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Editors --- "A year of success, change and the Games: Year 2000 in review" [2000] AUFPPlatypus 23; (2000) 69 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 1


A year of success, change and the Games: Year 2000 in review

Year 2000 in review

By Commissioner Mick Palmer

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Operation Opus, jointly conducted by AFP Eastern and Northern Operations, seized an estimated 67.4kg of ecstasy (MDMA) tablets, 9.041kg of MDMA powder and 9.117kg of cocaine on January 11, 2000.

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Federal agents and Customs officers intercepted an estimated 500kg of cocaine in a raid on a yacht in the early hours of February 1 at Patonga, NSW.

This year is perhaps one that many Australians won't forget for quite some time. The beginning of the new century got off to a hesitant start with fears that the millennium bug could bring the country to a stand still, but the ticking over of the clock did not see these fears realised.

The year concluded with the triumph of a uniquely Australian Olympic and Paralympic Games without major incident, which unequivocally demonstrated that Australia had the skill and ability to host two of the world's biggest and most successful events.

For the AFP it was also a year of challenges and achievement. The challenges arose from the increasing transnational character of crime, the globalisation of society and issues, innovations in commerce and trade facilitated by the Internet and the growing irrelevance of borders between states and countries for criminal enterprises.

Corporately, we have had the challenge of managing our new Certified Agreement and our present budget allocation, dealing with our continued involvement in East Timor and the problems in the South Pacific, and preparing submissions in support of the next phase of AFP reform and positioning. During the year 2000, the work the AFP had already done to re-position itself to be able to cope best with these challenges paid dividends, at the same time it reinforced the need for the process to continue.

New AFP Staff and Structure

After a lengthy period of senior staffing stability, this past year has been one where we have had some significant change – changes to our structure as well as to our people. Former Deputy Commissioner Adrien Whiddett, General Managers Rod Leffers and Nigel Hadgkiss and Assistant Commissioner Bill Stoll have left us after many years of distinguished service. Each made valuable contributions to the development of the AFP over the past 21 years. To some extent their departure is a reflection of the changing nature of policing where senior managers are, in future, more likely to move across a range of organisations to gain wider professional experience.

Their departure has also made way for a number of new appointments across the AFP. These include Mick Keelty as the Acting Deputy Commissioner, Simon Overland as the Chief Operating Officer and Marion Cowden as the General Manager Finance and People Management. In ACT Community Policing, John Murray has been appointed as the Chief Police Officer and Denis McDermott the Deputy Chief Police Officer.

Other key appointments and transfers within the organisation will see Graham Ashton as General Manger Southern, John Davies as General Manger Northern, Steve Jackson as General Manager Western, Peter Donaldson as Director Operations Southern, Tony Negus Director Operations Eastern and Mark Ney as Director Operations Northern. I envisage they will take up their new positions by no later than the end of January 2001.

Following the introduction of the two outcome structures for the 2000–01 Budget reporting process, I considered it appropriate to modify the organisational structure to more accurately align it with the financial reporting structure. The new structure also streamlined the relationships between Head Office and the AFP's geographic operations and reflected the need for the effective integration of national and international operations.

The Enabling Services and Corporate Support Group structure was also realigned to better support the needs of the National Teams Model and to assist in focusing the organisation on outcomes rather than inputs. The structure was designed to help facilitate the adoption of a high performance culture in the AFP within the flexible employment framework made possible by the Certified Agreement implemented during the year.

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Australian Federal Police and Customs seized approximately 115kg of black cocaine in February 2000. The cocaine was found concealed in a consignment of air freight which was exported from Brazil to Sydney.

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In recognition of their service in East Timor, Australian police have received the Police Overseas Service Medal and the UN Service Medal.

