News

August 2000

Publication on Religious Diversity Helps Police

Following many months of planning, the Bureau recently released a unique publication which has been formally launched around Australia, entitled "A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police". Described as a "tangible outcome of partnership policing", this attractive publication consists of a series of questions and answers addressing some of the values and religiously determined behaviours of the Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish and Sikh faiths. These were selected on the basis of the outcome of a national survey which the Bureau conducted amongst operational police to establish which communities pose a challenge in terms of the delivery of religiously sensitive and appropriate services. The survey made it clear that operational men and women were keen to learn more about the five faiths covered in the publication and they provided the Bureau with a wide range of questions they wanted answered. Obviously, the Bureau was not in a position to undertake such an onerous task on its own. To ensure accurate and reliable answers, the Bureau approached and obtained the co-operation from representatives of the five faiths who provided the answers to the questions posed by the operational police. It was this phase of the project which was described by Ivan Kolarik, Executive Director of the Bureau as "an excellent example of a professionally very fulfilling and rewarding partnership between the Bureau and religious leaders" who provided the expertise in this area. The chapters are grouped under the following headings:

• An overview
• Death and related issues
• Gender roles and family
• Physical contact and other sensitivities; and
• Religious practices and policing.

There is no doubt that the publication will contribute in no small measure to a better understanding of the faiths covered and it will make police better equipped to deal with all sorts of situations, often under stressful operational conditions, empathically and appropriately.

7000 copies of this reference tool have been produced for national distribution. However, as the publication was produced primarily for operational police, it will normally not be available to non-police organisations.

The publication has already received considerable praise from police authorities and community leaders in Britain and the Czech Republic where its availability was announced by the Bureau's Executive Director during his visit.

The financial assistance from sponsors from around Australia, needs to be acknowledged. It was the following organistions who readily recognised the value of the project and provided valuable sponsorship:

• Australian Multicultural Foundation
• Victorian Multicultural Commission
• Office of Citizenship and Multicultural Interests (WA)
• Multicultural Affairs Queensland
• Ethnic Affairs Commission NSW
• Tasmania Office of Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs
• South Australia Multicultural & Ethnic Affairs Commission
• Northern Territory Government Office of Ethnic Affairs
• Office of Multicultural Affairs, ACT

The content of this reference book may be accessed through the Bureau's Website: Guidelines