The AFP - 25 Years and Beyond
Commissioner Mick Keelty APM
Address to the National Press Club
Canberra
Wednesday 7 July 2004
(Yet to be checked against delivery)
Good afternoon.
I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land - the Ngunnawal people.
I am pleased to be with you here today to talk about the Australian Federal Police as we prepare to celebrate an important milestone in our history - our 25th anniversary.
I would especially like to acknowledge the presence of retired Commissioner Major General Ron Grey and Former Deputy Commissioner Roy Farmer.
Major General Grey served as the second AFP Commissioner from 1983 to 1988, while former deputy commissioner Roy Farmer served as deputy commissioner from 1984 until 1991 and - as many of you know - took a special pastoral interest in the Winchester murder investigation and subsequent prosecution. The murder of Assistant Commissioner Winchester - the highest ranking police officer killed in this country - is something that will remain forever in the memory of all at the AFP.
Unfortunately my predecessor and the AFP's fourth Commissioner, Mick Palmer could not be with us today but I know Mick is keenly following the progress of the AFP. Mick has been heavily involved in a review of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary over the past few months, ahead of our deployment there.
The founding Commissioner of the AFP, Sir Colin Wood, unfortunately passed away just two years ago and our third Commissioner, Peter McAulay, passed away in 1995.
I mention the previous Commissioners because I not only served under their command and was inspired by them, but they have all played important roles in building and preparing the organisation for the challenges we face today.
In the cycle of Commissioner appointments, I want to acknowledge that while the AFP of today has a much higher profile and more responsibility than at any other point in its history….. this is due largely to the achievements of the many dedicated women and men who have worked for our organisation over the past 25 years. It is mere fortune that I find myself enjoying the privilege of serving as Commissioner at this point in time.
Having said that, I would like to acknowledge the presence here today of so many good supporters of the AFP and those who have personally supported me over many years. Thank you all for being here.……So, today in this 25th anniversary address, I'd like to explore some key developments in the history of the AFP; before looking at some of the challenges we now face.
The AFP's Evolution
We've spent a little time looking through old newspapers, and it has been interesting to note that on the AFP's foundation day - 19 October, 1979 - we barely rated a mention!
Stories deemed more newsworthy that day included:Calls for tougher gun controls;Problems with train services;Debate over political deals and pecuniary interests;New laws for drink-driving; and A television deal for the Leyland Brothers!!
When we reflect on those media reports, they remind us of how some aspects of our society change over time, while others remain constant.
For instance:The debate over tougher gun controls has long progressed and legislation enacted….Concerns about drink-driving have widened to include illicit drugs;…and the Leyland Brothers have long been overshadowed by a different kind of brother on television - one called 'Big Brother'!
….Conversely, when we think about what remains constant …..many of those news stories of 1979 contained themes like transparency and accountability - which remain integral to the success of democracies and still feature prominently in media articles published today.
If we look at the evolution of the AFP…we see again how some things change while others remain the same.
Ironically, we were created after a review by Sir Robert Mark into arrangements and preparedness at the national level to deal with terrorism. This followed the Hilton bombing during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 1978.
As the Commonwealth Government's primary law enforcement agency, our role has been to investigate offences against the Commonwealth and to protect and safeguard its interests, as well as to police the Australian Capital Territory, the external territories of Jervis Bay, Norfolk, Christmas and the Cocos Islands.
We still retain these core functions, but our role has moved with the times to incorporate vastly expanded responsibilities in relation to international peacekeeping and regional assistance, counter-terrorism and high-tech crime.
And following our recent integration with the Australian Protective Service, we now oversee areas such as aviation security and the protection of high-risk property.
The AFP - 25 Years On
Despite recent observations made by The Australian Financial Review that some of us at the AFP still retain the quote: "unfashionable moustache and centre-parted hair"…the AFP today is a very modern, knowledge-based policing organisation, with truly global reach.
Our international network now spans 32 posts in 26 countries and we are engaged in a wide range of partnerships - with both the public and private sectors, at both national and international levels.
Perhaps one of the clearest indicators of growth within the AFP over time, is reflected in our operating budget. This has risen from about $73 million when we began in 1979, to more than $910 million this financial year - a growth rate of some 10.5 per cent per annum.
Interestingly…over the same period, the All Ordinaries Index returned 8 per cent and the CPI increased by approximately 5 per cent.
