Page 3388 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 17 August 2011
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It is important to stress to the Assembly again that decisions to employ operational police tactics and capabilities and any amendment to operational policies are fundamentally decisions that lie within the purview and the discretion of the AFP Commissioner. But, again, it is also important to stress that, given the potentially contentious nature of such a decision, the AFP Commissioner and the ACT Chief Police Officer have been very forthright with me in indicating that any such decision will occur with the concurrence of the ACT government and me as the ACT minister responsible.
The evidence provided to me indicates that in 2010-11 ACT Policing recorded an increase in incidents involving use of force by police officers, underlining an upward trend over the last few years. A majority of these incidents involved alcohol, drugs, mental illness or a combination of these factors. Increasingly, police are also observing a propensity for aggressive behaviour towards police, particularly from alcohol-fuelled patrons in concentrated entertainment precincts. While assaults on police are trending steadily from year to year in terms of actual numbers, the Chief Police Officer has advised me of his concerns that the level of violence used towards police officers is increasing, leading to the potential for front-line police officers to sustain serious injuries in the course of their duties.
Consequently, there is real potential for these incidents to escalate to a point where there is significant risk to the safety of the public and the police officers involved. Some recent examples of serious incidents occurred in February this year when two people were shot by police in two separate and unrelated situations. One of them was fatally injured. In one of these incidents, a 27-year-old man, allegedly armed with a knife and meat cleaver, was shot by a police officer after police attended a report of a disturbance in Wanniassa. This incident is under investigation by ACT Policing criminal investigations on behalf of the coroner. I have no doubt that the incorporation of tasers into the suite of tools available to front-line police provides an additional use-of-force option to assist police when facing such situations as these.
Evidence obtained by ACT Policing during the course of its consultation with other jurisdictions nationally and internationally demonstrates that there is a direct correlation between the employment of tasers and the de-escalation of volatile operational situations as well as a reduction in the number of assaults on police. Experience demonstrates that in 70 per cent of cases, the simple drawing of a taser from a holster has de-escalated a volatile situation and that assaults on police have reduced by 30 per cent as a result of the introduction of tasers to front-line operations.
As a general rule, the AFP taser policy allows for tasers to be used by police to defend themselves or others from physical injury likely to result in serious harm. They may also be used to make an arrest where police believe on reasonable grounds that there is a threat of physical violence likely to result in harm. ACT Policing has instituted sound governance protocols to ensure that taser use remains within these tight parameters.
The Chief Police Officer has advised me that the use of tasers under the expanded model will commence next Monday, 22 August. I have every reason to believe that
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