NSW Police drifting dangerously toward I.C.E.-style tactics

By cracking down on protests and turning to harsh enforcement, NSW risks turning its police into politicized enforcers, writes Tony Smith; This is a dangerous drift toward ICE-style tactics, writes Tony Smith.

UNITED STATES Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) caused at least two deaths while trying to deport people on the president’s orders. ICE’s unpopularity proved fertile ground for songwriters.

Anti-War Songs There are many studies on the subject on the website. Bruce Springsteen (‘Streets of Minneapolis’), David Rovics (‘Watching Minneapolis Burn’), Jesse Welles (‘Good against ICE’ And ‘Join ICE’), NOFX (‘Minnesota Nazis’), penka jane (‘People from Minnesota’), Egin (‘Beautiful and Good’) And Billy Bragg (‘Minnesota Heroes’) all express their disgust with this paramilitary organization.

ICE has no respect. It seeks unqualified staff and offers inadequate training. They are an effective political police who carry out arrests in an inhumane manner and react violently if their arbitrary direction is resisted.

There is no similarity between ICE’s enthusiastic operations and the behavior of the New South Wales police force. We hope that the political masters of the police force will not create conditions that will turn the police force into an undisciplined vigilante organization.

The harshness of the police during the demonstrations against the visit of the Israeli President led to expressions of anger in letters sent to the press and media. Australian Human Rights Commissionthat one expressionhe said it was ‘anxious’.

Conservative politicians may blithely advocate police attacking people with tear gas and rubber bullets, but the Labor Government must recognize the folly of such proposals. Unfortunately it is true that after all the demonstrations around APEC Labor Government meeting in Sydney I bought water polo. Thank goodness it was never used. Paramedics estimated the cost of the thing could provide two fully equipped emergency ambulances.

Police officers’ confrontation with demonstrators separates them from society. The citizen becomes the “other” and the police view them with suspicion and hostility. The perception of the police as a “thin blue line” is now discredited. An “us vs. them” mentality facilitates corruption and creates a “blue wall of silence” that prioritizes peer loyalty over legal responsibilities. Police may be tempted to think that no one outside the agency understands them.

Historically in New South Wales, allegations of police misconduct have been downplayed by the “bad apple” theory. This assumes that the system works well but there are always people who break the rules. So if the system isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

Others took corruption seriously. In the early 1990s many Independent MPs called for action. Their advocacy Independent Commission Against Corruption And Wood Royal Commission to the police force.

A. Police Integrity Commission He pioneered the establishment of Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. More responsibility was expected. Diversity by gender and ethnicity in hiring and promotion has become policy. Some previously illegal activities have been decriminalized to prevent them from being pushed underground. Civilian personnel were assigned to relieve the administrative burden of uniformed officers.

Police are people. They are exposed to the same uncertainties and conflicts that affect everyone, but also some unique issues regarding their power and the pressures on them. The system needs constant attention, review and improvement. Using police officers to enforce political ideology around demonstrations places the force in situations that can undermine public respect and support. We don’t want inconsiderate politicians to recreate the corrupting “us vs. them” culture of the past.

Police personnel in state and territory jurisdictions around Australia are drawn mostly from working class backgrounds. Police Unions are effectively unions and should expect the Labor Government to be sympathetic to their needs as workers.

Politicians sometimes defend their bullying and aggressive behavior in parliament by claiming that elected assemblies act as safety valves for social tensions. They argue that it is better to air differences of opinion in a meeting where words are exchanged than to see violence in the streets.

Unfortunately, state and federal parliamentarians have been reluctant to discuss the genocide in Gaza. They did not discuss Palestine passionately. Their failure led to increased tension in society. Their inadequacy spilled onto the streets. They should not use the police to divert attention from their own failures. They should not turn our police into ICE-like, ethically compromised political tools.

Two murderers committed this murder Anger at Bondi Beach. It is strange to claim that banning marches and demonstrations makes such attacks unlikely. In fact, protest marches can provide catharsis; They can soften public sentiment by allowing emotions to be expressed.

The decision to recognize the right to four firearms per person is equally strange. Of course, responsibility should be transferred to gun owners and they should be asked to explain why they should own one firearm, let alone four. We have a crisis in domestic violence. A realistic restriction on firearm ownership would be a small step towards making women and children safer.

New South Wales looks determined to turn back the clock and lead Queensland John Bjelke-Petersen. A funny joke was made that Queensland only had 11 months left due to Bjelke-Petersen’s ban on marches. Police were given the power to break up gatherings and arrest people at gatherings small enough to discourage family picnics.

Poet Bruce Dawe He briefly explained the situation.

‘News from Judea’ has the following:

And I went out to meet about six hundred people

said law officers

by Herod himself, “It shall be no more

Political street marches. clean the streets

Anyone who doesn’t have this idea

Of the ruling party.” And they did…

And more have been brought to court than ever before

Again Herod said: “There will be peace in all my land…”

And the country has become extremely quiet

But this was not peace.

There may be other reasons for the government’s ban on demonstrations. It has previously tried to deter anti-genocide and pro-Palestinian protests. A former Greens election candidate once suffered serious damage to the eye and in subsequent legal proceedings, he was cleared of all charges.

Taking this drastic step banning demonstrations after the Bondi murders smacks of opportunism. This suggests that the Labor Government dishonorably exploited the massacre to implement its own agenda. Such sudden reactions threaten both the police and society.

Like Eric Bogle sang, freedom is a fragile flower. It should not be consigned to the dung heap of political cynicism. Politicians should listen to poets.