Submitted story

Thugs in uniform dealing with the public in Queensland. Did you see the threat posed from that tiny woman being thrown around? What do you think Mr Commissioner, you must be so proud of your officers handling the public in such a way?

Editor: Retired or former police officers have told Cairns News for years that the police trainees are good citizens when they enter either of the two state training academies, but undergo a transformation during their training from having been conditioned to believe the public, whom they are supposed to serve, are the “enemy”. Nevertheless policing is a stressful job and officers continually attending often horrific road accidents takes its toll. It is quite clear that officers at the sharp end do need counselling from time to time. Another policy of the Queensland Police Service  and their union is not to conduct random drug and alcohol testing of operational police.  There is much anecdotal evidence doing the rounds suggesting that police officers should be tested for illicit substance abuse. Every other workplace in Australia, under the OHS policies of each state allows for random testing. Any moves to introduce this reform will be strongly defended by their union and no doubt individual officers.

Another burning issue is the strained relationship between police and indigenous people, including troublesome Pacific Islanders and Maoris. Police, every day in Cairns, Townsville and indigenous settlements like Aurukun, have to deal with these people whose inherent desire is to bash a police officer. This festering sore will take another generation to settle down because anthropologists have long identified that the black race has not yet emerged from thousands of years of warring tribalism. Until then not much will change. from Robert J Lee on Gold Coast