The AFP's Budget

The funding made available to the AFP as a result of the review undertaken by Mr Tony Ayers AC in 1997 has provided a strong foundation for the first stage of the AFP reform program and a firm basis on which the longer term resource needs of the AFP can be established. The work of the Monitoring Committee established by the Government to oversight the implication of the first stage of the reform program acknowledged in their latest report to Ministers the distance the AFP has come over the past three years and the preparations which have been made to equip the AFP to deal with emerging new demands. It is against this background that my faith in the outcome of the Government consideration of the longer term needs of the AFP is based. I believe we have demonstrated our capacity to properly manage our budget and – through significant operational success and our level of preparedness to meet emerging challenges – our ability to provide a real return on the Government's investment. This has not happened by accident.

Throughout the reform process flowing from the Ayers Review the AFP has worked strenuously with support from the Department of Finance and Administration (DoFA) to improve the credibility of our financial reporting. I believe the success of this process is reflected in the better alignment between operational outputs and resource inputs.

The Certified Agreement and changes to the AFP Act

The Certified Agreement (CA) adopted by members of the AFP in November 1999 is now well in place and helping improve remuneration equity and certainty for members while increasing our capacity and productivity to deal with an unpredictable work environment through more flexibility in the way the workforce is used. These innovations have been supported by changes to the AFP legislation which were passed by Parliament in February 2000 and came into effect from July 2, 2000. In essence the legislative changes separate the employment powers and command powers and allow AFP employees to negotiate industrial outcomes under the Workplace Relations Act. It makes clear what issues can be settled industrially and what issues are entirely command powers.

One of the more noticeable changes in the Act is the abolition of fixed-term appointments for the workforce generally – replacing them with ongoing employment. The AFP Act also now underwrites two anti-corruption measures – legal guidelines for mandatory drug testing of AFP employees and the legal basis for obtaining financial statements regarding an AFP employee's personal financial affairs.

Forensic Services

A new AFP forensic laboratory at Weston Complex was completed during the year and was formally opened by the Minister in August. This state-of-the-art laboratory is a tangible demonstration of the increasing capability and sophistication of the AFP's forensic services. AFP forensic services are now world class, as are our scientists. As a small but significant example of their achievement during the year, AFP forensic scientists developed new technologies to detect fingerprints on difficult surfaces such as polymer bank notes with the use of vacuum metal deposition technology.

Operations

This year has been a very successful one for the AFP with the consolidation of the mobile drug strike teams concept. The teams providing a proactive investigative ability to the investigation of major organised drug trafficking. We are working very closely with partner agencies both within Australia and overseas and through this cooperative effort we have dismantled a number of international criminal syndicates and seized record amounts of heroin, cocaine and amphetamines.

In many cases the AFP was assisted by intelligence received from overseas law enforcement agencies with which we have ongoing and/or newly forged links and partnership and with operational matters from other law enforcement agencies in Australia. We continue to foster strong and meaningful relationships with law enforcement agencies in other countries as a key element of our programs to more effectively detect drug importations, to defeat people smuggling operations, to identify money laundering enterprises throughout the Asia/Pacific region and to investigate the growing incidence of electronic crime and otherwise protect the Commonwealth's interests.

Drugs

During the past year the AFP has recorded its largest ever seizures of cocaine and amphetamines. About 500kg of cocaine was seized in Australia's largest ever haul of the drug from a yacht off the NSW coast near Broken Bay on February 1. This was more than twice the size of the previous largest haul. Seven people were arrested and two vessels seized as part of this 18-month, intelligence-driven operation. The operation was not only significant for the size of the haul, but also for its success in disrupting an organised criminal syndicate.

In August this year Australia's second largest cocaine seizure, and South Australia's largest, occurred in the Adelaide suburb of Prospect. Following a joint investigation, about 317kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of $63 million, was found hidden in five blue plastic drums in the garage of a residence, along with almost $300,000 cash in a trailer at the same address. The seizure consisted of several hundred 500 gram blocks of cocaine formed in a disc shape and wrapped in plastic packaging. In total the AFP and other federal agencies have prevented more than 1 tonne of cocaine from reaching the streets this year.

