Ben was leaving Redfern Station at 5pm on a dim June evening
when he passed a group of six or seven police officers standing around a man
lying on the ground, ordering him to empty his bag and take off his shoes. The
elderly man looked drunk, or high, and was having difficulty understanding. Ben
stopped several metres from the group and watched to make sure “everything was
okay”. Half a dozen people – with or without a uniform – standing over a
half-conscious man made him feel uncomfortable. It seemed his civic duty to be
a witness. A young constable approached Ben and asked him to move on. Ben
objected – “I’m just watching, and this is a public space” – but the policeman
was insistent. “You’re obstructing an arrest. If I have to direct you a third
time, I’ll arrest you too.” Reluctantly, Ben moved on.
Months later, Superintendent Luke Freudenstein listens to
the story in his TNT-Tower office. Such events, tensions and misunderstandings
are nothing new in this building, but Redfern’s new Police Commander, an
advocate of community trust and cooperation, looks concerned nevertheless. Such
stories don’t help his cause.
“The first thing anybody should do in a case where they feel
a police officer is not acting appropriately is to call the duty officer at the
police station, who will investigate the matter as soon as possible,” says
Freudenstein.
Police are entitled to direct the public to “move on” under
certain circumstances, and can also search people’s belongings if they are
suspected of carrying unlawfully obtained property or drugs, however, without
knowing the specifics of Ben’s story, says Freudenstein, it is impossible for
him to comment further. He emphasises that police prefer to speak to people
than arrest them. The more communication police have with the community, he
says, the better.
Serving as Crime Commander at Manly Police, Freudenstein was
instrumental in helping the community to create and implement a Code of
Respect, which was successful in reducing alcohol-related crime in the area.
Freudenstein would like to create something similar at his
new command, but knows the inherent challenges of Redfern’s politically charged
environment can make trust hard to achieve.
“You can make promises, but you’ve got to deliver. Community
trust is a matter of making yourself well known in the local area. You’ve got
to be available to the community, to build a partnership to reduce crime. I’m
not going to make outrageous promises, like there will never be a police
officer who’ll say the wrong thing to you, that’s ridiculous. We’re all human,”
he says.
The idea of a Code of Respect is to discuss the community’s
concerns and know where it perceives the main crime problems to be. Nine times
out of 10, says Freudenstein, the community’s concerns will coincide with those
of the police, but sometimes there are issues the police are unaware of.
Dialogue helps the public know its rights and responsibilities, and to
understand why police officers may react harshly in stressful situations; it
also fosters accountability.
After a successful trial period, Freudenstein will now be
Redfern Police Commander for at least the next two years. He was a little
nervous taking on a portfolio that included Aboriginal issues, but he praises
the local Aboriginal community, and the leadership of the Aboriginal Housing
Company in particular. “It’s a bit daunting for me not having that much
experience with the Aboriginal community but so far that’s the best thing
that’s happened to me in this job. If everything was as easy as dealing with
the Aboriginal community, I’d be very pleased,” he says.
And he doesn’t believe gentrification, or anything else,
will push the Aboriginal community off The Block. “I don’t think that’s going
to happen, and I hope it doesn’t,” he says. Freudenstein has never felt
uncomfortable on The Block. “They’re people I seem to have an affinity with. I
enjoy speaking with them. They love sport, and so do I. I think that’s where
our common denominator is,” he says.
[Paragraph deleted at the request of South Sydney Herald].
Those who would like more information on how to contribute
to community-police dialogue should ring the police station (02 8303 5199) and
ask about the next Community Safety Precinct Committee Meeting, to be held on
November 13.
Photo: Ali Blogg – Caption: Police Commander Luke
Freudenstein
Source:
South Sydney Herald October 2008 www.southsydneyherald.com.au