Welcome to the Real World

Graduation, Day, Goulbourn Police Academy

3 November 1995

"For many people, migrants in particular, the police will be the first contact they will have with our legal system. Police are also the first point of contact in many trying situations, like a car crash, the death of a relative, a missing child and so on. In tense and highly emotional situations like these, it is essential for the police to be aware of other people’s real worlds".

I am honoured by the invitation to give the occasional address at this very important event, where you, the graduates, are now joining the ranks of what I would regard as the most important profession in the civilised world. The Police Service – the guardians of law and order who allow the rest of us to go about our everyday lives with confidence and peace of mind.

Naturally, your graduation also signals a move from the academy, the learning institution, to the rough and tumble of everyday policing.

No doubt, at some stage someone will say to you that all you learnt at the academy is great, but now you are in the Real World.

The world of criminals; blackmailers, drug dealers, murderers, child molesters and so on.

Every day, like so many of your fellow officers, you will put your lives at risk so that society can function well, in peace and harmony.

Yes it is the Real World out there. But everyone has her or his own unique Real World.

For some of the people you will meet, the Real World is one with which they cannot communicate. They do not speak English. They do not know how to ask for your help, they do not know how to assist you, they would not even understand what you are saying if you say to them "You are under arrest" or read them their rights.

Many come from countries where in their Real World a knock on the door from a police officer may mean that they will never see a member of their family again. In their Real World, an invitation to "come down to the Police Station", may mean a lifetime of torture and imprisonment without ever being charged or tried.

Regrettable, but true, that in some countries from which many Australian have come, the Police represent the instruments of oppression, torture and murder.

The Real World of New South Wales is one of the most unique societies in the world.

This Real World is a culturally diverse one. It has people from more than 200 different birthplaces. There are many religions. Over 26% of the people in metropolitan Sydney speak a language other than English at home, with that figure being over 16% throughout the State of NSW.

For many people, migrants in particular, the police will be the first contact they will have with our legal system. Police are also the first point of contact in many trying situations like a car crash, the death of a relative, a missing child and so on.

At tense and highly emotional situations like these, it is essential for the police to be aware of other people’s Real Worlds.

The development of group norms or cultures through close working relationships can include stereotyping based on ethnicity or mis-perceptions.

Officers graduating here today should never be fazed when their knock on the door is answered by someone from any one of the hundred or so different cultures which make up our State’s multicultural society.

You will find that you need to build trust with some members of society who are hostile to or distrustful of the police. To succeed, you will need sensitivity and an awareness of the Real Worlds which other people have.

Your Real World, the way you see life, is constructed by the way you have been socialised, by inputs from your parents, your religion, school, TV, brothers and sisters, music, the movies, partner, whatever. All these things combine to make up your character.

The people you will deal with out there, have their own Real World made up, generally, of the same things but with different emphasis, different inputs and different outlooks.

Many will probably expect you to be nothing more than a representative of the traditional Anglo-Saxon culture of Australia and will expect to feel uncomfortable with you.

But as a member of the New South Wales Police Service you represent the people of this State which is culturally diverse with a new and unique emerging culture made up of many ingredients.

We are a diverse society made up of people who have come to a new country to start a new life. They are people with a vision to leave behind hardships, perhaps oppression and war and build the very best in one of the greatest democracies in the world. Never underestimate the commitment a migrant has to her or his adopted land: Australia.

They share and treasure our democratic values which you will be called upon time and time again to protect. They have the right of freedom of speech, public assembly and dissent just as any other, always within the bounds of the law. Their ethnic background, the language they speak are no barriers to those basic rights.

Perhaps when you get a domestic violence call and are confronted with people who have a different background from you, your job will be to make all parties feel comfortable that you truly represent the real New South Wales where many people have different attitudes to this matter.

They will not be comfortable and that will make your job even harder if you seem to fit the stereotypical model of a police officer they may have in their minds, regardless of your own ethnic background.

I am not for a moment saying here that your job in a culturally diverse society is to administer the law selectively, but it is your job to reflect that diversity of cultural values in the way you deal with people.

Multiculturalism is not about different laws for different people as some critics like to argue. We have one law and it is to be obeyed by all Australians. But that law must reflect the aspirations and beliefs of society, the Police Service must be able to implement the law in that spirit.

When you leave this Academy, each of you will have a tremendous responsibility placed on your shoulders. Not the least for all the reasons I have already outlined.

To uphold the law in a completely even-handed manner. To fairly use the considerable power which you have been given. Perhaps, most importantly, to uphold those laws which set out a framework for how we all live in our collective Real Worlds.

It is not an easy task. No doubt people will accuse you of favouring one person over another at some stage. You will come across people who have been victimised because of their race, religion, language or cultural perspective. It is vital that you remain impartial. Your uniform demands that.

And that impartiality extends to every group you deal with.

It demands sensitivity and knowledge of the Real World other people live in, their customs, their ways of doing things, their histories.

Australia’s and, in particular New South Wales’ cultural diversity demand this. They demand that you, the most visible area of the legal system, be aware of the differences which make up our society. Aware that these differences are Australia’s strength and Australia’s future.

Our rich linguistic, racial, religious and cultural diversity, the pluralism of our society, is the key to the country’s future success as we head to the new millennium.

None of us should doubt that.

Just as organisations like the Ethnic Affairs Commission work to ensure equality of access and of opportunity, so must you be aware of the role you have in this same field.

Australia is a model for multicultural societies around the world. Senior politicians, academics and journalists from many countries increasingly visit Australia to find out more about how we have managed to forge a cohesive and united society out of such cultural diversity.

One in four of us is from a non-English-speaking background, but our identity as Australians grows stronger and stronger.

One thing we can be proud of is our legal system – intrinsically fair and unbiased in the way it must treat all Australians.

For most people, as police officers you are in the front line of that system, so the responsibilities you have to be impartial in your dealing with all members of our culturally diverse society are all the greater.

You leave this Academy today well-equipped to meet that challenge. Do not be distracted on your way.

Congratulations to you all and may your goal be fairness, justice and truth.