‘Fundamental change’: New police chief plans prevention strategy to curb crime

Victoria’s new chief commissioner describes himself as a “good listener” and an agent for cultural change within the police force, while former New Zealand police minister Stuart Nash reckons the new appointee is a “hard bastard”.

Mike Bush, who served as police commissioner in New Zealand from 2014 until 2020, will need those qualities and more when he becomes Victoria’s highest-ranking officer next month.

New Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush speaks to the media after his appointment was announced by Premier Jacinta Allan.Credit: Christopher Hopkins

Lured out of retirement after an approach by the Allan government, Bush will be confronted by soaring crime rates and a tobacco war, recruitment and retention problems, budgetary constraints and a slump in morale among frontline officers.

The forthright New Zealander also faces intense pressure to maintain independence from the state government, which will be desperate for any positive spin on law-and-order issues in the lead-up to next year’s election.

However, Bush seemed undaunted when his appointment was announced on Tuesday by Police Minister Anthony Carbines and Premier Jacinta Allan.

“Mike Bush is the right person for the job of leading Victoria Police into the future. He will bring new leadership to Victoria Police,” Allan said.

“Bush made the community safer in New Zealand, and he will do the same here in Victoria.”

In a citation for his Queen’s Birthday honour in 2020, Bush was credited with implementing a crime prevention model in New Zealand that helped reduce offending by 20 per cent between 2010 and 2014. Public satisfaction with policing also rose five points to 84 per cent at the same time.

On Tuesday, Bush vowed to make significant changes within Victoria Police and shift towards a “prevention mindset” to tackle the recent surge in crime rates, particularly youth offending, which has soared to the highest level since electronic records began in 1993.

He said community engagement and consultation was crucial to reverse the trend, which Bush insisted was not unique to Victoria.

“You have to get in front of these things and having a prevention mindset. And a prevention focus at the front is really, really important.

“My mission is to ensure that everyone in the state of Victoria is not only safe, but feels safe,” Bush said.

With more than 40 years’ policing experience, Bush invoked Sir Robert Peel, who famously founded the London Metropolitan Police Force in 1829.

“We actually exist to prevent crime and harm,” Bush said.

During his tenure as police commissioner in New Zealand, Bush said he had worked closely with Māori, Pasifika and multicultural and multi-faith communities to build trust. He plans to replicate that approach when he begins in Victoria on June 27.

“It’s going to be a real focus. We’ll make sure we have good relationships with all community groups and open lines of communication because we are here to serve everyone,” he said.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt endorsed Bush’s approach, while also recognising the challenges that await him.

Wayne Gatt says there will be challenges ahead for new Victorian Police commissioner Mike Bush.Credit: Paul Jeffers

“We need to see our police officers out there, and we can’t measure success by the number of crimes being investigated, even if they are investigated successfully,” Gatt said.

“He appears to be a good listener, and he made a real point of that in his press conference today to say good bosses need to listen to their people and, indeed, listen to their communities. I agree with him.”

Bush had previously admitted to facing “resistance” from most of the NZ police force when he introduced the “prevention first” strategy, which he’d earlier trialled as an area police commander.

The model gave officers more discretion over prosecution, freeing up time that would have otherwise been spent on paperwork for low-level offences, and sharpened understanding of the drivers of crime such as drugs, alcohol and family violence.

“It might mean that an officer could help a single parent in peril get documentation or access to public services, rather than writing a summons … or writing up tickets citizens couldn’t afford,” Bush said in 2018.

Dr Garth den Heyer, a former NZ policeman turned international policing researcher, said a similar version of the “prevention first” strategy could work in Victoria.

But he stressed it represented “a fundamental change in how the police respond to crime”.

“For it to work in Victoria, the government would also need to ensure that other youth services are funded,” he said, because they often had skills police didn’t.

Frontline services have already raised the alarm in Victoria as the government slashes youth support programs including for homelessness and crime prevention, at the same time it has drastically toughened bail laws and youth sentencing.

On Tuesday, Bush was reluctant to discuss tough bail reforms recently introduced by the Allan government and repeatedly hailed by the premier as “the nation’s toughest”.

“I’m very keen to take a closer look and see how they [bail reforms] will be applied. It’s one part of the solution,” he said.

Under changes to the Bail Act, children accused of serious crimes are to be treated like adults when courts decide whether to grant them bail or release them into the community – with community safety becoming the “overarching principle” when deciding bail.

The Victorian Liberals argue Labor’s crime crackdown needs to go further, but Opposition Leader Brad Battin has also called for better early intervention and raised concerns about state cuts to youth support programs.

On Tuesday, Battin said he hoped the government “lets the new commissioner get on with the job and gives him the full support he needs to reduce crime”, in the face of a crisis.

“Police morale is low, over 1100 vacancies remain, and many stations are still closed,” said Battin, a former police officer.

Bush’s appointment also follows a period of extraordinary turbulence within the force’s upper echelons.

The Allan government initially offered former chief commissioner Shane Patton a five-year contract extension in January, but suddenly retracted the offer a month later, after a Police Association no-confidence motion against him was passed overwhelmingly.

His replacement, Rick Nugent, who had been a deputy commissioner before leaving the force in 2023 to become emergency management commissioner, tapped out after just 41 days. Nugent is the subject of a complaint to the state’s anti-corruption commission over allegations of inappropriate conduct that involved a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission has also been asked to investigate corruption claims by former deputy commissioner Neil Paterson over the government’s decision to not extend his tenure.

Bush was unperturbed by the recent upheaval, and said he would like to speak with Patton and Nugent before he began work next month.

Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said Bush needed to be properly resourced by the government to be successful and should not be “set up to fail”.

He also warned the government against undermining his independence.

“The new commissioner must be allowed to carry out his duties without political interference,” Southwick said. “Under Labor, those who provide fearless and frank advice often find themselves shown the door.”

But New Zealand’s former police minister, Stuart Nash, called Bush a “hard bastard”, who was always fair.

“He’s a good guy, he’s innovative,” he told ABC Radio Melbourne on Tuesday, saying Bush had helped clean up a rotten culture within the NZ police force when he took on the top job and cracked down on gangs.

“He’ll do a good job [in Victoria],” Nash said.

“He has the backs of the men and women on the street.”

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