Christine Nixon attacks Herald Sun police survey
Article from: Herald Sun
Keith Moor and Matthew Schulz
April 09, 2008 10:31am
SPECIAL REPORT: POLICE Commissioner Christine Nixon says she is staying put despite a Herald Sun survey showing 69 per cent of officers do not support her.
"I don't intend to go anywhere," Ms Nixon said this morning after a landmark survey raised a raft of serious issues about the state of the force.
Speaking on radio 3AW this morning, Ms Nixon attacked the results because just 30 per cent of sworn officers - 3459 - had responded to the survey.
That is despite the sample being much larger than that commonly used by pollsters.
The shock findings are based on the responses statewide to a special Herald Sun online poll of more than 11,000 serving Victorian police.
"Actually 69 per cent of the people who answered the survey have made that comment. And the one's who chose to answer it are the one's you're talking about 3400 people," Ms Nixon said.
The pressure on the Chief Commissioner has intensified after a rally of disgruntled officers yesterday called on Ms Nixon to quit.
"The issue about resigning because I was called for by a relatively small number of members is inappropriate, I don't intend to go anywhere."
"They didn't want me sacked, which was interesting; they suggested I should make the choice."
Ms Nixon said the first rally by police at the steps of Parliament had damaged the reputation of the force, but she knew she was never going to win over everybody in Victoria Police.
"I do my very best to be fair and decent in the policies, but some people didn't like the idea when we charged police with criminal charges, some people don't like different sorts of policies we've put into place. Some people don't like to be moved 10 minutes away to a different station."
And she said another surveys had found she had the support of 80 per cent of the public.
Ms Nixon said that the only reason she would resign is if there was something better she could be doing.
"When I resign it will be because I believe I've done the best I can do and I will move onto something else. But that's not today."
"This is about a game of power. This is about attempting to get someone like me, who's about change, who I think has strong support within the community," she said.
"What we're seeing now is really the last vestiges of the old Victoria Police."
She said the protest was designed to boost support for Mr Mullett, and said the survey could also "shore up" his position.
"I think that what we've seen is Paul, very much, has decided to whip this up, he's very good at that," Ms Nixon said.
Poll shows police face crisis
The force faces a crisis of confidence as a survey shows two in three officers have considered quitting in the past year.
Many officers used the poll to voice their anger over the state of the force. One wrote: "If the public honestly knew how under-resourced we are - and how severe the crime rate really is - they would be horrified."
The poll results will be published in three instalments, beginning with today's findings that:
NINETY-SEVEN per cent of respondents believe there are not enough operational police to properly patrol Victoria's streets, public transport and roads.
SIXTY-FOUR per cent said they had considered resigning in the past 12 months, citing lack of resources, stress, and low force morale. Only 10 per cent of these cited pay as a cause of concern.
ALMOST two-thirds of respondents said Ms Nixon was wrong to suspend union boss Paul Mullett and ban him from entering police stations following Office of Police Integrity allegations last November. Only 36 per cent agreed with her decision.
EIGHTY-SIX per cent disagreed with Ms Nixon's decision to scrap the armed offenders squad amid allegations of brutality by some of its members.
Sen-Sgt Mullett appears to be winning the internal public relations battle with half of respondents rating his performance as Police Association secretary as above average or excellent.
And while 36 per cent said he should have resigned his union job following the OPI report that highlighted allegations against him, the remaining 64 per cent said he was doing the right thing by continuing to run the Police Association.
Only 8 per cent of respondents could say the same about Ms Nixon: 6 per cent rating her as above average and just 2 per cent as excellent.
A further 23 per cent thought she had done an average job since she became Victoria's first female chief commissioner in 2001.
Many argued that Ms Nixon was trying to over-feminise the force by favouring female recruits.
Others alleged her softly softly approach had resulted in a lack of respect for police and that officers had lost control of the streets.
There were widespread claims by police that the force hierarchy manipulates statistics to hide the low number of officers available for frontline duties.
Many police also said the way crime statistics are recorded means Victorians don't get a true picture of the high level of crime in the state.
"We need more members on the beat and not sitting in offices fiddling statistics," one officer said.
Another said Victoria Police owed it to the public to own up to the real figures.
Ms Nixon hasn't ruled out seeking a third term as chief commissioner when her contract expires in April next year, after eight years in the job.
Premier John Brumby recently backed Ms Nixon for another stint as the state's top cop if she wanted it.
"I think we are fortunate in having what I consider to be the outstanding chief commissioner of police anywhere in Australia," he said in January at the launch of Ms Nixon's five-year plan for Victoria Police.
"So long as she wants to remain on, she's very welcome to remain on."
Ms Nixon said today she would reconsider her position about at the end of the year.
Nixon defends her record
Reacting to police concerns she said she understood about resources and roster changes were causing unhappiness.
But she defended the new policy which will force police to declare any inappropriate personal associations.
"We know that a number of our members who have become corrupt have because of their associations, and so what we've done is try to get them to declare those," she said.
She has denied crime figures, which show a reduction in crime on her watch, were fudged.
And she has defended her approach to police recruitment which is aimed at bringing more women and diversity into the force.
She said women had the same equipment and training as male police officers and the evidence showed they were as effective in policing.
And in reaction to the the high number of officers who had considered resigning, the Ms Nixon stressed Victoria Police's attrition rate was just 2.9 per cent.
"If it is so terrible then ... you might think members might have left, but they're not. And there's a 1000 more wanting to get in," Ms Nixon said.
Yesterday, a police spokeswoman also defended the scrapping of the armed offenders squad, despite 86 per cent of survey respondents disagreeing with the decision.
She said the squad had been replaced by the armed crime taskforce and that taskforce had returned an 80 per cent clearance rate since September 2006.
"This change followed a management review of the armed offenders squad that identified concerns in relation to the behaviour of some members," the spokeswoman said.
"You will note the recent court cases where former members of the armed offenders squad pleaded guilty to charges."
Survey shows Nixon is not listening - Mullett
Police Association secretary Paul Mullett said the survey showed Ms Nixon wasn't listening to the right people: the police on the street – "or she doesn't want to listen".
"The results also confirm that Christine Nixon should be talking personally and directly to the Police Association on a far more regular basis," he said.
"We are the collective voice, and the survey results confirm that as a collective voice we are more on top of the game than she is as to what the direction of policing in Victoria should be."
with Matthew Schulz
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