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MANAGING AUSTRALIA'S POLICE: THE CHALLENGE TO IDENTIFY WHO SHOULD BE IN CHARGE—POLITICIANS OR POLICE?
Author(s) -
Manison Gary F.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.1995.tb01163.x
Subject(s) - statute , statutory law , accountability , discretion , independence (probability theory) , government (linguistics) , work (physics) , public administration , political science , law , engineering , mechanical engineering , linguistics , statistics , philosophy , mathematics
The management of police by government in Australia is a controversial but neglected topic, with little research or theoretical work having been undertaken. What is clear from the limited information available is that governments tend to adopt an arms‐length policy and allow police to act with a greater degree of independence than they do with many other government agencies. What underpins this approach is the traditional British model for managing police. This model is considered in this paper, along with other matters such as local police statutes, discretion, statutory authority status and accountability. These aspects of the arms‐length approach are discussed in the light of current policy‐making and accountability systems. Consideration is also given to the question of whether this approach by government is still appropriate.