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Keelty, Mick --- "Commissioner Keelty" [2001] AUFPPlatypus 11; (2001) 71 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 2


Reviews will become foundations stones for future changes

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Commissioner Mick Keelty brought 27 years of policing experience to the AFP's top job when he was appointed Commissioner on April 2, 2001. At 46, Commissioner Keelty has been a career police officer for 27 years. He was formerly the AFP's Deputy Commissioner and holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration degree (Charles Sturt University), a Graduate Certificate in Criminal Justice Education (University of Virginia, USA) and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.

My appointment as AFP Commissioner comes after a period of internal workplace review and assessment of such things as terms and conditions and structural arrangements.

This work will become the foundation stone to allow us to deal with immediate and future challenges facing the organisation. We have also focused on work and as a result we have made a concerted effort to improve the quality and relevance of the services we provide to our clients including an enhanced government accountability regime focusing on the achievement of outcomes and outputs. Business planning and review has now become a significant part of our corporate management arrangements.

Appropriate personnel

The profile of persons joining the AFP has changed considerably since the time I joined 27 years ago. In our latest intake, those selected have an average age of 27, more than 70 per cent of them have a tertiary qualification and more than 30 per cent have second language skills. These newer members complement more experienced staff in providing the skills base needed to respond to the changing criminal environment.

Electronic crime

This re-engineering and re-profiling comes at a time when e-crime issues are firmly on the agenda — Justice Minister Chris Ellison has noted that according to recent estimates cybercrime is costing companies worldwide approximately 3 trillion dollars a year. Further, an estimated 50,000 Australian companies suffered heavy losses as a result of infection by the “Love Bug” and “Anna Kournikova” viruses. Earlier this year, hackers tapped into computer switchboards of 12 of Australia's largest corporations and ran up $12 million worth of untraceable phone calls.

We are under pressure to establish a national cybercrime centre similar to those commenced in the UK and USA. I do not want to rush into this, because I firmly believe that private enterprise has significant responsibilities which, until now, they have not openly nor readily accepted (see Business Review Weekly, 5 Ma. 2001, p40. “Mouse Clicks and Dirty Tricks”, P Gibbons). The corporate world developed the technology and business applications, but have not put the proper safeguards in place. To use an analogy — it is like one liquor chain taking alarms off all their stores while their competitor keeps theirs in place. Who do we commit resources to when both stores complain about being burgled?

But apart from fraud committed through e-commerce, the Internet is providing ample opportunities for other crimes such as child ‘sexploitation' and it is a means of anonymous communication for serious and organised crime syndicates. There was a time when we had consorting laws to prevent criminals from gathering together to plan their crimes, but the Internet has turned that concept on its head.

It is clear that we will need to move with the times and establishing our niche here will be important. It will be just as important to have the skills to deal with the new crime scene.

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Commissioner Mick Keelty was invited to observe one of Thailand's largest ever drug destructions in Bangkok during a visit to Thailand in April, 2001. The destruction involved more than two tonnes of drugs including 11 million MDMA tablets and 1088kg of heroin.

The fight against drugs

Our traditional fight against drugs, along with our international partner agencies, is taking on new dimensions. Crop substitution in opium growing areas has been difficult. Firstly, it is hard to establish a crop which will compete (coffee/caffeine) in the market place because these crops have to survive in an already competitive marketplace and the returns to the people involved are very poor. Another confounding factor is that there is a trend to use caffeine as an addictive agent in the production of methamphetamines. Some ecstasy tablets have been found to contain up to 70 per cent caffeine and this means that the drug syndicates can continue to have an economic hold over the subsistence farmers involved in drug production.

What is worse for law enforcement is that traditional heroin producers are now able to diversify their production into methamphetamines and we are seeing a flood of these drugs into Asia. I saw first hand an indication of this when I was invited to be part of an international delegation to witness one of Thailand's largest ever drug destructions in Bangkok. The destruction involved more than two tonnes of drugs and was the biggest in a decade. The destruction was presided over by the recently appointed Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr Thaksin Shinawatrand. Included in the total were some 11 million ecstasy tablets seized during just two recent operations.

