‘Confronting Police Culture’ or ‘the Force is Still with You’? Making Sense of Contemporary Policing in Australia

Abstract

The two phrases from this paper's title were the headlines to two major opinion articles in the only broadsheet newspaper in Melbourne, Australia. The first article was written by a lawyer who previously served as a member of what was a short-lived experiment —the Victorian Police Complaints Authority. The second, appearing five days later, was a response from the current Chief Commissioner of Police. Of course, being opinion articles, it can be assumed that each had a particular line to push. At the same time, each article in its own way sums up the opposite poles of attitudes to the state of contemporary policing in Australia. This paper will elaborate on some of the key issues concerning contemporary police in Australia, in particular focusing on the connections between changes to ideas about governing and how these are shaping emerging techniques employed to govern the police.