That means $10,000 invested in shares in 1979 would be worth nearly $70,000 today, while $10,000 invested in the AFP would be worth over $120,000!!! Not a bad investment over time and I'll talk more about returns on investment later…
While the budget has grown significantly during my term as Commissioner, it is simply recognition that the organisation has performed when called upon by government.
The AFP now has - for the first time in it's history - a central advisory role in relation to national security policy. This sees us actively contributing to both the Secretary's Committee on National Security as well as the National Security Committee of Cabinet. And we play a major role in the National Counter Terrorism co-ordination arrangements.
From an organisational perspective, the AFP's evolution is also reflected in the changing composition of our staff. More than 70 per cent now have tertiary or post-graduate qualifications - equipping the organisation with high-level skills in fields as diverse as science and technology, economics, sociology and law.
Even my role as Commissioner has evolved during my term over the past three-and-a-half years, to include added responsibilities for Chairing the Board of the Australian Crime Commission; Co-Chairing with Japan, the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering; Deputy Chair of the Australian National Council on Drugs, and Chair of the South Pacific Chiefs of Police - which has been timely given our new role in the South Pacific.
From a public perspective…for 25 years we have undertaken major drug, fraud and other special investigations - some of you might remember operational codenames such as Lavender and Caribou…
But I guess our peacekeeping role in East Timor and the Bali bombings one year later, were instrumental in elevating our profile.
In many ways, these were events that encapsulated the complex challenges now being confronted around the world, including: the transnational nature and impact of modern crime; the intricate web of ideological, social and economic factors driving crime; new techniques being used to commit crime; the need for more effective networks and collaborative responses in fighting crime; and new levels of scrutiny and expectations of law enforcement organisations.
So how are we faring in regard to these challenges?
Prevention as Innovation
To gauge this…firstly we need to look back almost 200 years to when Sir Robert Peel, the founder of modern policing proposed a series of principles to govern the operations of policing organisations.
At the top of his list was the principle that: "The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder."
Although the world is now vastly more complex and sophisticated than in 1822 when Sir Robert first articulated this principle, it remains as important now - as it was then - as to how we do the business of policing.
Our international network forms the backbone of our offshore crime-prevention strategy.
As well as investigations into activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, fraud, child sex tourism and terrorism; our overseas liaison officers are focused on promoting greater information and intelligence sharing with their overseas colleagues. They are also implementing a range of capacity building programs to assist countries in need.
At the forefront of these initiatives is a series of Memoranda of Understanding with key partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
These MoUs are essential in promoting close ties and seamless investigative capacity between policing agencies. The potential of such arrangements in confronting modern law enforcement challenges, was demonstrated through the joint investigations into both the Bali and the Marriott bombings.
Similar arrangements have recently been forged with countries such as Thailand, The Philippines and Malaysia.
I believe our relationship with the Indonesian National Police will be regarded in the future, as one of the AFP's greatest contributions to international law enforcement in the first phase of our existence.
Peacekeeping and regional assistance missions have also become core business for the AFP. Our involvement in the Solomon Islands demonstrates the benefits that can flow from such undertakings.
In less than 12 months, as part of a 10-nation Regional Assistance Mission, we have helped to restore law and order, removed key members of the militia as well as large stocks of ammunition from the streets.
Most importantly, we are now starting to see the people of the Solomons enjoy the benefits of a resurgence of confidence in their community - with the women and children now feeling safe enough to leave their homes, and business activity on the rise.
The second phase of this mission - the consolidation phase - is now underway. Our officers are continuing to work alongside colleagues from the Australian Defence Force and other neighbouring countries. They are strengthening the local police force and tackling corruption among key institutions and office holders.
In an effort to build on the achievements of such missions, the creation of the International Deployment Group - announced by the Prime Minister earlier this year - will provide even greater capacity for us to restore security to troublespots in the region.
I think one of the most exciting aspects of these capacity building initiatives is their potential to promote greater interoperability between policing agencies around the region.
The ability to link intelligence information systems and apply best practice skills and technology into a large number of jurisdictions could build a formidable barrier against crime. At the same time it would effectively reduce opportunities for crime in the host country.
We have started the journey of establishing compatible systems and techniques. This has been done with our work in Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Bougainville, Fiji and The Solomon Islands.
If modern policing is about crime prevention, then this is precisely what we are doing now. Over a period of five years or so, I hope to see all of the communities in these areas benefiting from our presence.
