this is hilarious. A great script for Keystone cops.

I agree with this article .In the ACT , in recent years , there have been a couple of tragic accidents , resulting in deaths caused by drivers of stolen vehicles ,which were being pursued by police . Although the accident was caused by loss of control by the car thief ,the media [ and relatives of the deceased persons ] blamed the police and not the car thief . It was said that the police should not have pursued , instead apprehending the car thief later . As the car was stolen , seeking to identify the car thief by the registration plate would have been ineffective .

I wonder if car thieves are known to vote Labor?

Have you noticed that Atkinson always sounds more like a welfare worker than a top cop, when ever he is interviewed?

Yeah, Commissioners come and Commissioners go, most are next to useless. Those who have struggled up through the ranks (and most have) unfortunately have become political animals in order to firstly get appointed and later, to survive.

Myself, I rose to the dizzy heights of Detective Sergeant 3/c. 'king of the s...' and 's... of the kings', as they say in the Army. I never sought promotion beyond that which I'd attained. I seriously doubted that I possessed sufficient skills to have become a good enough leader anyway. Nor did I possess the necessary command adroitness so obligatory in a good leader, either.

The trouble is, many many senior police, notwithstanding they may be great at catching crooks, do not possess sound command skills. That deficiency could very well be extrapolated, all the way up to the top ?

Why then do so many police seek promotion ? In my opinion, for pecuniary reasons, together with that of desiring to occupy the few ranks' that permit them access to those areas of enormous influence and power.

It's my humble belief, the police force should have a College or a Facility, similar to that of Duntroon, or even ADFA. Where (selected) police are taught to lead. Taught to command others. Instead of the 'hodge podge' arrangement that we now currently have. True, they do have the Australian Police College, at Manly in Sydney. Used mainly for a week or two of 'jollies' for senior officers, not for serious leadership development and training.

Perhaps then, we'll have worthwhile Commissioners who'll possess the essential 'where with all' to stand-up to their political masters in matters that don't reflect the true will of the people. Conceivably we'll then see some effective law and order in our community.

And pigs could well fly too, I'd imagine.

I agree with you there, o sung wu. The police service, like many other services (including my own, teaching) is hamstrung by the promotion of people based not on their aptitude for their new role, but on their performance in the last. A good teacher is not necessarily a good people manager; nor is a good police officer, a good nurse, a good firefighter. I'm sure some are, and I'm sure many more could be with good training. Sadly, they are elevated into new positions and expected to simply develop the new skills required without training or assistance. Certainly some of the blame must be placed on the shoulders of people whose ambitions outstrip their ability, but those who select the wrong people for the job must also hang their heads in shame.

From what I have seen, “Goodie goodie” people think children should never be punished in any way to attempt to correct bad behaviour, and managed to impress the idiots in parliament, who have decided that no person must be punished for crimes they commit irrespective how heinous it may be. This has created more crimes where the police are handicapped by people in parliament and who certainly don't want to see innocent people injured or killed, but can't see any intelligent way of preventing or apprehending the criminals any other way. This has flowed over into schools and teachers are also forced into having to put up with it, and are also subject to the laws of aussault to ensure bad behaviour will continue to exist.