In January this year Operation Opus seized more than 67kg of ecstasy tablets and over 9kg of MDMA powder making it Australia's largest ever ecstacy seizure. This was also more than double the previous largest seizure. The drugs were discovered concealed inside a shipping container of farming equipment that arrive in Brisbane from Malaysia.

Operation Logrunner, which culminated in Fiji, was an operation involving some 30 agents from five different countries during which 357kg of heroin was seized and a major crime syndicate was dismantled, was a classic example of the effectiveness of international cooperation between law enforcement agencies. It is the forerunner of the way that AFP operations will be undertaken in the future.

Intelligence indicates that the production and trafficking of amphetamines will continue to increase, and as most imported into Australia are still manufactured in Europe, the AFP has moved quickly to close gaps in its intelligence gathering capabilities in countries posing the highest levels of interest including Burma (heroin), The Hague (amphetamine type substances) and Bogota (cocaine).

NIDS Initiatives

One of the key Government initiatives pursued by the AFP during the year was the National Illicit Drug Strategy (NIDS). The additional funding provided in the 1999–2000 budget has allowed an expansion of the AFP's overseas liaison capabilities and has provided an additional capacity to pursue Law Enforcement Cooperation Program initiatives. In both of these ways the AFP is able to enhance its overseas capabilities and develop a more effective and broader criminal intelligence capacity.

People smuggling

During the year the AFP has become increasingly involved in investigating people smuggling and the organised criminal activity that surrounds the exploitation of individuals as a result of the increasing incidence of unauthorised arrivals. Numbers of such arrivals have dramatically increased from 1712 in 1997–98 to 3009 in 1998–99, reaching a high of 5869 in 1999–2000.

The creation of dedicated people-smuggling investigations teams in Darwin and the increasing focus on intelligence and overseas liaison elements is one way the AFP is combating the problem. In the 2000–01 Budget the AFP will receive $3.9 million to investigate and detect organised people smuggling which includes establishing a joint strike team with DIMA. The seriousness given to this issue and the need to have across-the-board deterrents was reinforced by the introduction of harsher penalties for those who are knowingly organising the illegal entry of groups of five or more including a 20-year jail term or fine of up to $220,000.

The Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games

This year also saw much time and effort invested by AFP personnel in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our operational capacity was boosted with a communications upgrade for portable and mobile radios, purchase of valuable equipment, upgraded secure computer databases and additional training activities that will have lasting benefits beyond the Games' period.

Federal Agent Steve Jackson had primary responsibility for planning and coordinating the AFP's contribution to the Games and in running AFP operations during that period. He has written an overview of the AFP's involvement in the Games for this edition. Since his appointment in July 1998, Federal Agent Jackson has been working closely with Games coordinators to ensure the AFP was positioned to meet all possible challenges and demands that accompany such events. For the excellent job they have done, I congratulate Steve and all those who worked as part of the team on the wide range of Games-related activities.

Peacekeeping/peace monitoring

AFP involvement in overseas peacekeeping has been dominated by East Timor this year. Since June 1999, about 250 AFP members have served in East Timor with UNAMET, InterFET and UNTAET, often in dangerous conditions and not without hardship. East Timor has been an extremely difficult and hazardous deployment testing out members skills and resolve on a daily basis. The most recent deployment was the 5th AFP Detachment which headed off to East Timor in November 2000.

Despite the difficulties, the self-determination ballot was completed and the country has now started to rebuild. This exemplifies the contribution police have made to the future of East Timor. I had the opportunity to visit East Timor in August to express my personal support to our people there. The visit provided me with a better understanding of the situation on the ground there and enabled me to reinforce the AFP's support for the role of UNCIVPOL in East Timor.

In recognition of their service in East Timor, a large number of AFP officers have received the Police Overseas Service Medal for East Timor and the on October 14 about 80 members of the 4th Detachment received the first UN Service Medal for their efforts as part of UNTAET. Following representations by the Government to the United Nations all AFP members nominated for UN Service Medals will now receive them.

