The NSW State Election

As entertaining as liberal's propaganda was it undeniably reflects popular opinion about Labor's failure in past few decades. When it comes to state elections the debate over law and order has a long-standing history. In the wake of the 2011 NSW State election it seems appropriate to examine not only the role of crime as a political agenda for the wider public, biut also the role of crime as a political tool for the parties.

Recently i read an interesting article on Crikey regarding the relationship between the state government and the police, especially in the lead-up to an election. In the article it was claimed that in the past 15 years of Labor government, all requests by police for extra legislation, power or equipment has been met.

Greens MP David Shoebridge expressed his concerns over such a entrenched relationship, portraying it as an endless desire to keep the police “onside”, “what the police want, they get, no strings attached and no questions asked”. This claim, as expected, was quickly refuted by president of the NSW Police Association Scott Weber who asserted that police have “fought long and hard for everything they have achieved”. Putting aside the issue of whether or not the NSW police received all requests, it is interesting to note the pivotal role the law and order debate in politics. 

Given public opinion and history, there is little surprise that a 'tough on crime' attitude was central to both Labor and Liberal pre-election policy. Thus, there is a grave concern as to the enormous political power that the NSW Police can exert in order to attract significant pre-election promises. One main claim is that police quickly obtain tougher powers and better resources, yet fail to assume a larger responsibility. A common pre-election move is to give the popular impression that something is being done about crime. However, as Cameron Murphy, president of NSW Council for Civil Liberties highlights, “A very cheap way of doing that is to grant police extra powers.” New legislation and police resources is often “thoughtlessly” rushed through parliament, with the equipment seldom being used.

This phenomenon has been prevalent in the past. The introduction of 'bikie laws' in 2009  by the Rees Government was in large a response to a moral panic driven by the media. Essentially, it was merely a knee-jerk reaction to retain political clout, that was predicated upon minimal research and understanding. It is incidents such as these which point towards a seemingly growing trend for politicians to develop crime prevention policy around media and public opinion as opposed to expert advice. 

In lead-up to the this years election, the Police Association submission included over forty recommendations for the government to 'consider'. Many of these include greater police powers, increased salaries, and improved working conditions. Only time will tell how many of these genie wishes will be granted by the new Liberal government. But if history is anything to go by chances are NSW police will be able to have their cake (or donut) and eat it too.