For example, the 1.5 tonnes of amphetamines seized in Suva recently and the closure of the manufacturing plant have enormous flow on effects, both here and abroad. Law enforcement agencies from five countries were involved in that operation. It is worth pausing for a moment to think about the multiplier effects and community benefits derived from such an operation. We have developed a model to examine this. I will discuss this later on. By far one of the most successful packages produced by the AFP has been the Management of Serious Crime Course. Established domestically in 1992 and repeated offshore in the past five years, almost 600 Australian and foreign police officers have undertaken the course.
Graduates have come from as far afield as the Cook Islands, Brunei, Columbia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Bangladesh. They have all become ambassadors for the AFP and it is because of them, that much of our offshore and domestic joint operations have been so successful.
Added to this is the creation of offshore transnational crime centres in Suva, Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Port Vila, Samoa and Tonga - and at the weekend we opened Jakarta. These centres are linked to our own centre here in Canberra and provide a platform for joint operations. Two new centres are also under construction in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Also opened last weekend was the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation in Central Java. It will allow us to develop the skills of regional police and share the latest understanding of crime and terrorism at both the academic and practitioner levels.
This is all good news for our Australian community and provides the centrepiece for tangible co-operation both now and into the future.
At the national level, we are also engaged in a number of strategic government, law enforcement and business partnerships to help strengthen the national response to terrorism and to other forms of transnational crime.
These range from: partnerships with State and Territory Police to provide Joint Counter Terrorism Teams in each jurisdiction; to measures for tackling the manufacture of illicit drugs; as well as banking and identity fraud and high tech crime.
In fact, the Australian High Tech Crime Centre - hosted by the AFP - now has 20 separate agencies on board including the five major banks, Mastercard and Visa.
Identity fraud costs Australia up to $4 billion annually and threatens e-commerce, border security and counter-terrorism responses.
A special taskforce involving 14 different law enforcement and government agencies has been formed to try and combat the growth in identity fraud. In just over a year, it has made significant progress ….laying more than 220 charges, seizing hundreds of fraudulent documents and confirming almost 200 false identities.
I've spoken a lot about the AFP's focus on national and international crime fighting responses, but before I move on, I'd like to also discuss the importance of community policing to the AFP.
Having a single police force to oversee the nation's capital promotes greater co-ordination and communication - which are more critical now than at any time in our past.
Having community, national and international roles also makes us an attractive employer for those wishing a career in policing.
To do some of the very things for which we have now become well known - such as the intervention in the Solomon Islands and the upcoming deployment to PNG - we need people with a range of skill sets that include community policing.
And if our police can gain unique experiences at national and international levels and then return to community policing, it also provides the ACT with a far more experienced police service than might otherwise be the case.
Criminal Justice and Security
I'd now like to touch on the role of Australia's criminal justice system in today's security environment. It is a system that has served our nation well.
But we live in an age where criminals do not respect borders - and where offences can be carried out at the touch of a keystroke.
The problem with trying to police these crimes is that - like most other nation-states - Australia's criminal justice system was designed to deal with offences occurring within designated boundaries….and in a physical rather than a virtual world.
It is also a time when our community has strong expectations that law enforcement agencies will disrupt and prevent crime including terrorism. Criminals have the capability to rapidly adapt their modes of operation and expand their reach.
Put simply, that is why the remaining fugitives from the Bali and Marriott bombings have been so difficult to apprehend.
Our ability to achieve crime-fighting objectives will however, only ever be as great as our criminal justice system allows. Therefore it is important that the system remains robust and responsive to changing conditions.
Perhaps we are approaching a point in our history where we - as a community - need to think more critically about issues such as:
The admissibility of evidence in a technological age; The right to silence; Revisiting inchoate crimes; How we preserve individual liberty while strengthening national security; and How we deal with recidivism.
For example….It has been the trend in the last two decades to rely less on inchoate crimes such as conspiracies and attempted offences, in favour of more substantive charges.
We have seen the offence of consorting all but disappear from our statutes.
But with terrorism, it is vital that we disrupt and prevent the crime at the earliest intervention point.
This often requires action by law enforcement agencies at the preparation or planning stage…when there is limited evidence of more substantive changes.
My view is "so be it".
We are not the only state grappling with this problem. I have had discussions with our counterparts in the UK and the US on this very point.
