Police indifference to crime

I had a similar experience to that below when my car was stolen. I was able to hand the Queensland police written ID for one of the thieves but they were not interested

IT wasn't the most lethal crime committed in an Australian city this week, but by chance it was caught on camera - and despite having the pictures in front of them, the police blatantly refused to investigate. The refusal of Sydney police to even pretend to investigate the crime captured by The Daily Telegraph photographer will anger anyone who has been told that "petty" crimes such as minor theft, vandalism and harassment aren't worth the bother.

The Daily Telegraph saw a random mugging of a young man for his money and Nike trainers late on Tuesday. Photographer Noel Kessell witnessed the brazen robbery by a gang of five youths outside Central Station at peak hour. At the notorious crime blackspot on the corner of Eddy Ave and Elizabeth St at 6.30pm the men cornered their victim and ordered him to empty his pockets and remove his shoes. Kessell captured on camera two of the youths fleeing across Elizabeth St, clutching the stolen shoes.

But at Surry Hills Police Station Inspector Karen Myers could not muster any enthusiasm. "I bet you thought, 'You beauty', you've got a story, but sorry, I'm not making a comment. These pictures don't mean anything," said the inspector when The Daily Telegraph offered the images to assist police. "These pictures could mean anything. It could just be a bloke running down the street with some shoes in his arms. "Without a victim there is no crime," she said with an attitude that has angered victims.

Kessell said the victim ran off before he could tell him he had witnessed the robbery. The young man may have reported it to another police station, but Inspector Myers would never know because she made no notes of the crime report to cross-reference it on the police computer system. Describing it as an "old crime", she was not interested in passing the photos to detectives, who may have recognised the thieves.

Dr Michael Kennedy, senior lecturer in policing at the University of Western Sydney, said: "This is not an isolated incident." Dr Kennedy, a former detective with 18 years service, said it was an example of policing being run as a business with performance bonuses for commissioned officers. "Success is measured in terms of data," Dr Kennedy said. "This is an indication of the lack of experience and maturity of commissioned officers."

Victims of Crime Assistance League executive director Robyn Cotterell-Jones said she was not surprised by the inaction. "Lots of victims are saying, 'What's the point of reporting a crime if the police won't listen to you'," she said.

Kessell was in a taxi when he saw the mugging. "It happened so fast. A group of about five young men gathered around another male, ordered him to go through his pockets and then told him to take his shoes off," he said.

It was only when The Daily Telegraph called the office of NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney that the police acted. Last night, Kessell made a statement to police and handed over his photos. Acting Surry Hills Commander Detective Inspector David Egan-Lee said street crime was a major focus for police in the Central Metropolitan region. "While the police response at the time may not have been optimal, we have assigned a team to examine the incident and with the help of The Daily Telegraph hope to apprehend the offenders," he said.

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A wise woman

A TASMANIAN mother has refused to agree to bail for her teenage son in a desperate bid to end his life of crime. And she has called on other parents of young lawbreakers to stop backing their children. "The police do the best they can, I think it's time these parents woke up to themselves," the woman said. The Bridgewater woman took the radical step after her son was arrested over a series of alleged offences last week. She has also refused to take her son's phone calls from the Hobart remand centre.

She does not want to reveal her identity for fear of reprisals. "At the moment I am the worst mum in Bridgewater because I am not standing by his case . . . but I want my son off the streets while he's a thief before he becomes a murderer," she said.

She spoke out yesterday in the hope that other parents would take the same stand. The woman said the parents of young lawbreakers had a lot to answer for, with many supporting or encouraging their children's actions by buying stolen goods from them and hiding them from police. She said she was disgusted by a recent incident in Bridgewater in which toddlers stood by watching while police were pelted with rocks when trying to make arrests. "What kind of example is that for the younger generation?" she asked.

Last Friday three teenagers hurled rocks at police from the roof of a Bridgewater house in a three-hour stand-off after police approached the house during an investigation into car thefts. More than 50 police attended the confrontation at Hobden Place. Three police vehicles were damaged and the incident attracted 100 spectators. The teenagers were later charged with assaulting police, damage to property, recklessly discharging missiles, motor vehicle stealing and creating a common nuisance.

Speaking to the Mercury yesterday, the Bridgewater woman said a few years ago her teenage son had been a normal, happy young man about to embark on a promising sporting career. But within months of "falling in with the wrong crowd" he was locked up in Ashley Detention Centre for theft. In the years since he has been in and out of the centre numerous times and has pushed his mother to the limit. "I have never once tried to hide him," she said. "I have actually been out at night looking for my son and calling the cops to where I thought he was. "We all love him and want him to be the person he was."

