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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
225
Police policy development units
That Police Services should consider setting up policy and development units within their structures to deal with developing policies and programs that relate to Aboriginal people. Each such unit should be headed by a competent Aboriginal person, not necessarily a police officer, and should seek to encourage Aboriginal employment within the Unit. Each unit should have full access to senior management of the service and report directly to the Commissioner or his or her delegate.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
The intent of Recommendation 225 was to ensure that Aboriginal perspectives are reflected in police policies and programs that affect Aboriginal communities.
Actions taken closely align with the intent of Recommendation 225. The Aboriginal Community Portfolio, part of the Victoria Police Capability Department, advises on policies and the establishment of programs related to Aboriginal people. However, staff within this portfolio do not typically establish new policies. The Portfolio Manager and Senior Policy Advisor positions are occupied by Aboriginal people who are not sworn officers, enhancing the cultural relevance of the advice provided.
Evidence of the outcome is reflected in the Aboriginal Community Portfolio’s involvement in policy advisory roles and the establishment of the Victoria Police Aboriginal Portfolio Reference Group (APRG). The APRG, co-chaired by an Assistant Commissioner and one of the chairpersons of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus, provides a self-determining process for advising Victoria Police on policy formulation.
The ongoing relevance of Recommendation 225 is evident, as there is still a need to ensure Aboriginal perspectives are integrated into all relevant police policies, including updates to the Victoria Police Manual. This is crucial for the effective implementation of Recommendation 225 and the improvement of Aboriginal justice outcomes. Most importantly, police policies need to be implemented as intended by Victoria Police members to close the gap between policy and practice and reduce harms to our people, families and communities.
Priority for Further Work:
Moderate
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Support the establishment of Victoria Police First Nations Committee
Further consider and reflect Aboriginal perspectives in police policy.
Implement actions from the Chief Commissioner’s Statement of Commitment related to Aboriginal involvement in policy development:
- Develop a process for including an assessment of potential impacts on Aboriginal communities in submissions or advice to government.
- Include impact on Aboriginal people as a component of Victoria Police Policy Impact Assessments and the Human Rights Risk Assessments.
- Specify the Aboriginal community as a community within the Neighbourhood Policing model.
- Review policies in the Victoria Police Manual that may disproportionately affect Aboriginal people.
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) emphasised the need for stronger relationships between police and Aboriginal communities. It reviewed several initiatives, including two from Victoria that informed Recommendation 225.
Victorian Aboriginal Police Liaison Committee
Established in 1983 to improve understanding and address issues between police and Aboriginal people, the Committee initially had five police and five Aboriginal members. By 1990, it expanded to 24 members to reflect new regional boundaries, with representation from nine areas, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), and the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association Incorporated (VACSAL). Co-chaired by one Aboriginal person and one police member, the Committee aimed to develop policies, coordinate liaison efforts, resolve issues, and improve communication. Activities included statewide networking, promoting police careers to Aboriginal people, and developing cross-cultural training programs. Meetings were held bi-monthly across Victoria, with government funding provided through the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services.
Aboriginal Liaison Unit
Victoria Police operated an Aboriginal Liaison Unit with two officers, including Mr Ken Saunders, a respected Aboriginal community member and former VALS staff. He lectured at the Police Academy and supported local police-Aboriginal community engagement. In several towns, designated liaison officers maintained effective relationships. A longstanding protocol ensured that any arrest of an Aboriginal person was reported to VALS via the Police Missing Persons Bureau.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
Victoria Police
In 2023, Victoria Police assessed Recommendation 225 as mostly implemented noting the roles of the Aboriginal Community Portfolio, and the Victoria Police Aboriginal Portfolio Reference Group.
At the time of assessment, a Victoria Police First Nations Committee was being established with the aim of furthering consideration and reflection of Aboriginal perspectives in police policy.
Impact
Outputs
The Aboriginal Community Portfolio sits within the Capability Department which is responsible for creating Victoria Police policy. The Aboriginal Community Portfolio Manager and Senior Policy Advisor are both designated positions occupied by Aboriginal people who are not sworn officers.
Outcomes
Although the Aboriginal Community Portfolio Manager is involved in the establishment of programs for Aboriginal people and provides culturally relevant advice on policies, the portfolio does not typically establish new policies. For this reason, the status of this recommendation was assessed as ‘mostly implemented’ by Victoria Police.
The Aboriginal Community Portfolio works closely with Recruitment and Executive Command. There are 22 designated positions across Victoria Police.
The Victoria Police Aboriginal Portfolio Reference Group (APRG) is the self-determining process to provide advice to Victoria Police on the formulation of policy and practice guidance. One of the co-chairs of the APRG is an Assistant Commissioner, the other is the co-chair of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus.
Community Views
Yoorrook Justice Commission
Yoorrook for Justice
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody laid bare the link between systemic racism and the over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system. Thirty years since they concluded that ‘far too much police intervention in the lives of Aboriginal people throughout Australia has been arbitrary, discriminatory, racist and violent’, little seems to have changed.
In 2023 Aboriginal people are still grossly over-represented in Victoria’s police cells, remand centres and prisons. Aboriginal people continue to suffer inexcusable harm in these places, including deaths in custody. Given the long history of often violent and racist policing since invasion, it is not surprising that Aboriginal people have a deep and ongoing mistrust of police.
Yoorrook acknowledges the important apologies made by the Chief Commissioner of Police, and the Attorney-General for past and ongoing harms inflicted by police and the criminal justice system on Aboriginal people. Urgent action must follow these apologies to render them meaningful. Yoorrook also acknowledges Victoria Police has sought to improve its operations over recent years. However, the predominant message heard by Yoorrook from Aboriginal people was that these efforts have not changed policing enough to turn around the mistrust Aboriginal people have in Victoria Police.