News

April 2002

Message from the Chair

Emmanuel Anthony PSM
Senior Cultural Advisor, Queensland Police Service and Chair, NPEAB Advisory Panel

The National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau is pleased to welcome Emmanuel Anthony PSM, Queensland Police Service, as the current Chair of NPEAB's Advisory Panel. He replaces Assistant Commissioner Bruce Johnston APM, New South Wales Police Service, who retired in June 2001.

Emmanuel Anthony was educated at the University of Queensland where he completed two degrees. He also attended the International School in Oxford.

His career with the Queensland Police Service commenced in 1980. He has been Senior Lecturer and Director of Studies at the Queensland Police Academy and is presently Senior Cultural Adviser to the Commissioner of Police.

In 1995 he was awarded the Public Service Medal in the Australia Day Honours List for his 'outstanding contributions in the promotion of police/community relations'.

To a large extent, effective operational policing depends on the capacity of officers to understand the diverse community they serve. As well as protecting life and property and bringing offenders to justice, policing is about valuing people and promoting social cohesion.

Police officers capable of demonstrating their cultural competence, through the implementation of inclusive policies and strategies, not only provide a service that engenders confidence, they also contribute to the Australian ethos of "a fair-go", which gives all citizens the rights, capabilities and obligations to participate fully in society.

Indeed our society has a justifiable expectation that, in providing a service, police officers can interact effectively across the human spectrum, thus maintaining community trust in the Service they represent. This theme was expanded upon at the Policing Partnerships in a Multicultural Australia Conference held in Brisbane on 25-26 October 2001.

The challenge to continue the journey we have commenced was also addressed. In the words of the Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon:

(Australian police jurisdictions) "...have moved beyond tolerance; beyond awareness and are collectively seeking strategies that embrace diversity."

By establishing the National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau (NPEAB) in 1993 under the auspices of the Commissioners' Conference, Australian police jurisdictions are ensuring that policing maintains its credibility and legitimacy for all citizens and is consequently better equipped to deal with situations in a professional, timely and objective manner. For as Mikhail Gorbachov once pointed out "those insensitive to the signals of their time will be surpassed by history".

Underpinning the success of the NPEAB in recent years has been its capacity to forge genuine partnerships, not only between police jurisdictions, but more importantly, with community-based organisations and other service providers throughout Australia. Commitment to this alliance has brought together expertise, experience and skill at a national level, promoting the efficient utilization of resources and helping to reduce the duplication of effort.

The NPEAB has helped to define the crucial role of policing within our society and continues to foster constructive community engagements that are essential elements of core policing.

I am proud to have been elected to Chair this professional organisation whose primary objective is to assist operational police in ensuring that policing services are accessible and equitable to all Australians.