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2005/11: Youth violence: did the New South Wales government and police handle the Macquarie Fields riots appropriately?
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What they said ...
'There's only one blame here and that is the people who went out and threw bricks and caused riots. There's only one thing to say to them: the police will get them, because they are engaged in illegal behaviour'
New South Wales Premier, Mr Bob Carr
'The police say they were confronted by youth. That's a lie... The police say there are rioters here, but the police are creating the problem. The media's also fuelling it and making it a lot worse'
Macquarie Fields resident, Ms Melissa Perrott
The issue at a glance
On February 25, two young men, Matthew Robertson, 19, and Dylan Rayward, 17, died after their car crashed into a tree during a high-speed police chase in Macquarie Fields in Sydney. The young man believed to have been the driver of the stolen vehicle, Jesse Kelly, 20, walked away from the accident and was not taken into custody until he gave himself up twelve days later.
Four days of rioting by youth in the area and a series of police raids followed the deaths. Forty-two people were arrested, charged with some 90 offences.
The police have been criticised in relation to this civil disorder. There are those who have claimed that provocative police actions either caused or contributed to the riots.
There are also those who have claimed that the police handled the riots in a faltering and ineffective manner. Those who argue this believe that police policy for handling riot situations is timid and too concerned to avoid adverse publicity and complaints from civil libertarians.
The government has also faced censure. It has been suggested that the conditions that lead to civil disorder are the responsibility of government to alleviate. The New South Wales government has been criticised for policies that allow the continuation of poverty, unemployment and the aggregation of socially and economically disadvantaged people into subsidised housing estates.
Background
Some key events in the Macquarie Fields riots
February 25, 2005: The driver, Jesse Kelly, 20, eluded police at the scene of an accident in Eucalyptus Drive Macquarie Fields which killed his passengers Matthew Robertson, 19, and Dylan Rayward, 17. Before the accident the stolen car he was driving had been chased by an unmarked police car. The duration of the chase has been disputed.
Police attempting to remove the bodies of the two dead young men had bricks and other objects thrown at them. This was the precursor to a night of civil disturbance.
Hours after the accident, Mr Kelly was secretly recorded by the police discussing the crash in phone call to his aunt.
February 26, 2005: Mr Kelly revisited the crash site where he was photographed and interviewed by the media but not detained by police. Mr Kelly reported for bail at Macquarie Fields police station, but was allowed to walk free. There was a second night of rioting. Cars and buildings were damaged and some police and fire officers were assaulted.
February 27, 2005: A crash witness, local resident Jasen Greeks was bashed by men allegedly led by Mr Kelly.
March 9, 2005: After four nights of riots and 42 arrests, Mr Kelly gave himself up.
March 10, 2005: An investigation into the police handling of the incidents has been ordered, to be overseen by the New South Wales Ombudsman.
The New South Wales Opposition has been critical of the police for failing to apprehend Mr Kelly earlier and for apparently failing to respond to a call to come to the assistance of Jason Greeks.
Internet information
On March 9 2005 the World Socialist Website published a statement from the Socialist equality party (Australia). The statement criticises the actions of the police, but is specially critical of the attitudes and policies of the New South Wales government.
The statement can be found at http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/mar2005/stat-m09.shtml
On March 9 Green Left Weekly published an opinion piece titled 'Youth riots in Sydney: the real story'
The piece includes a lengthy interview Peter Perkins, Jesse Kelly's grandfather who makes a series of allegations about the manner in which the police treat the residents of Macquarie Fields.
This article can be found at http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2005/618/618p24.htm
On March 2 2005 the leader of the New South Wales Opposition, John Brogdon, issued a press release critical of both the police and the state government over their handling of the events surrounding the Macquarie Fields riots. The press release can be found at http://www.nsw.liberal.org.au/media/view.cfm?media_id=1871
On march 1 2005 the New South Wales premier Bob Carr made a speech in state Parliament in which he defended the actions of the New South Wales police and his government's provision for the residents of Macquarie Fields.
The text of this speech can be found at http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20050301006
In 1999 the New South Wales Government issued a report titled, 'Improving resource utilisation: availability of police resources'
The report outlines how police resources could be better employed in a variety of communities. The report details a number of reforms introduced at Macquarie Fields intended to increase police effectiveness and availability in the area.
