Gazette - Policing illicit drugs in remote Australia

COVER - REMOTE AND NORTHERN POLICING

by Dr. Judy Putt Australian Institute of Criminology

In Australia, much is known about the distribution and use of illicit drugs in urban centres, but very little is known about the extent of the problem in rural and remote regions.

Yet research in northern Australia over the past decade has documented an increase in cannabis use. The research shows that up to two thirds of men and one fifth of women in some remote areas regularly use the drug. Young people as young as 10 or 11 also smoke the drug.

Concerned about increased signs of cannabis use in remote Indigenous communities — and about the impacts of this use on those communities — Australia’s National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund (NDLERF) commissioned research on the policing implications of cannabis and other illicit drug use in such communities.

The final report is based on fieldwork, consultations, literature and legislative reviews, and a survey of 792 officers from four Australian police forces. It highlights some of the challenges and opportunities for police who must address illicit drug use in Australia’s rural and remote regions.

The illicit drug context

Undertaken every three years, the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (2007) shows that the most common illicit drug used in Australia is cannabis, although usage has dropped in recent years. The proportion of the general population who self-report using cannabis in the past 12 months is about 10 per cent, but the use of illicit drugs is much higher among offenders. On average, nearly half of a sample of persons apprehended and detained by police in cities test positive to cannabis, while 25 per cent test positive to methamphetamine and 10 per cent to heroin.

In general, alcohol and volatile substances such as inhalants have been perceived to be the main substances of concern to police in rural and remote areas — alcohol because of its link to violence, and volatile substances because of the harm they cause to abusers and to persons who are victimized by abusers. In addition to alcohol and substance abuse, many parts of remote Australia have experienced a dramatic rise in the cannabis trade, to the point of regular deliveries and high levels of use.

Indigenous persons are the primary residents of many remote, isolated regions in Australia. Many of these communities have young populations, and viable economic activities are largely confined to tourism, artwork and national park stewardship.

According to the NDLERF police survey, officers in rural and remote jurisdictions believe that the most serious problems among local Indigenous people are alcohol (80 per cent), cannabis (44 per cent), inhalants (33 per cent), petrol (18 per cent) and amphetamines (11 per cent). Nearly half of these officers also believe that amphetamine use within the Indigenous population has increased in the past three years. The cannabis networks that often involve local and non-local Indigenous people may also pave the way for a more rapid expansion in amphetamine use.

Impacts

The impact of widespread and heavy cannabis use on isolated communities can be very profound. Some of the poorest and youngest users in north Australian communities spend between one- and two-thirds of their weekly income on cannabis. The social and economic costs include reduced participation in community life, as well as exacerbation of family violence, mental health problems, conflicts and disorder — especially when community leaders and other influential residents are involved in using or selling illicit drugs.

Conventional drug enforcement strategies are rarely suited to rural and remote areas, especially to Indigenous communities where police officers are highly visible and where distrust may exist because of past poor contact between Indigenous people and the police. In such circumstances, it is not feasible for police to infiltrate drug networks, cultivate informants or conduct surveillance. When dealing with drugaffected people or those found in possession of small quantities of drugs, rural and remote police are also hampered by the lack of specialized drug services.

Policing in rural and remote Australia also has a very different character to policing in cities. In small communities and towns there may be little or no backup. Travelling long distances on patrol and to attend calls is commonplace, and there are logistical challenges related to isolation, including high costs for transportation and equipment. Police officers are very much a part of the local community, and much of the reported crime is unsophisticated property crime or violent crime. These factors all affect officers’ ability to address drug crime in remote regions.

Solutions

In the NDLERF report, rural and remote police officers indicated that better resourced crisis oriented services such assobering-up shelters and 24-hour health care services were most effective in helping drug-affected people. In some instances, good relationships also exist between police and local community- run services such as night patrols and community health services. Overall, however, there are very few registered or suitable drug-diversion programs, and there are currently few alternatives to simply putting drug-impaired persons into safe police custody.

Police in rural and remote locations can play a valuable role in reducing the harms from and demand for drugs, as well as in intercepting the drug supply. Tackling illicit drugs involves good community policing and developing more effective or innovative drug law enforcement. Police are often the main drivers in crime prevention activities such as sport and youth activities, and they are often the first or only service contacted to deal with drug-affected persons and attendant problems in remote communities.

In Indigenous communities, good community policing means learning about the local socio-cultural practices, beliefs, family networks and politics. Cultural competence and building collaborative relationships with local stakeholders are fundamental underpinnings to good practice. Indigenous liaison officers can provide invaluable assistance, and such positions exist in most Australian states and territories, with 70 per cent of police surveyed indicating that they had at least one liaison officer in their local area.

Organizational support is vital and key challenges include the following:

• Identifying and rewarding the skills necessary to work in sparsely populated, high-need locations
• Increasing remote area placements and ensuring there is proper training and induction for police officers and their families
• Recruiting, supporting and developing Indigenous staff
• Using, police information systems to broaden the evidence base needed for effective targeting and monitoring initiatives
• Building partnerships with other government agencies, non-government organizations and communities

Police in Australia have developed some promising initiatives and strategies that should help tackle illicit drug use in remote Indigenous communities. Exa mples include:

• ulti-functional police facilities that provide services to outlying communities, require specific selection and training of staff, and house staff from other agencies in a collaborative environment (Western Australia Police)
• An integrated approach to community consultations, which engages local Indigenous communities in problem solving and employs Indigenous staff at various levels in the organization (Queensland Police)
• Remote communities drug strategy, which includes legislative reform, enhanced information sharing, and the use of drug detection dog units on main transport routes (Northern Territory Police)
• Indigenous drug action teams, or locally based committees that bring members from different agencies together to reduce the harms resulting from both licit and illicit drug use (South Australia Police)
• A cross-border intelligence desk that co-ordinates drug-related intelligence across multiple desert communities and three jurisdictions in cental Australia (South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia Police)

There remains a need to respond to local and regional issues through the development and implementation of community policing plans. Such plans must embrace good practice in community policing and build on an appreciation of local cultural conditions and capacity, with specific targets and measures that address problematic illicit drug use and supply.

To access the full NDLERF report (monograph publication 15), please visit www.ndlerf.gov.au

Dr. Putt is the general manager of research at the AIC where she was worked since 2004. She has extensive research, policy and practice experience in the areas of drug policy, Indigenous criminal justice issues and juvenile justice.