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The Police Association and Council for Civil Liberties say a new bill allowing civilian staff to be given traditional police jobs could transform the face of policing and result in an increasingly civilianised police force.
In his submission to the law and order select committee on the Policing Bill, Police Association head Greg O'Connor said the legislation could result in a force increasingly dominated by civilian staff who did not have the training or capability to deal with crises.
The bill creates the new position of "authorised officer", allowing civilian staff to be given jobs - such as traffic officer and jailer - that are currently reserved for sworn officers.
They also get specific powers, responsibilities and legal protections that only sworn police currently have, including the power to arrest.
The new positions will initially be restricted to police jailers, escorts, police guards, specialist crime investigators, such as forensic accountants, and traffic enforcement police.
However, Mr O'Connor said it was too easy to expand the list.
"Fundamentally this bill is a major change in the policing environment. It certainly goes some way toward civilianising the police. There has always been a demarcation around who has coercive powers and that has been the essence of the police and that blurring of the line is apparent in this bill."
He said the legislation should include checks on the use of such positions, warning it could jeopardise the ability to draft in a traditional, flexible police workforce to deal with crises such as riots and terrorism alerts.
"There are risks to the public and safety of having less-well-trained, less-capable staff forced to deal with issues beyond their capabilities. It leads to public confusion about who are real police and a loss of public confidence in the police ability to respond to their needs."
Council for Civil Liberties president Tony Ellis and the Police Managers Guild also expressed concern about extending the positions.
Mr Ellis said it was "sloppy drafting" and allowed for significant powers to be given to non-constables simply by ministerial decree.
"That is a recipe for a police state and I'm sure nobody intended that. It's horrific drafting to allow the powers of a non-constable to be greater than those of a constable simply on the word of a minister."
The legislation revamps the current 1958 Policing Act, including modernising its employment arrangements and setting out clear lines of accountability. It also puts the code of conduct into law.
Mr O'Connor said overall the bill was a vast improvement on the current law and improved employment rights and the industrial relations framework of the police.
However, he also raised concern about the independence of the Commissioner of Police from ministerial interference, saying the bill failed to clarify the relationship.
"It may even have the effect of legitimising a greater degree of ministerial direction because it leaves such grey areas. It fails to address the vexed issue of governments effectively directing the commissioner on law enforcement matters through funding and policy directives. For example, providing staff or resources that are ring-fenced, for want of a better term, for pet political projects."
He also said the bill should include a stipulation that police leadership - including the commissioner and deputy commissioners - needed to be sworn police officers.
