Police Life - Introduction

During my work life, I spent around 14 years in policing. I often say I was a police officer until I came good, however, I have great respect for police and the very difficult, often dangerous job they do.

I started my policing career in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) where I was a service policeman.

After discharge from the RAAF, I joined the Tasmania Police where I spent the next two years and only left because the woman of my life came from Queensland and didn't envisage living in Tasmania after we got married. When you have found a "keeper" you do what you can to keep her and to date, it's lasted 48 years. In retrospect, my choice of life-partner was an excellent one as my wife is almost perfect and I often wondered whether I was the less perfect in our relationship.

When we got married I joined the Queensland Police Force (QPF) (and spent about a decade).

The Tasmania Police during the short time I worked there was a slick, well-disciplined operation and later, I often regretted leaving. The QPF by comparison when I joined was a Keystone Cops outfit but Commissioner Ray Whitrod was doing his best to change it into a top-rate policing agency.

Large numbers of the senior staff had severe alcoholic problems and more than enough were subsequently incompetent or disinterested enough not to give a shit about much that happened. Levels of literacy among older officers was often below par.

Promotion by seniority meant that the incompetent and disinterested alcoholics only had to last the distance to get into the higher echelons. A certain recipe for failure that ensured a police force operating at minimal efficiency and effectiveness.

It didn't help that Queensland had a Bjelke Petersen government that had been in power for decades. Neither did it help that Commissioner Whitrod had not come from the ranks of the QPF and was resented by many of the long-term officers.

Despite considerable difficulties from both the government, the Police Union and some senior staff, Whitrod managed to make a considerable number of positive changes.

One of Commissioner Whitrod's innovations was to encourage a better educated police force by ensuring promotion from constable first class to senior constable after seven years instead of about 10. One had to have a Senior English pass and complete several subjects in a TAFE Police Arts and Science Course. 

At the bottom of the seniority ladder, I needed the job, liked my colleagues and had a wife and two young children to feed, clothe and house. As my first-born was hearing impaired, my wife, a registered nurse/midwife, didn't work so she could care for him, so finances were a balancing act for quite a few years on one salary.

We survived from one pay to the next and I worked as much overtime as I could while also studying for adult matriculation and later, a degree.

One of Commissioner Whitrod's innovations was to encourage a better educated police force by ensuring promotion from constable first class to senior constable after seven years instead of about 10. One had to have a Senior English pass and complete several subjects in a TAFE Police Arts and Science Course. 

I liked policing. I felt as though I was doing some good protecting and serving the Queensland community. I liked my colleagues and looked forward to going to work. The drunken senior sergeants and othes were just something one had to cope with.

Among the many personal skills and attributes police officer need are resilience to deal with stupid people and an excellent sense of humour.

In following posts I'll tell you about some of the interesting people I met and the humorous events that kept us sane while serving you, our community.

Robin