Diversity and Partnership go Hand in Hand

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Diversity and partnership go Hand in Hand

Speech by Chief Police Officer for the ACT Audrey Fagan, APM

Monday 14 November 2005

AFP College, Barton ACT

'Assalamu Alaikum' and welcome.

I want to talk to you today about a philosophy that is central to the ACT Policing environment: partnerships. The AFP vision encapsulates the word "together" - to fight crime together and win - and I think this is a word which also reflects the relationship ACT Policing has with our local community.

As police, we strive to maintain the good relationship we have with what is one of the most ethnically, culturally and linguistically diverse societies in the world:

• Around a fifth of all Canberrans were born overseas;
• There are around 3500 Muslims, 6300 Buddhists, 89,000 Catholics and 59,000 non-religious people in Canberra; and
• The total number of people with direct overseas influences - either born overseas themselves or with a parent born overseas - is almost half of the total Canberra population.

And this diversity within our Canberra culture is certainly something to be valued - our personal and professional lives are enriched by being part of such an exciting and vibrant society. I was lucky enough to be invited to join with our Islamic community in celebrating the end of Ramadan this year. I visited the Canberra mosque in Yarralumla during the open day, where ACT Policing was also able to provide brochures and other information abut crime prevention, recruitment and traffic to members of the Islamic community. I also had the chance to speak on Radio Ramadan about the Multicultural Police Advisory Board and the cooperation between the police and multicultural communities. I welcome every opportunity to work with local groups and communities.

Diversity also, of course, requires police to deliver services that are relevant, culturally sensitive and easily accessible to all Australians. Some people come from countries where the community is afraid of police. We are lucky to live and work in a country in which the police and the community work together and the police are there to look after everyone in the community. We work under the Westminster system of government which separates police from government and parliament, which is a very important philosophy. Policing in our country is also based on peacekeeping: that's where the roots of modern policing in Australia come from.

ACT Policing's mission is to keep the peace and preserve public safety within the ACT. We strive to deliver a professional and effective service to the people of Canberra in all that we do. ACT Policing offers a wide range of policing services to Canberrans, ranging from general policing and law enforcement services including investigations, crime prevention and traffic operations to more specialist roles like intelligence gathering, forensics, search and rescue, and emergency management.

But ACT Policing is not just about enforcing the law -- ACT Policing has long fostered a positive relationship with the Canberra community and central to our existence is this relationship - policing is about working with the community to make a difference. For me, this bond with people from all over the ACT is in many ways what enriches the policing experience.

Perhaps of most relevance here today is the very close bond ACT Policing shares with the local Islamic community. Our South District Superintendent Mick Kilfoyle in particular is very involved with the Canberra Islamic Centre committee in Monash, and we usually have a police representative at the committee meetings every couple of months or so. This is a particularly important role, both in maintaining the close ties we all share, and in making sure the community feels our police are always approachable. In July this year for example, the police conducted a presentation on personal safety and home security to the committee. This presentation was well received and provided reassurance, particularly the elderly who are often the most vulnerable.

Another fantastic opportunity was the six week "Women In Islamic Civilisation" program in which two of our members participated at the Australian National University recently. The course provided participants with insight into the Muslim culture with a particular emphasis on the role and place of women in the development of Islamic civilisation. Understanding and appreciating the key religious, political and social issues affecting any culture is paramount to effective policing and this course helped provide that basic knowledge which will be of great benefit to us in the ACT.

I actively encourage all of our members to join in local and community events like the Islamic Community Open Day and the Canberra Islamic Centre Ramadan Community barbecue. We also had representatives of ACT Policing at the Eid Mela gathering this past weekend and I understand it was a fantastic celebration of diversity.

Another important bridging role is our Multicultural Liaison Officer, who has a wide range of responsibilities including:

• improving communication between police and multicultural and indigenous communities;
• providing advice to police for better service delivery regarding multicultural and Indigenous communities;
• assisting multicultural and Indigenous communities in understanding their rights and responsibilities as citizens and how to access police services;
• providing victim support; and
• increasing community awareness about criminal activity and how to access policing services.

Our Multicultural Liaison Officer works closely with the Islamic community and is always available to help with enquiries and to attend events within the community. The MLO and other Crime Prevention members have been involved in several multicultural events that include members of the Islamic Committee such as the Multicultural Festival, Multicultural Youth Camp and the Nexus Event in which different religious groups shared poetry and music.

Perhaps this evening is a good opportunity to talk, for a moment, to our newest police, the recruits of class 1/2005. I think it's important to clearly articulate some underlying philosophies embraced by all police in Canberra, and throughout Australia, and I ask that each of you think about these philosophies and embrace them in the work that you will do:

• All Australians share responsibility for furthering our national interests, and should have the opportunity to fully participate in society and in the decisions which directly affect them.
• We all enjoy the basic right of freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion or culture and should enjoy equal life chances and have equitable access to and an equitable share of the resources which governments manage on behalf of the community.
• We should all have the chance to develop cross-cultural understanding and to develop and share our cultural heritage.
• Australian institutions, including the police, acknowledge, reflect and respond to the cultural diversity of the Australian community.
• And finally, we all accept the basic structures and principles of Australian society - the Constitution and the rule of law, tolerance and equality, parliamentary democracy, freedom of speech and religion, English as the national language and equality of the sexes.

So we see here an attitude and structure which ensures police and the community complement each other and work towards maintaining the lifestyle we have all embraced here in Canberra. We're lucky here in that Canberra truly is one of the safest cities in the country; we enjoy a relatively low crime rate which not only enhances the quality of life for all of us, but allows police to focus our energies on that crucial bond I have mentioned here tonight: the relationship with the people of Canberra.

At the end of the day, each and every one of us is responsible for making the community a safer place for ourselves, our family and our friends and again, I thank you for showing your support in of the great relationship police and the Islamic community share by coming along tonight to enjoy this fabulous evening.