This report can be found at http://www.audit.nsw.gov.au/perfaud-rep/Year-1998-1999/police98/utilise.htm
Arguments supporting how the New South Wales government and police have acted re Macquarie Fields
1. The New South Wales police do not have a history of victimising Macquarie Fields residents
It has been argued that the New South Wales police intensive policing of Macquarie Fields is a reasonable response to the incidence of crime in the area.
In Macquarie Fields and nearby suburbs the burglary rate is nearly double the state average. Assaults are also nearly twice as high and vehicle theft is 1.5 times higher.
Dr David Burchell, senior lecturer in humanities at the University of Western Sydney, has claimed, 'South-west Sydney is ... the Australian capital of car rebirthing and car theft. Young males get together to street-race for entertainment and relaxation, and locals often don't want them to. So what happens is a series of police crackdowns on particular streets.'
One young man interviewed by a reporter from The Australian explained the proceeds that could be got from a stolen car. 'You can get about $300 for the stereo, $3000 to $4000 for the seats and wheels - you can get a lot for the wheels.'
The same interview subject indicated that his ambition was to sell heroin 'cause that's where the money is.'
2. New South Wales police were required to conduct the initial car chase and did so in a reasonable manner
In a letter published in The Australian on March 3, 2005, Dallas Fraser wrote, '[The police] are damned if they do and damned if they don't.
If the police had not pursued the vehicle in which two males died at Macquarie Fields in Sydney's southwest on Friday night, they would have been targeted for not doing their jobs. By pursuing the vehicle they then cop it from those who would find any reason to have a go at them.'
An editorial published in The Sydney Morning Herald on March 1, 2005, stated, 'The coroner will determine the cause of the deaths [of the two young men who died in the car crash], but to the outsider, cause and effect are already suggested. The two males would not have been killed if the car in which they were travelling had not been stolen, and had its driver not tried to flee the police.
Police chases are very dangerous. In NSW over the past 10 years, they have killed 56 people. But a blanket directive to police not to give chase would be an open invitation to criminals to evade capture simply by speeding away.'
The New South Wales police have claimed that the car chase that they conducted was brief and handled with care. They have also denied that the pursuit car struck the fleeing vehicle.
An editorial published in The Australian on March 1, 2005, suggested that the police were doing no more than their duty requires and that the responsibility for these young men's deaths lies with them. The editorial states, 'When young men steal a car, refuse to stop for police and roar off into the night, the responsibility for whatever tragedy follows lies with them.'
3. The New South Wales police exercised a sensible restraint during the riots
It has been claimed that throughout the riots the New South Wales police have acted with commendable and appropriate restraint.
The Los Angeles Police Department chief Mr Bratton, in Australia to address a police commissioners' conference in Brisbane during the riots, commended the New South Wales Police for their handling of the riots.
Mr Bratton compared the New South Wales response favourably with some police actions he had witnessed in the United States. Laughing at some media and Opposition criticisms of New South Wales police he laughed and said, 'Sorry, it doesn't equate with some of my experiences.'
Mr Bratton further favourably noted the 'minimal damage, minimal injuries to police and civilians'.
He said it did not matter how long Mr Kelly remained fugitive or how long rioting continued, as long as no property or person was hurt 'in a significant way'.
On March 1 2005 the New South Wales premier, Mr Bob Carr, stated in Parliament, 'Policing at night, with large crowds of bystanders and lots of side streets and backyards to hide in, is not easy ...
This is a challenging environment, but one in which the police want to restore order and make arrests. Nothing was stopping them except prudent operational judgments made on the ground at the time by experienced police ... We trust the judgments of these senior, experienced operational police. We are very proud of these police, who suffered immense provocation and numerous injuries and who remained focused and professional throughout.'
4. The New South Wales police arrested only those they believed to have committed crimes
Detectives arrested residents from Macquarie Fields, usually one or two days after they took part in rioting. They were generally arrested on the basis of video footage.
The New South Wales premier, Mr Bob Carr, claimed that the violence had been handled appropriately according to the law.
'Police need to have reason to make arrests and that is they need to identify people who've been throwing bricks on video or catch them in the act of doing it, that's the way the criminal law works,' Mr Carr said.
As an indication of the types of offences with which people were charged, it was noted that on the evening of February 28, 2005, police seized a rifle and a police baton and charged 12 men over rioting, offensive conduct and hindering police. One charge related to the assault of a female police officer. Three females were also charged. Four juveniles, including a 15-year-old Macquarie Fields girl, were charged with assaulting police. Eight men and a youth were refused bail.