The woman said she did not believe Bridgewater, an area often stigmatised as having a high crime rate, was any worse than other suburbs. "I think it's our society, there is just no authority over kids," she said. Her worst fear was that her son would be involved in a crime that went wrong and led to a person's injury or death.

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Professor slams leftist curriculum "plan"

A Rudd Labor government risks creating a "noodle federation" as states sign up to different pieces of its education policy rather than developing a cohesive national framework. University of Queensland professor Kenneth Wiltshire described Kevin Rudd's self-described education revolution as "about six dot points in search of a rationale", containing little detail of how the measures would be implemented.

Speaking after giving evidence to the Senate inquiry on the academic standards of school education, Professor Wiltshire said the ALP policy lacked coherence and the only plan for implementation was an assertion that the states would co-operate "by some magical mechanism". "There's no guarantee whatsoever just because the state governments are the same political party Mr Rudd is going to get their co-operation," Professor Wiltshire said. "Public policy by definition should have content, its rationale, the tool of implementation. "But the 'education revolution' has no costing, no delivery mechanism; it needs to be spelt out in far more detail. "I fear Mr Rudd's creating a noodle federation, with some states referring powers to the commonwealth and some states not."

Professor Wiltshire, the JD Story professor of public administration at the university, chaired the review of the Queensland school curriculum under the Goss Labor government. He served as a special adviser to the Australian National Training Authority and was Australia's representative on the executive board of UNESCO, the UN education body, until 2005.

In evidence to the inquiry, Professor Wiltshire described the Queensland education system as the worst in the country. He said the school system forced subject specialisation on students at too young an age, requiring them to choose between being literate or numerate - between the humanities and the sciences - at 12 or 13, and to decide on an academic or vocational pathway at 14 or 15. "We're forcing these choices on kids at far too young an age," he said. "We should be keeping options open and giving them a generalist education for as long as possible."

In his evidence, Professor Wiltshire also highlighted the lack of careers guidance in schools and called for "root and branch" reform of the TAFE system, arguing for the introduction of a HECS-style scheme. Professor Wiltshire said the only improvements in educational standards over the past decade had occurred as a result of intervention by the federal Government. He said reforms over the past 10 years - including better reporting on students, greater choice for parents, and moves to a national curriculum - would not have occurred if the federal Government had not taken a stronger role in education. 'State governments obviously haven't been able to properly deliver what people want," he said.

Professor Wiltshire called on the inquiry to recommend a federal-led approach to curriculum, a strong national board for curriculum reintroducing syllabus specifying content, and strong national performance standards and assessment.

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His Eminence shocks atheists: Archbishop Pell lobbies hard for his faith

ACCORDING to Fairfax newspapers, Cardinal George Pell has, for the second time this week, sparked a terrible controversy. Before anyone panics, Pell has not denied the existence of God or cast doubt on the resurrection of Jesus. That really would be controversial.

No, in the first apparent outrage, Dr Pell said he would ask Catholic school principals to swear an oath of fidelity to their partners and to not use birth control. In other words, he expects Catholic teachers to abide by Catholic teachings. The second so-called "controversy" concerns Dr Pell's decision, earlier this week, to warn Catholic MPs in the NSW parliament to vote against a bill that would allow for stem cell research, saying experimentation was grotesque.

Dr Pell did not say that Catholics who voted for the bill would be excommunicated or that they would suffer eternal damnation. He did say there would be "consequences" for their place in the life of the church but did not make it clear what these consequences might be. It has been suggested that some priests may refuse holy communion to MPs who voted for the bill.

Some commentators have criticised Dr Pell for mixing affairs of the church with the state. In fact, Dr Pell is doing no more than his job. As Cardinal, it is his responsibility to explain and uphold Catholic principles, to remind Australian Catholics of the rules that apply to their lives, if lived as Catholics. In other words, Dr Pell is engaged in the thoroughly modern practice of lobbying elected representatives in the same way as some feminist groups lobby for a woman's right to have an abortion; and some providers of pornography lobby for X-rated videos to be available at the corner store. It would be quite strange if Dr Pell had told Catholic MPs to vote either for or against the bill without first examining their conscience. It is his business to bring conscience to the fore.

In any case, it is clear that Catholics regard Dr Pell's advice as exactly that: advice, to either be heeded or ignored. NSW Premier Morris Iemma, who is Catholic, said he would vote for research; so too did his Catholic deputy, John Watkins.

The real controversy here is the one that has existed since scientists discovered that stem cells may hold within them great promise, in the form of treatment for many different diseases. But how much experimentation should be allowed? This newspaper has always spoken in favour of science and technology - indeed, in favour of hope for humankind, and the possible end of some suffering. But each and every decision involving a human embryo takes place within an ethical framework and Dr Pell does well to remind our community to at least think carefully before we take steps down uncertain paths.

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