No place in Victoria Police force for lack of respect

TWELVE months ago, as most people’s thoughts turned towards Christmas and the prospect of a well-earned break with family and friends, Victoria Police set out to confront some very challenging issues.

TWELVE months ago, as most people’s thoughts turned towards Christmas and the prospect of a well-earned break with family and friends, Victoria Police set out to confront some very challenging issues within our organisation.

Salus, the taskforce set up to investigate allegations of serious sexual harassment and assault,
was starting to unearth some troubling incidents.

We all know that such behaviour occurs within the community but seeing evidence of it being so prevalent within Victoria Police was deeply concerning.

It prompted us to request the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to conduct a comprehensive study of sexual harassment, discrimination and predatory behaviour within our organisation.

At the most senior levels of Victoria Police there was a clear sense that for all its exemplary service to the community, we were not being exemplary in our treatment of each other within the organisation.

Reading those early reports from Salus, we were all concerned.

Nobody should ever go to work, in any workplace, with the risk that they will be sexually harassed, intimated, or assaulted.

Let’s not tap dance around this. The VEOHRC report makes for grim reading. It is confronting for our organisation. Its contents sadden me enormously, but it also strengthens my resolve to
see it fixed.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton. Picture: David Caird.

For more than a decade, respect has been among the six organisational values that are meant to define who we are and how we conduct ourselves.

I will be calling on all members of Victoria Police to think long and hard about what this truly means.

For me, how we treat one another is reflected in how we police: we must treat everyone with dignity and respect.

Moving forward, it will be expected that we build teams and workplaces where everyone is supported, valued and included.

We must have workplaces where every employee can reach their full potential, without fear of being discriminated against, harassed or stalked by their colleagues. To achieve this, I need to do better; all of Victoria Police needs to do better.

I can recall as a young police officer laughing at sexist jokes, being a bystander and not
speaking up.

OVER time, I came to understand the impact it had on my colleagues, how harmful and disrespectful it is and the damage it can cause.

Respect is non-negotiable and unconditional. Respect is more than saying the right thing; it’s doing the right thing.

For more than 160 years, Victoria Police has been a strong leader in the community, shining a light on unacceptable behaviours and leading the efforts as we have sought to deal with them.

Family violence, the continuing threats posed by organised crime and the drugs trade and, more recently, the disturbing rise of online child exploitation and abuse. I see this as no different.
Sexual harassment, discrimination and predatory behaviour are commonplace throughout our community.

Victoria Police is not hiding from this. We are confronting it in the most transparent way possible because we want to change. We want to be more cohesive as an organisation. A place where people can thrive.

And by putting these issues out there in the community, maybe we can start a much broader conversation about the sort of society we want to live in, one that challenges us all to think about our roles and values.

I challenge other organisations and companies to look openly and honestly into their own workplaces and follow our lead. Confront these issues openly and honestly and you will have a chance for real change.

Victoria is a wonderful place to live, an envy of the world. But bad behaviour must always be challenged so we can learn and get better.

I see this as a real opportunity. For Victoria Police and the wider community.Let’s keep talking about respect, what it means to us and how together we can make it a better Victoria for all.

GRAHAM ASHTON IS VICTORIA POLICE COMMISSIONER