5. Criminal behaviour cannot be justified by claiming social disadvantage
It has been argued that the residents of Macquarie Fields who have committed theft, disorderly behaviour and assaulted police cannot blame social disadvantage.
According to this line of argument, behaviour is ultimately a matter of individual choice. If this view is accepted, those who break the law are ultimately responsible for their actions as they choose to behave in this manner.
This view was expressed by the New South Wales premier, Mr Bob Carr, on February 28, 2005. Mr Carr stated, 'There are no excuses for this behaviour and I'm not going to have it said that this behaviour is caused by social disadvantage... There's only one blame here and that is the people who went out and threw bricks and caused riots. There's only one thing to say to them: the police will get them, because they are engaged in illegal behaviour.'
On March 1, 2005, the NSW premier stated in Parliament, 'Crime is a choice. It is not a matter of where you live; it is a matter of how you behave. Lots of people grow up in housing estates and the vast majority of them manage to stay out of trouble, get an education and get jobs. One must remember the huge range of recreational and educational facilities in the Macquarie Fields area, and the Macarthur region more generally, as well as the significant resources poured into the area by the Department of Community Services, the Department of Housing and various community groups.'
A similar view has been put by Janet Albrechtsen, a commentator for The Australian. Ms Albrechtsen has stated, 'The blame game is becoming tiresome ... These days our behaviour is blamed on ... our upbringing. But where does society end up if we treat people as little more than automatons, irrevocably preprogrammed by their ... environment, without free will or the ability to make choices?'
6. The New South Wales Government has worked to address the problems of Macquarie Fields and reduce the concentration of disadvantaged households
The Minister for Housing, Joe Tripodi, said the Government had had a policy for a decade of diluting concentrations of public housing and had spent $49 million upgrading facilities in the suburb.
The New South Wales premier, Mr Bob Carr has claimed there were facilities in the Macquarie Fields area to combat social disadvantage including sporting fields, a youth centre and a TAFE college.
'It's not about where you live, it's about how you behave, it's as simple as that,' Mr Carr has stated.
An editorial published in The Australian on March 7 2005 stated, 'Macquarie Fields...is not starved of infrastructure or facilities. There are swimming pools and playing fields - even a selective high school. And far from being geographically isolated, the suburb sits smack in the middle of two huge concentrations of population in Campbelltown and Liverpool.'
In some areas, 'place managers' have been employed by state and/or local government to bring together businesses, service providers, police, various levels of government and community members.
Arguments opposing how the New South Wales government and police have acted re Macquarie Fields
1. The New South Wales police have a history of intimidating and victimising residents of Macquarie Fields
It has been claimed that the rioting which occurred in Macquarie Fields was the result of a long-established hostility between the police and some residents of the area, brought about by the discriminatory and provocative actions of the police.
A statement from the Socialist Equity Party (Australia) was published on March 9, 2005, on the World Socialist Website. The statement claimed, 'The deaths of Matthew Robertson, 19, and Dylan Rayward, 17, as a result of a high-speed police pursuit through the residential streets of the Glenquarie housing estate was not an isolated event.
The tragedy was part of a wider pattern of police harassment and provocation directed against working class youth. In Macquarie Fields, like many similar suburbs across Australia, dangerous police chases have become a common occurrence, accompanied by the constant stopping and questioning of young people on the streets.'
In an article published in Green Left Weekly on March 9 2005, a Macquarie Fields resident, Mr Peter Perkins, claimed, 'There has been a very sharp hardening of the police stance in the area, a new-style paramilitary policing with coppers being bussed in large numbers from outside.
This new approach began about two months ago, at the same time as it was taking place in other poor outer-Sydney working class suburbs like Claymore and Airds.
The first signs were raids on residents' homes in the early hours of the morning. They stuck guns through windows and set police dogs on people. They'd cordon entire areas off for half a day at a time, using police in full paramilitary kit. So tensions had been building up.'
2. The initial police car chase was unnecessary
It has been claimed that the police chase which ended in the deaths of two young men and was followed by four days of civil disorder need not have occurred.
Firstly it has been argued that as the youths involved had been under surveillance for some days and were known to be in possession of a stolen vehicle they could have been taken into custody without the need for a car chase.