Much attention is given to efforts related to the size of the opium crop and measures aimed at targeting crop sites and the growing of opium poppies. However, methamphetamine poses a far greater challenge to law enforcement due to the fact that it is ubiquitous and its production amorphous. The syndicates involved in drug production and trafficking are tangible and do exist and it is important that efforts by law enforcement to reduce supply continue to complement and support harm minimisation and demand reduction. This approach has even been adopted by source countries such as Thailand and Prime Minister Thaksin espoused to me virtually the same three-pronged drugs strategy as adopted here in Australia.

There have been recent calls in Australia to decriminalise all drugs as a way of controlling the problem, but in my view, decriminalisation not the answer. If we look at the evidence of what occurs when drugs are legally available, for example alcohol and tobacco, the social and economic costs associated with the use of these drugs is significant. A search of the Department of Health and Aged Care website found links to nearly 1500 websites dealing with the problems of alcohol abuse alone. Alcohol is associated with one third of fatal road crashes, around one quarter of workplace accidents and 15-30 per cent of all fatal accidents at work. The cost to the Australian community in 1992 was $4.7billion or 24 per cent of the total cost of drug abuse of $18.8 billion (Collins & Lapsley: AGPS, 1996)

Any legalisation of narcotic drugs is likely to have similar catastrophic effects and will be much harder to deal with. Police currently have breathalysers and other tools to detect drink drivers. The detection of other drugs is far more complex and the impact these have on behaviour in areas such as driving ability and workplace liability would need to be established before the courts.

I think it fair to say that the law enforcement community has had a significant change in the way we view the problem of illicit drugs. Drug dependency is now viewed as a health issue and not a matter for the courts. Law enforcement has shifted its focus towards the higher end of the process in an attempt to get to the Mr Bigs behind the drug trade. We no longer attend fatal drug overdoses and have not done so for some time recognising the health vs. criminal behaviour dimension.

We need to remember that drug traffickers and transnational crime syndicates are basically business operators. They move to markets where the profits are highest and the risks are lowest. These recent successes, where criminals have lost several hundred kilograms of drugs, plus their luxury items such as boats and other assets, is making Australia an increasingly unattractive place to do business. It has also undoubtedly prevented some young people from entering the drug scene.

Fast food chains expand their markets through 'up-selling' and developing customer loyalty through strategies aimed at encouraging customers to make multiple visits.

Organised crime syndicates apply precisely the same tactics so whatever was legalised would soon be overtaken by a new or reconfigured product made to appear more fashionable. For example, if the Government supplied ecstasy tablets, the black market would offer a product called something like “ecstasy plus". Legalising illicit drugs makes us a more attractive place to do business and we will attract greater attention from transnational crime syndicates and people, including addicts in other countries. The proposed new Proceeds of Crime legislation that has been mooted in the federal parliament will provide a further significant deterrent and place the onus on those suspected of accumulating assets from criminal activity of proving to a court that these were obtained legitimately.

Dealing with the illicit drug problem is a complex issue. There are no simple answers: neither law enforcement, nor safe-injecting rooms nor legalisation will, by themselves, solve the problem. However, by working together and remembering that this is but one element of serious and organised transnational crime, we can make a difference. Engagement in the Region is another critical strategy for combating transnational crime. It is important because law enforcement agencies, particularly in drug source countries, are not resourced to the same degree as in developed countries. The AFP is providing strategic assistance and training to our law enforcement partners and this is paying major operational dividends. Similarly there is a nexus between our peacekeeping operations and institutional strengthening. This in turn, creates a framework for effective policing and criminal investigations which is important for the security not only of the Region, but also our domestic environment. The AFP is best placed to capitalise on this for the Australian Government.

Policing in the ACT

As community policing in the ACT is one of the key outcomes for the AFP I have had several people canvass with me my views on the future of the arrangement. I want to make it absolutely clear that it is my firm view that the people of the ACT, and both the ACT and Federal Governments are best served by the current arrangements. The problems created by two separate police services operating in a jurisdiction like the ACT were well documented by Sir Robert Mark in 1978 and his arguments are still valid today. I recently read, with some interest, an article by Andrew Goldsmith, Professor of Law at Flinders University in Adelaide. The article examined whether the people of the ACT might be better served by the New South Wales Police Service taking over the community policing function.

