The problem caused by too many over-resourced investigators
The Desert Rat found comment by Acting Parliamentary Investigator Ken Martin QC questioning the need for a corruption watchdog, refreshing in both its candour and common sense.
Mr Martin QC said in Saturday's The West Australian, there was no need for the Crime and Corruption Commission. He said a Royal Commission could be set up from time to time to investigate corruption issues.
This makes sense to the Desert Rat. The Smith Beach Inquiry has been flawed because there has been an assumption that corruption occurred and even more concerning the assumption of guilt by many public officers and others involved.
The problem with a costly and bureaucratic body such as the Corruption and Crime Commision is that is has to justify itself, particularly in the absence of any investigations into organised crime. Therein lies a danger of being entrapped in its own bubble of relevance.
Western Australia was graced by the visit some years ago by world respected Professor Christian Pfeiffer, Head of the Criminological Institute, in Hannover, Germany. In a public lecture on criminology, he related a story which showed the problem of too much policing and over-resourcing.
It went something like this...
In Lower Saxony in the 1970's there was a proposal to build a nuclear power plant. Anticipating trouble the number of police in the area was increased dramatically. There was a ten-fold in charges coming before in the courts in the area during the period of the increased police presence.
It came to pass that the plans for the nuclear power plant were scrapped for whatever reason - political or economic but the police remain for some time. Researcher from the Institute of Criminology decided to see what the effect of the increased police number and presence were and to determine their effect on the level of crime.
Much to their surprise they found that although the rate of charges had increased about ten-fold and arrests had increased substantially, the number of convictions remained the same. Nearly all of the increased charges were thrown out of the courts by the sitting magistrates and judges who regarded many charges as frivolous or resulting from police harassment, particularly of young people..
The lesson he pointed out was that too many police can be counter productive because they end up going around looking for trouble, making arrests and charging people (after harassment?) - perhaps to justify their existence, perhaps to compete with their colleagues to get noticed for promotion etc.
The Desert Rat can't help but see the analogy with the comments by Ken Martin QC about the CCC and Pfeiffer's analysis. The second round of CCC charges are about "false testimony" where witnesses have tried to recall accurately minute detail. without documents and being able to prepare for a public hearing. These CCC charges follow the dismissal of the charges over the substantive issue - in respect of Mike Allen etc..
The CCC has been investigating and charging people left right and centre but all have failed relating to Smith's Beach and other major inquiries. Most of their minor successes in other cases have been what the Desert Rat considers petty corruption when compared to the activities of organised crime.
Corruption in Western Australian politics is not rampant or widespread in the Desert rat's view. It is probably very minor and can be addressed as Ken Martin QC has suggested by a Royal Commission when the need arises.
The Desert Rat thinks it would have been informative and interesting to hear public examination by a Royal Commission of many of the Smiths Beach critics, who are competing developers in the area masquerading as concerned citizens, some of whom are probable CCC "informants"?
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