But…you only have to have walked through the devastating crime scenes of the Bali bombings to understand why this is so important.
Consorting can - and is - being undertaken on the internet and as a society we need to recognise this and look for better ways to deal with it and I am pleased to say that the government and the Parliament appear to understand the dilemma.
Today, we're also seeing how new technologies such as mobile telephones are being used to detonate bombs. Think about that. It creates the potential for crimes to be carried out from the safety of the next jurisdiction, or indeed, even a world away. It also creates a safety valve for terrorists if a suicide bomber decides to back away at the last moment.
The right to silence has been one of the most fundamental criminal justice principles relied upon by accused persons over the past century. It has placed the onus on the prosecution to find evidence linking the accused to a crime and to build a case against them.
However it is now becoming more commonplace for suspects accused of criminal actions to access their right and say nothing. If a person doesn't have a reasonable excuse for their actions and we have incriminating material provided, either by intelligence agencies or through our own investigations, then a jury should be entitled to consider whether or not the suspect's silence is an attempt to avoid explaining their actions.
In Britain, the law was changed in the 1990s to allow courts and juries to draw inferences from the right to silence, in an effort to prevent it from being exploited.
It has to be recognised that for many years now, the AFP has been using video and tape-recorded interviews to eliminate allegations of improper conduct during interviews with suspects.
The question becomes whether we in Australia, want to address the right to silence now or, do we do it sometime in the future when the case may be more compelling?
We must tread warily but we must always decide these watersheds upon a principle based on the greater good.
In raising these issues, I am not advocating a reduction in civil liberties, or indeed, more powers. In fact, an adjustment to the principle of the right to silence is much better than any adjustment to eliciting fair and admissible confessions.
New crimes are being reflected in the legislation but the courts need to be very much in touch with community expectations in these matters…just as there are high expectations of the AFP and intelligence agencies.
On intelligence agencies….it is personally pleasing to see the Director-General of ASIO, Dennis Richardson, here today. Dennis has been a strong supporter of both myself and the AFP and we thank him for that.
I'd also like to add that, in my opinion, intelligence agencies are doing an excellent job of trying to achieve the impossible: that is, predicting events before they happen. If we were that good in policing there would be no crime.
In essence, I believe that just as society evolves, so too should the mechanisms to help us maintain law and order. Having experienced the new terrorism legislation at the practical level, I think that we are, to an extent, learning as we go.
Casting our minds beyond the criminal justice system….I also believe it is important for us in policing to take a lead role to better understand and appreciate religions and cultures.
This is achieved through greater education and engagement of ethnic communities, especially if our actions appear to be extreme or, are perceived to be subjective rather than objective.
On this point, I am pleased religious leaders from both the Islamic and Christian faiths could be with us here today.
Media and the Security Environment
This leads me to the role of the media in a heightened security environment.
There is no doubt that terrorism - and crime in general - are of immense news value.
As a professional policing organisation, we recognise the role the media play in keeping our society informed, accountable and honest. In fact, our relationship is symbiotic and there are many parallels in the work we do…
We are both ultimately in the business of finding information - often in difficult circumstances and with little time to waste.
Unfortunately, however…police do not have the same freedoms as journalists to just pick up the phone or enter another country to interview suspects, witnesses and other people of interest.
When gathering evidence, we are ultimately responsible to the courts and therefore we must work within the boundaries of the law. We must also observe many long-standing legal and jurisdictional protocols.
In an age of instantaneous media coverage, I know the time taken to negotiate these arrangements - particularly when other countries are involved - and then to conduct the necessary investigations, can create many frustrations for journalists.
This is the reality of the criminal justice system we work with…but respect for the legal process and the right of individuals to a fair trial must remain paramount.
The potential consequences if due process is not respected, are worth considering. If terrorism is the most serious offence in our statutes, then the last thing we want to do is to jeopardise a prosecution.
It is important that we don't jump to conclusions or end up blaming entire communities for the actions of one or two people. It is instructive to note that the first person sentenced for a terrorism-related offence in Australia, is somebody with the surname of Roche. As we have all come to learn over recent times… fear is a most powerful weapon used by modern-day terrorists.
In an age of information saturation, I think as a community we should also question how much coverage is really in the public interest.
It may well be that we are inadvertently achieving the terrorists' aim, not by "spreading their propaganda" but by spreading "fear".