Professor Goldsmith made the following observations:

“To an outsider, Canberra and the ACT present some obvious differences from neighbouring police jurisdictions that might well suit it to keeping its police service local. This could either be the AFP or a free-standing ACT police service. The case for retaining the AFP in this role is strong.

Canberra residents are notoriously middle-class and well educated. This makes them relatively articulate about what they seek of police and able to speak out against police practices that they do not like.

The transient nature of the population, and the fact that many of its number are involved in federal politics, are other obvious features. In this kind of setting, it is important to have a police service with good local knowledge of the residents as well as a capacity to relate to the kinds of residents in the area. Mature, well-educated police are well suited to such demands. The AFP has a reputation for having highly educated personnel.

Another aspect relates to the Federal character of the ACT. Here indeed the responsibilities of policing the federal capital favour the AFP over an ACT-specific police, as the AFP combination of federal and local law-enforcement responsibilities offers some distinct advantages.

An obvious one is avoiding the problems associated with two police forces trying to complement each other in the same geographical area. If a serious problem involving a politician or a foreign dignitary arises under the present arrangements, a single police service of the kind that the AFP represents is in an optimal position to respond.

It possesses both the “big-picture” sensitivity and a substantial operational capacity at the local level that such situations demand. The problem of overlapping jurisdictions would be even worse if NSW, rather than an ACT service, took over local policing, as the NSW officers would need to be familiar with ACT as well as NSW criminal laws. There are arguably enough difficulties in police officers mastering one system of laws, without imposing the additional burden of mastering two.

Current arrangements also have the advantages of stability and size. If the ACT were to become simply another police region of the NSW Police, it would lead almost inevitably to the rotation of personnel in and out of the region, and to a loss of local knowledge so vital to good policing.”

I wholeheartedly agree with these comments.

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“The availability of mass communication systems has probably added to workloads rather than diminished them. I want us to turn this around and ensure that technology works for us and not vice versa” — Commissioner Mick Keelty.

Workplace technology

Let me comment about a couple of people issues. We need to maximise the effective use of technology to make life better, rather than more onerous, for our workforce. With the advent of modern information systems there was an expectation that these would create a paperless office and yield an efficiency dividend. We all know this has not been the case and the availability of mass communication systems has probably added to workloads rather than diminished them. I want us to turn this around and ensure that technology works for us and not vice versa.

I want to make sure that when people end their workday, they in fact can go home rather than having to complete paper work or computer entries as we have all had to do in the past. One opportunity we have is to examine how we input and extract information from our systems. It may be the case that during down time or commuting time we can access our systems by remote. This area is one of my major priorities and I am determined to improve the working life of all personnel.

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Business planning and review has now become a significant part of the AFP's corporate management arrangements.

The AFP's image

Finally, I want to make a couple of comments about the image of the AFP. In the past we have seen cases of information being leaked to the press. Thankfully, these cases are rare. I understand that the motives behind the leaks are often born out of frustration for a lack of publicity for an individual or section of the organisation. Sometimes, it occurs through a desire to protect the organisation but, in any event, they do nothing for our credibility and professionalism in the eyes of our key stakeholders. Any leak, no matter what the motive, is a betrayal of the organisation and those who work within it.

On a positive note, we have recently conducted a review of the Public Affairs Officer network and the National Management Team is actively considering marketing strategies. Part of the marketing strategy is the corporate presentation of the AFP. We have already started in Adelaide, Perth and the Gold Coast but soon, all AFP offices will have a similar look that has as much to do with being “One AFP” than it does about being a professionally presented organisation.

I look forward to working with you all as the new commissioner and once again I thank you for the way you have supported my appointment. We are an excellent organisation with highly dedicated and committed people. Regardless of what our role is in the organisation everyone contributes to our business “To Fight Crime and Win” and that is gaining us significant recognition as a world class leader in law enforcement.

Mick Keelty

Commissioner


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