Sharon McCarthy, one of our federal agents who served in East Timor has also been recognised for her bravery and professionalism during a militia attack at Liquica. She was presented with the Medal of Valour 2000 by the International Association of Women Police at a ceremony in Toronto on 26 September.

In recent times the Government has committed the AFP to contributing a small detachment of about 20 officers to an international peace monitoring team in the Solomon Islands to further the Townsville Peace Agreement.

Community Policing in the Australian Capital Territory

How the AFP provides community policing services to the ACT was reviewed during the past year and on March 15, 2000 a new policing arrangement was signed by the Minister for Justice and Community Safety. The new agreement that commenced on July 1 supported a range of new accountability measures and enabled the development of an annual purchase agreement with the ACT Government specifying levels of service to be provided to the community.

The year also saw a significant change of the criminal environment within the ACT with a 19.8 per cent increase in reported offences. The introduction of an intelligence led policing model which ensures police resources are targeted to address existing and emerging criminal activity is having a significant impact in addressing the rising crime rate. The results at the end of this year have clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of this policy model within the ACT's unique geographical location and community environment.

E- crime

The Australasia Police Commissioners' conference held in Canberra in March this year recognised that e-crime was emerging as one of the foremost challenges facing law enforcement agencies today.

With an estimated 900 million people using the Internet by the end of this year there is the capacity to commit offences on a large scale with complete anonymity and with a speed not previously encountered. Such crimes have the potential to threaten the viability of industries such as banking and tourism.

The Commissioners' Conference established an e-crime steering committee and working group to prepare a scoping paper and strategy for e-crime. A key element of the strategy is developing partnerships with a range of stakeholders including the private sector to reduce the opportunity for e-crime.

On October 10, Australasian Police Commissioners released the scoping paper and work is continuing on finalising an overall strategy for dealing with e-crime with a view to consideration by Commissioners and relevant ministerial forums. An international conference will also be held in South Australia in March 2001 which will address, amongst other things, the global challenges confronting law enforcement in addressing the problem.

Conclusion

The criminal environment in the first decade of the 21st century will be, and already is in many instances, vastly different to that of 10 years ago. E-commerce, e-crime and money laundering are increasingly reliant on and indeed facilitated by the growing sophistication and availability of technology. The rapid development of technological capabilities presents an enormous challenge for law enforcement. Crime at the speed of thought, the theme of the 2000 Commissioner's Conference was much more than a catchy phrase, it is a reality and we must develop the expertise to use this technology to our advantage. Encryption of data and financial records has the potential to make law enforcement even more difficult.

The AFP has an increasingly diverse role in addressing many of the issues we now face as a result of the impact the Internet is having on our environment. Computer crime and associated activities will continue to receive a high level of attention by the AFP. We already have in place or are establishing a specialist computer crime capacity in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

The value of our international interface and liaison officer network continues to grow in strength and importance and without question the level of credibility and collaboration which we enjoy with our international law enforcement partners will directly impact on our capacity to properly protect Commonwealth interests and deliver on government expectations in the future.

Overall, the performance of the AFP during the year and the support it has received from its key stakeholders, have demonstrated the investment and commitment of the Government is well founded. Despite this environment of almost constant change and challenge, the AFP is in a sound corporate and operational position. We have enjoyed the support of Government both in terms of the work we are doing and the funding we need to do it, have created a flexible and professional work environment and have a highly motivated and skilled workforce.

As the year draws to a close I want to thank all AFP personnel for their contribution to one of our most successful years. It has been a year of major operational achievement and we have served the people of Australia well in our fight against organised crime. I want to thank also our law enforcement partners both in Australia and around the globe. One of the major achievements this year has been the success of multi-agency investigation teams. The teams build on the specialist expertise and resources of participating agencies and the results have been outstanding.

In an increasingly complex world we need to continue to find ways to work together and to reappraise the way we do business to ensure we are operating as effectively and efficiently as possible.


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