Policing Accountability
I spoke earlier about the importance of transparency and accountability in a democratic society.
This is an area of particular interest to me. At the AFP we have recently sought to put in place a number of mechanisms to better measure our performance in consultation with a variety of universities. We are now evaluating the performance of many of our operations.
Time constraints prevent me from going into all of these today, but I'd like to mention a couple:
The first is the AFP's Drug Harm Index…which calculates the benefits that flow to the greater community from AFP drug operations - or the dollar value of harm that would otherwise have been caused, had the drugs reached the streets.
The Index has shown that seizures of illicit drugs involving the AFP saved the community more than $3 billion in drug-related harm between 1998 and 2003…through reductions in health, social, crime and other related expenses.
In addition, a cost-benefit analysis of AFP operations shows the AFP returning over $5 to the community for every dollar invested in drug investigations….
Our fraud investigations are returning $6 to the community for every $1 invested, while protection services are returning around $4.
And we are currently working with the University of Queensland to develop a set of performance indicators for our counter-terrorism operations, which will hopefully be finalised by the end of the year.
I believe that for all of us in policing and civil service, transparency and accountability are integral to maintaining public confidence.
In these uncertain times, it is perhaps more important than ever to promote and preserve such principles. These will assist us to make best use of the resources we have and most effectively deal with the challenges that lie ahead.
Our relationships with the university sector have also expanded in recent times, to provide research opportunities for some of our staff. With a highly educated workforce, it is always a challenge to keep employees motivated, and these opportunities are producing benefits all round.
We are also in the process of securing agreements with several private sector companies, in relation to development opportunities for what is the youngest police executive in the country. Recently our whole management team, including myself, completed the company directors course run by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. We wanted to build our knowledge base about contemporary management practices and governance.
I am also proud to say that the AFP is currently enjoying the lowest attrition rate in its history - at less than 5 per cent. Our efforts to promote a family friendly and flexible work environment were recently recognised. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Business Council of Australia awarded us top prizes in the National Work and Family Awards.
The AFP received the 2004 Gold Award and the Large Business Award. This is a huge honour for the organisation at a time when staff are confronting unprecedented challenges and operational demands.
Policing Integrity
In recent times, the subject of integrity has received a lot of media attention.
Integrity is essential to maintaining community confidence in the work that we do.
To this end, I have no problem with the establishment of an oversighting national corruption body, but I also believe that integrity is essentially an issue of leadership and culture.
We must be prepared to deal with these issues at a cultural level and ensure that we do whatever we can to lead by example in the community.
One further point I'd make on integrity is that I think it is time we seriously address the question of police providing their DNA as a condition of employment.
Just as communities are increasingly being asked to volunteer their DNA as part of an elimination process for suspects, I believe we too should be prepared to volunteer our DNA as part of our employment conditions. We have always had compulsory finger-printing of police employees and extending this to DNA is mere recognition of the availability of a new technology.
I have commenced discussions with the Police Association on this matter and I seriously hope we can progress it.
The AFP Beyond
In terms of looking at where the AFP might be in another 25 years….
It is impossible to accurately predict what the world will be like then…but the general consensus about the foreseeable future is that it likely be characterised by a considerable degree of uncertainty, particularly in the security environment.
I look forward to an AFP that delivers its services to the Australian community in a more integrated way with other law enforcement, public and private sector partners.
The Leaders' Summit initiatives in March 2002 were a milestone. I recognise the importance of legislation recently passed - with the agreement of all States and Territories - that will allow the AFP to investigate State offences that have a federal aspect.
25 years from now, I expect cooperative activity will be the norm in all areas of international and international crime. By then, frameworks for such activities will have become simple and automatic.
The AFP has the privilege today of helping some of our regional neighbours to stabilise their law and order situations and build a law and justice system that the people of those countries deserve to enjoy.
25 years from now, the police forces of those regional countries will be much stronger partners in preserving the peace, stability and good government of our region.
Finally, notwithstanding the developments in technology that will characterise the years ahead….people will still be central to our ability to confront sophisticated criminal activity.
The AFP has benefited over the years from many dedicated and creative individuals who have found solutions to new problems and turned challenges into opportunities.
It has been an exciting, challenging and rewarding 25 years for the AFP. Our role is to maintain the quality of life for all Australians without fear or favour, affection or ill-will. We are doing that now at home and abroad and we will continue to do that into the future.
Thank you.