Mrs Debbie Kelly, a Macquarie Fields' resident and the grandmother of some members of a local youth gang, has argued, 'If [the police] blocked the roads - there are only three ways out of Macquarie Fields - the boys would have dumped the car like they always do.'
It has also been claimed that the unmarked police car which chased the youths rammed the car when it was slowing to take a turn, causing the fleeing car to crash.
3. Subsequent Government and police action has been provocative and excessive
It has also been claimed that the actions ordered by the Government and taken by the New South Wales police have served only to inflame the situation.
A statement from the Socialist Equity Party (Australia) was published on March 9, 2005, on the World Socialist Website. The statement claimed, 'Once the deaths sparked protests and accusations against the police, the response of the New South Wales (NSW) state Labor government of Premier Bob Carr was to mobilise hundreds of police, including heavily-armed riot squads, in a series of provocations that triggered several nights of violent clashes.
Macquarie Fields became a testing ground for new methods of suppressing social unrest. Police cordoned off the suburb, while riot units confronted and taunted youth on the streets. Police wielding machine guns stormed houses, police dogs were set upon demonstrators, and helicopters buzzed overhead, spotlighting homes and individuals.'
4. Subsequent police action and the policies behind it are timid and indecisive
Not all critics of police action and policies argue they are provocative and heavy-handed. There are those who have claimed that New South Wales police handled the three nights of civil disturbance in a weak and ineffectual manner.
Tim Priest, a former New South Wales police detective, has claimed, in an opinion piece published in The Australian on March 2, 2005, 'The mayhem on the southwestern Sydney streets highlights the ... madness of the new urban police tactic: negotiate, backdown and withdraw. Don't arrest on the night lest you attract bad media attention ... The result? Two of the most dangerous riots in the city's history in just over a year.
Indeed so much tinkering and experimenting has been done with the NSW police force that it is largely impotent when it comes to dealing with large-scale crime and civil unrest.'
A similar point has been made by Herald Sun commentator Andrew Bolt in an opinion piece published on March 2, 2005. Andrew Bolt claims, 'For four straight nights ... up to 300 men and even women, with no shame or fear of punishment, swagger[ed] up to lines of police to belt them with rocks, timber and molotov cocktails.
... the police [were] forced to stand still, not lifting a baton to defend themselves and our laws. Now and then another officer would crumple to the cheers of locals watching from their doors. On walls were scrawled war cries: "Police will die" and "We will kill you dogs".
Let there be no mistake about the police timidity. Commanders at first told their men not to arrest many rioters, and even on Monday, Police Commissioner Ken Moroney still refused to walk in Macquarie Fields for fear he would "inflame" the hoodlums.'
5. Government policies which fail to address social disadvantage are the root cause of crime and civil disturbances
In an article published in Green Left Weekly on March 9 2005, a Macquarie Fields resident, Mr Peter Perkins, claimed, 'All social scientists say that it has been proved beyond doubt that poor social conditions cause crime. It is ridiculous to deny this.
[In this area] all the youth facilities have been slashed back, and suburbs like Macquarie Fields are hit hardest by the cutbacks in social services. Carr says there are all these fantastic facilities for youth out here but it's not true. There are two tennis courts and a billiard hall - that's about it.
I know of very few young people who have permanent jobs in the area. Probably half the kids drop out of school at 15. The tightening of social welfare payments in this high unemployment area drives many people to rely on petty crime for an income ...
Public housing is run down and there is a $650 million dollar backlog on repairs and maintenance for the public housing, according to the papers today. The Carr government is running it down as an excuse to bulldoze more public housing and sell the land to private developers. It is the same as in Redfern. '
In a letter published in The Australian on March 2 2005 Fiona Mueller wrote, 'The children of Macquarie Fields, and in many suburbs like it, are representative of generations of Australians who have been left to grow up on the fringes of society.
As with the mentally ill and other needy groups, it seems that addressing the issue of Australia's poor only becomes a priority when there is a disaster.
Decades of bureaucratic incompetence ... and a widespread lack of political accountability are all reasons for human tragedies we can no longer ignore.'
6. Government policy resulting in the socially disadvantaged living in ghetto-like communities increases the potential for crime and civil disorder
In an analysis published in The Australian on March 1, it was noted, 'The Glenquarie estate [in Macquarie Fields, a suburb of Campbelltown ] was established by the NSW Department of Housing about 30 years ago ... Today it is home to about 4,500 residents and entrenched disadvantage. "Over the years people with get-up-and-go got up and left," Brenton Banfield [the town mayor] says. "But the most disadvantaged stayed. And as the years have gone on it has only got worse."
