It moves police work in line with a re-ac- THE PLACE OF THE BIOGRAPHY IN the Victims of Crime Rights Bill tive stance, as opposed to the desirable CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY that Ray set up through the United pro-active position. Nations? In what ways is this UN Oral History is information about the past declaration important? When Sergeant Raymond Well Whitrod collected by interviewing people about • Find out about recent legal re- took over as Police Minister on 1 Septem- their lives. It is an important source of forms regarding victims of crime ber 1970 his main aim for his three year information for family and personal his- in your state or territory. term was to attempt to make corruption tory. Oral History interviews are pieces • Discuss the ’new’ concept of practically obsolete. This however was not of historical evidence of a person’s past Restorative Justice. What is its to be the case, mainly due to the strong experience or of events in their lives. It focus and primary assumptions? ‘broderbond’ nature of the Queensland can be used with other pieces of evi- Much of the original ideas of Re- police force. Of the eighteen charges of dence such as photographs and entries storative Justice are based upon criminal nature against police officers that from diaries. 5 community justice processes Whitrod sought, every one of these failed. practised by indigenous com- This can be attributed to the strong code AFTER WATCHING munities worldwide. of loyalty amongst members. Johnston • Watch the documentary Break- (1992: 281), writes of how this loyalty 1. What personal belief system, qualities ing Bows and Arrows, the story made it difficult to obtain evidence from and experience from his former career of how a broken community on a policeman that would lead to the convic- positions did Ray bring with him that Bougainville is turning to tradi- tion of another. This constitutes the notion qualified him for the difficult job of tion to heal the rifts caused by a of a police culture, thereby demonstrating Commissioner of Police in Queens- decade of armed conflict. the main obstacle opposing reform in the land? • Investigate the role of “sentencing Queensland police force. 4 2. Despite implementing numerous circles” in indigenous cultures. strategies to break the code of loyalty • Find out about aspects of Austral- A Royal Commission into police corrup- amongst Queensland police, Ray and ian Aboriginal Law, New Zealand tion in Queensland painted a picture of a his team came against strong resist- Maori justice or the role of apol- police force used as a political instrument ance in almost every direction. ogy in Japanese culture. Present of the ruling National Party. The former • Discuss the role of Ray Whitrod your findings to the class. Queensland Minister for Transport named as the outsider brought in to sort • Are there any groups in your area 14 cabinet members who he alleged had out an ingrained problem. that advocate on behalf of victims misused public funds for private expens- • Discuss the positive and negative of crime? es. Then State Premier, Sir Johannes (Joh) aspects of the Australian tradition 5. What do you believe that Ray Whitrod Bjelke-Petersen, stood trial on charges of of mateship. achieved during his career? corruption relating to A$100,000 “politi- 3. At the start of the interview Ray says 6. What personal resources did he fall cal donations” wrapped in brown paper that he thinks Queenslanders are back on during times of adversity? and left in his office. These charges were apathetic about political matters. later reduced to perjury. During the in- • What factors might have contrib- MEDIA STUDIES quiry, Fitzgerald was moved to say that uted to his perception? he suspected this was perhaps, ‘the tip • Thinking about the State in which History…is an inquiry which tries to nar- of an enormous iceberg’. you live, do you agree with his rate, reconstruct and interpret past human point of view? experiences. 6 The final report from the Fitzgerald Inquiry • To what extent do you think that resulted in a number of significant reforms people in Australia are apathetic Biography told through the method of oral being implemented nationwide. about politics in general? Identify history has certain narrative elements, re- the key issues. Select a particular vealing the motivation of characters and RESEARCH QUESTIONS audience and design a poster or what they do with opportunity and time. 1. What was the political legacy of the write an advertisement (for any Fitzgerald Inquiry? medium) that informs your audi- Certain stylistic elements are used by 2. What changes and controls on polic- ence about the importance and the filmmaker to enhance the narrative. ing and police culture did the Inquiry relevance of political matters and They are: composition, framing, spatial precipitate, both in Queensland and encourages them to actively par- relations, camera movement, lighting, the rest of Australia? ticipate. editing techniques, narration, sound ef- 3. Discuss your understanding of the 4. Since retirement Ray has continued fects, music, archival photographs and current relationship between police his social and legal reform work. film or tape. and politicians in your state or terri- • Find out about the Victims of tory. Crime Service (VOCS) that was • What role does the interviewer/

ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION set up by Whitrod in Adelaide in narrator play in this program? 1979 and now operates through- • What are the challenges of using nar- out Australia. ration in this manner? 4 • What are the basic principles of • How has music been used? • Discuss the use of archival stills and orders in council, Government Printer, www.voc.sa.gov.au Victims of Crime Co-or- footage. Queensland, 1989. dinator, Attorney General’s Department, Government of South Australia A biography also reveals a sequence Queensland Council for Civil Liberties, of events and should achieve narrative Submission to committee on police ENDNOTES unity. powers, , 1977. 1 ASIO web site: http://www.asio.gov.au/ about/content/what.htm • Discuss the style and pace of the ed- Police In Our Society, B u t t e r- 2 Reiner, R, (1995), “Policing and the iting and whether it distracted from or worths,1988. Police”, in Macgurie, M, Morgan, enhanced the narrative unity. R and Reiner, R, (eds), The Oxford • Is closure achieved at the end of the Policing in Australia: historical perspec- Handbook of Criminology, Clarendon narrative? tives, New South Wales University Press, Press, Oxford. • Are issues resolved? c1987. 3 http://www.law.ecel.uwa.edu.au/crc/ • Are questions answered? POLICE1.DOC • Were you drawn into the story? Keeping the peace: police accountability 4 http://members.ozemail.com.au/ • Which part of the story resonated with and oversight, University of and ~wtmp/misc/cop.html you? the Royal Institute of Public Administra- 5 Mark Anderson and Paul Ashton, Fo- tion Australia, Canberra, 1994. cus on Australian History, MacMillan FURTHER READING Education Australia, 1994. Joh’s Jury [videorecording]. ABC Televi- 6 Mark Anderson and Paul Ashton, Fo- THE GREAT DEPRESSION sion Drama co-production with South- cus on Australian History, MacMillan ern Star Sullivan Productions, Sydney, Education Australia, 1994, P. 2. Judy Mackinolty (ed), The Wasted years? 1993. Australia’s Great Depression, Allen & Un- Australian Biography: Ray Whitrod win, Sydney, 1981. Moonlight State (Four Corners) [videore- A Film Australia National Interest Program cording]. ABC Television, Reporter: Chris Director/Producer: Robin Hughes Marta Rado (series ed), Life in the Great Masters. Executive Producer: Mark Hamlyn Depression, Heinemann Educational Duration: 26 minutes Australia, Richmond, 1985. VICTIMS OF CRIME LAW REFORM Year: 2001 http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/ POLICING AND POWER current%20series/rpp/1-20/rpp19.html Study guide © ATOM and Film Australia Bree Cook, Fiona David and Anna Grant, This study guide was produced by ATOM. Phil Dickie, The Road to Fitzgerald, Uni- Victims’ Needs, Victims’ Rights: Policies For more information about ATOM study versity of Queensland Press, 1988. and Programs for Victims of Crime in guides or The Speakers’ Bureau visit our Australia, AIC Research and Public web site: www.metromagazine.com.au Mark Finnane, Police and Government: Policy Series No 19, Australian Institute or email: [email protected] histories of policing in Australia, Oxford of Criminology, Canberra, 1999. University Press, Melbourne,1994. For information about Film Australia’s http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/40/ programs, contact: Peter Nils Grabosky, Wayward Govern- a40r034.htm Centre for Human Rights, National Film and Sound Archive of ance: illegality and its control in the public Declaration of basic principles of justice Australia sector, Australian Institute of Criminology, for victims of crime and abuse of power, Sales and Distribution | PO Box 397 Canberra, c1989. UN Document Series Symbol: ST/HR/, Pyrmont NSW 2009 United Nations. T +61 2 8202 0144 | F +61 2 8202 0101 Sandra McKillop and Julia Vernon (eds), www.restorativejustice.org Restorative E: [email protected] | www.nfsa.gov.au The police and the community in the Justice Online: International Centre for 1990s: proceedings of a conference held Justice and Reconciliation ISSUE 29 AUSTRALIAN SCREEN EDUCATION 23-25 October 1990, Australian Institute of Criminology, c1991. Liz Thompson (director), Breaking Bows and Arrows [videorecording], A Tiger Eye Scott Prasser, Rae Wear and John Neth- and Firelight Film Production, 2001. ercote (eds), Corruption and reform: the (Program and study guide available from Fitzgerald vision, University of Queens- Film Australia) land Press, 1990. www.peacemakers.ca The Peacemak- Queensland Commission of Inquiry ers Trust is a non-profit organization into Possible Illegal Activities and As- dedicated to research, education and sociated Police Misconduct, Report of consultation on conflict resolution and a commission of inquiry pursuant to peacebuilding. 5