Friday, 23 June 2023
NSW Police Academy, Goulburn
Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC

Thank you, Acting Chief Superintendent[1]

I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and pay my respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging, and extend that respect to all First Nations people here this morning.

Premier[2], Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism[3], Member for Goulburn[4], Commissioner[5], Deputy and Assistant Commissioners[6], Mayor[7], Officers, family, friends, and, most importantly, Class 358.

In taking your oath today as Probationary Constables, you, the 97 members of Class 358, have joined a profession with a long and honourable history.

Modern policing traces its origins back to 1829 when, in response to the need for a centralized body responsible for the prevention, deterrence, and detection of crime, the Metropolitan Police of London was established. Its establishment set the blueprint for modern policing; namely an organisation which at all times is professional, ethical, and accountable to the public it protects.

Here in New South Wales, the stage for our modern Police Force was set in 1862 with that same blueprint, when the disparate policing agencies in the Colony were combined into a single body.[8]

The Rules of Conduct introduced back then are as true today as they were 161 years ago.[9] At their heart is a recognition that it is not possible to anticipate every difficulty which a police officer may encounter in the course of their duties. However, a professionally trained, disciplined police force enables officers to perform their duties even in the most unexpected of circumstances.

Much has changed, of course, over the many decades since those first professional police forces were established. Crime and its perpetrators have, in many instances, become more sophisticated. Technology is itself like a silent criminal catching people out by stealth.

But, overall, people don’t change; there have always been the those who comply with the law and those who, for a variety of reasons, may be non-compliant, those who respect authority and those who consider themselves above it, those who are vulnerable and those who are manipulative.

Nor have the essentials of policing changed.

As police officers, you do not cease being a member of the community. As members of the community, you embed within yourself the best of what community means, importantly the quality of empathy and the skills of communicating. You interact with others and get to understand human behaviour. You take all these qualities, skills, and know-how with you into the Police Force.

As police officers, you operate in and for the community and you do so in ways that no other person or profession does. Serving the community in accordance with your oath is both an honour and a responsibility. It requires you to act with good judgment, intelligence, and discretion, and always in accordance with the law. This is required of every police officer, from your Commissioner, to your Superintendent, to your Station Sergeant, and yourself.

You must be fair and accountable for your actions. Fairness, as we know, is the stepping-stone to trust. In turn, as is argued in Michael Hough’s 2020 book Good Policing, public trust in the police serves as the bedrock of police legitimacy.[10] These fundamental elements of good policing are recognised internationally and can be found, amongst other places, in the United Nations Handbook on Police Accountability, Oversight, and Integrity.[11]

I mention the United Nations Handbook not only because it refers to internationally recognised standards of policing, but also because it is a reminder that you are now part of an organisation with international standards and capability and recognised as such.

Class 358: you are well-educated, articulate, and well-trained. These are all tools in your police toolbox which will help you make the decisions and exercise the discretion and judgment that policing demands. You also have a deeply imbued sense of service, otherwise you would not have applied to enter the academy. We thank you for that, and as a community, we have great pride in you and faith that you will execute your duties and functions as an officer in the New South Wales Police Force with responsibility and pride.

The warmest of thanks also to retiring Chief Inspector Peter Forbutt. Chief Inspector Forbutt, just over 40 years ago, you too swore your oath at your attestation, and have worked ever since with an exemplary diligence that is inspiring.

Congratulations to you, and to all the members of Class 358.

[1] Acting Chief Superintendent Linda Bradbury, Principal & Commander, Organisational Development Command, NSW Police Academy

[2] The Honourable Chris Minns MP, Premier of NSW

[3] The Honourable Yasmin Catley MP, Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism and Member for Swansea

[4] The Honourable Wendy Tuckerman MP, Shadow Minister for Local Government, Shadow Minister for Small Business and Member for Goulburn

[5] Commissioner Karen Webb APM, NSW Police

[6] Deputy Commissioner David Hudson APM, Investigations and Counter Terrorism Command, NSW Police; Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon APM, Field Operations, Metropolitan NSW, NSW Police; Deputy Commissioner Brett Greentree APM, Field Operations, Regional NSW, NSW Police; Acting Deputy Commissioner Kenna Ackley, Corporate Services, NSW Police; Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna APM, Emergency Management, NSW Police; Acting Assistant Commissioner Toby Lindsay, People and Capability Command, NSW Police

[7] Mr Peter Walker, Mayor for Goulburn, Mulwaree Council

[8] Bruce Swanton, The Police of Sydney 1788-1862, Australian Institute of Criminology, 1984; available here

[9] ‘Appointments under the New Police Regulation Act’, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 March 1862, p. 2; available here

[10] Mike Hough, Good Policing: Trust, Legitimacy, and Authority, Policy Press, Bristol, 2020.

[11] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Handbook on Police Accountability, Oversight and Integrity, 2011; available here