Steve Price: Shane Patton now the scapegoat for Victoria’s law and order dramas

Shane Patton tried to be the top cop, the tough cop, the bloke in charge of all of Victoria Police — but he also tried to play politics, and in the end it was the politics that burnt him.

This time last week, Victoria’s Chief Police Commissioner, Shane Patton, looked likely to sign a new five-year contract and extend his time at the top as Victoria’s top cop.

Well, a week’s a long time in politics, as they say, and now it seems that Shane Patton is going to be the scapegoat for the law and order dramas that Victorians and particularly Melburnians are now living through.

The Werribee by-election last weekend and the swing against the Allan Labor government showed that law and order is a major issue in Victoria and she needs someone to blame and it seems Shane Patton is going to be the person to take the blame.

Shane Patton’s problem is always, I think, being that he tried to play both sides of the street.

He tried to be the top cop, the tough cop, the bloke in charge of all the Victoria Police but he also tried to play the politics and in the end it was the politics that burnt him. Shane Patton got too close to two premiers. Now, Jacinta Allan, but the worst problem for him was he got too close to Dan Andrews during Covid.

Shane Patton got too close to Daniel Andrews during the Covid pandemic. Picture: Josie Hayden

And during Covid, Daniel Andrews used the Victorian police force, and Shane Patton in charge, to break-up protests about lockdowns and protests about vaccinations. At one point, even turning the police using rubber bullets and police horses on Victorian civilians. No one liked that, and I don’t think Shane Patton managed to recover from that.

But the politics in the end got him. He was not able to land a pay deal. The negotiations have gone on for more than two years. You have to ask the question in light of the fact he’s going to lose his contract, did the politicians deliberately hang him out to dry? It was his problem to fix, but they could have fixed it as well, but they decided not to.

So, Jacinta Allan, post the Werribee by-election result, has now decided that she’ll make him her sacrificial lamb. Shane Patton is going to lose the opportunity to re-sign for another five years. It didn’t help that the overwhelming members of the police force yesterday voted no confidence in Shane Patton.

It was the politics that got Patton in the end. Picture: Diego Fedele

And once that happened, he could not stay in the job. He’s got five months to run on his contract. And during that five months, what I’d love to see is the real Shane Patton. I interviewed him and I wrote in a column last week that face to face, he’s a great bloke. He seemed to me to be an old-fashioned type police officer, but he let the politics get inside his head.

So for the next five months, wouldn’t it be fantastic if Shane Patton actually policed Victoria like I know he really wants to. Forget about keeping the people in Spring Street, the politicians, happy. I mean, forget about the fact that, you know, you didn’t like the fact they were changing the age of criminal intent.

I know you argued that. And the politicians won out in the end. I know you hate the bail laws. And I know you believe that the judiciary and the magistrates are too lenient on all of these youngsters, particularly young teenagers, who are committing all these appalling crimes, carjackings, aggravated burglaries.

Jacinta Allan has decided to make Shane Patton the sacrificial lamb. Picture: David Caird

And I know you hate the fact that you haven’t been able to get on top of the tobacco wars. So why don’t we, for the next five months, you don’t have to anymore please your political masters in Spring Street. You can be your own man. So Shane Patton, for the sake of Victorians, why don’t you, within the law, police over the next five months how you should have done it for the last five years, and then you could show those politicians, once and for all, that you’re the bloke that should be doing the job.

And if you hadn’t got too close to them, you probably would have got another five-year contract. Good luck to you.

Originally published as Steve Price: Shane Patton now the scapegoat for Victoria’s law and order dramas