The statistics tell a sad story. Unemployment in the area is locked at about 25 per cent - three times the rate for the city of Campbelltown. For young people not at school, that rate soars to more than 35 per cent. About one-quarter of the population has completed the equivalent of the Higher School Certificate. By comparison, 44 per cent of Sydneysiders have been schooled to Year 12. More than half of all households at Glenquarie are broken homes or single-parent households. And those who attempt to find work carry the stigma of where they live.'
Herald Sun commentator, Andrew Bolt, claimed in an opinion piece published on March 2, 2005, 'If we look at these riots individually, we'll learn a few lessons, not least the idiocy of herding people on handouts into communities of failure.'
Associate Professor Michael Bounds, an urban sociologist at the University of Western Sydney, has claimed, 'Governments no longer build enclosed housing estates like Glenquarie, but moves to create a better social mix have been slow because of a lack of political will.'
Further implications
It will be interesting to read the findings of the New South Wales Ombudsman into the handling of the Macquarie Fields riots and the events surrounding them.
It is possible that the Ombudsman may recommend that fleeing from a police pursuit will be made a criminal offence attracting substantial penalties. This has been considered previously and is strongly favoured by the Opposition. It is also possible that there will be alterations recommended in how the police deal with both high speed chases and riots. One development that has been reported since the police car chase which triggered the Macquarie Fields riots is the placing of puncture strips on the road in the path of fleeing vehicles.
In addition to whatever punitive measures it may be decided to put in place to discourage both potential rioters and those who seek to elude police capture, it also seems likely that the recent riots will cause the New South Wales government to take stronger measures to alter the nature of Macquarie Fields and similar areas. Measures which may be employed are the sale of publicly owned rental accommodation and the relocation of tenants in other less socailly disavantaged areas. Additional rent assistance would be necessary.
Interestingly, though the New South Wales police, the New South wales government and the parents of many of the youths living in Macquarie Fields have been blamed for events there, the federal Government has generally been left out of the deabte. This appears inappropriate.
Though there are many who have claimed that living in public housing estates is the seat of the problem, high levels of unemployment seem a more likely causal factor. After the Howard Government came to power in 1996 it cut $1.85 billion from emplyment and training schemes over four years. Though these schemes were replaced with the cheaper Work for the Dole scheme, the number of Australians who are now unemployed, underemployed or who have been forced into early retirement is now 1.7 million. A renewal of job training schemes to reskill the older unemployed and provide catch-up training for those who have left school without skills that make them employable would be of benefit to both the individuals concerned and the society as a whole.
Sources
The Age
5/3/05 page 8 editorial, 'Investing in people means investing in the future'
5/3/05 page 7 (Insight) analysis by Liz Gooch, 'Rebuilding a forgotten community'
5/3/05 page 7 (Insight) analysis by Sushi Das, 'What's the cause when anger burns?'
The Australian
28/2/05 page 5 news item by John Stapleton and Annabelle McDonald, 'More riots feared after death of youths'
1/3/05 page 4 news item by Elizabeth Gosch, 'Cruel turn of an ill-fated joyride'
1/3/05 page 11 analysis by Drew Warne-Smith, John Stapleton and Annabelle McDonald, 'You call this a life'
1/3/05 page 14 editorial, 'Healing broken communities'
2/3/05 page 12 six letters under the heading, 'We can all help build the community'
2/3/05 page 13 comment by Tim Priest, 'Pass the batons, not the buck'
3/3/05 page 7 news item by Jonathon Porter and John Stapleton, 'Coalition leader risked lives: Carr'
4/3/05 page 7 news item by John Stapleton and Annabelle McDonald, 'Funeral raises riot fears'
5/3/05 page 22 analysis by Jennifer Sexton, 'The Kelly country curse'
5/3/05 page 22 analysis by Annabelle McDonald, 'Where boys steal for fun and profit'
7/3/05 page 8 editorial, 'Bad incentives create broken communities'
9/3/05 page 15 comment by Janet Albrechtsen, 'We should grow up and accept the blame'
The Herald Sun
1/3/05 page 9 news item by Rhett Watson, 'New violence fears after police arrests'
2/3/05 page 21 comment by Andrew Bolt, 'Free rein for a riot'