Shadow Minister for Primary Industries & Water, Shadow Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Shadow Minister for Parks & Wildlife, Shadow Minister for Local Government

Speeches

Search Speeches

11
Mar

High Visibilty police vehicles motion

2009

Mr HIDDING (Lyons - Motion) - Mr Speaker, I move -
That the House
(1) Supports the policy position of the Tasmanian Liberals that all front-line police vehicles in the Tasmanian Police Service should feature high visibility markings to increase the visible police deterrent on the main roads and highways throughout the State.

(a) the widespread support for the Tasmanian Liberals' policy which is based on published, expert research from the British Home Office Scientific Development Branch and that high conspicuity markings are used by police throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand because the safety of police and the public is increased and it maximises the level of reassurance to the public; and



(b) the continuing flat refusal of the Minister for Police and Emergency Management, Hon. Jim Cox, to recognise the importance of high visibility markings for police and his statement to the Parliament that interstate highways are longer than Tasmanian highways and is therefore the reason why no need exists to raise the profile of the current police fleet.



Mr Speaker, in the ongoing battle between police and bad drivers in Tasmania, we believe that the drivers are clearly winning. They currently have little fear of detection and behave accordingly on Tasmanian roads. What we need in Tasmania is a muscled-up approach to highway policing that clearly serves notice that Tasmania Police, supported by the Government, are determined to win this battle.



Just over 70 per cent of the operational Tasmanian police vehicle fleet are fitted with police lights and/or markings; however current vehicle markings and vehicle colours do not sufficiently distinguish them from other special-use vehicles used by such agencies as Customs, transport inspectors, the State Emergency Services and private security firms. In fact they are indistinguishable from a whole range of motor cars on the road. Police vehicles are not easily recognisable from a reasonable distance or in poor light. This low level of visibility increases the potential for accidents and has consequences both for officers and for the travelling public. It would appear that the main colour of choice for the police fleet is either dusty dark blue or a nice shade of grey which allows them to fade completely into the background of the general driving public.



The Government regularly trumpets that, due to the efforts of Tasmania Police, Tasmania is the safest State in the nation, a result which is based upon feeling safe in the home or on foot in the neighbourhood. What is not asked of Tasmanians is if they feel safe on the roads. Just last weekend, a long weekend, I drove down on the Monday from Launceston to Hobart. I can say confidently that, other than a country copper's vehicle in Campbell Town, I saw no police car between Launceston and Hobart. I put this to the minister and the police commissioner before, and they say there are plenty of them on the roads. I am happy to accept that, but that substantiates our argument that these vehicles are so insignificant that you cannot see them. So they might just as well have no paint, no stripes and no lights on them and therefore become unmarked cars. Minister Cox has said on the record that he thinks current police vehicle markings are adequate.



When queried in parliamentary Estimates as to why other States have high-visibility patrol cars and not Tasmania, Mr Cox said, amongst other things, that they have much longer highways and greater volumes of traffic. So what then of the Netherlands, half the size of Tasmania, which has high-visibility markings on its police vehicles, or Sweden or New Zealand or most other countries in the free world or States of Australia? The minister has also said that the Tasmanian Ambulance Service has adopted a high-visibility marking scheme because, quote, 'They require high visibility to go through traffic. They want a higher presence; it is a different thing'. So what he is saying is that police do not need visibility to go through traffic, and they do not need a higher presence. These comments by the minister clearly reflect his complete misunderstanding of the reason high-visibility marking schemes are used not just by police but also by emergency services across the world.



The policy principle that underpins the high-visibility marking scheme is to improve the conspicuity - a word that is a little unusual but in this circumstance works beautifully - or ability to be seen and recognised of the vehicles in such a way as to promote greater safety on our roads and enhance the image of the Tasmanian police service. There are 356 patrol cars in the Tasmania Police fleet used for operational policing; 252 of those vehicles, or 71 per cent, are fitted with police lights and/or markings.



In 2006 the markings were updated in an attempt to increase and enhance the visibility of the vehicles. Clearly somebody at that stage thought that it in fact was important, at least to a degree. The current marking scheme utilises strips of a small blue checked pattern on a white reflective background that is placed on the side and rear of the vehicle. The word 'POLICE' in blue lettering on the white reflective background is placed on the main panels of the vehicle - that is, the rear side doors and bonnet. The vehicle markings on police vehicles and the colour of the vehicles does not sufficiently distinguish them from other road users as well as from other emergency services and private security firms. This means that police vehicles are not instantly recognisable as such because markings do not sufficiently distinguish the vehicles from others using a marking system.



The Government says its approach to road safety in respect to policing activity is the delivery of high-visibility and targeted traffic policing to improve driver behaviour. That is what the business plan says. It is what the police department documents actually say. Those words, 'high visibility', are a direct lift from police documents. One of the main strategies used by police in this respect is the use of enforcement operations that combine high visibility and targeted enforcement with covert activities that can occur anytime, anywhere. That is what we have been saying, that police cameras and operators hiding behind trees is one form of policing, but the other form of policing to balance that is the overt, instead of the covert, high-visibility policing, which their documents say that they want to do. But their minister is saying that they and he do not want them to raise the visibility of their vehicles.



Available statistics, however, provided by the Government tell a very different story and raise serious questions about the activity and deployment of traffic enforcement resources. For example, the Midland Highway - one of the busiest highways in the State - carries an estimated average between 3 000 and 6 000 vehicles per day. According to government statistics 2 867 vehicles were intercepted by police in nine high-visibility operations conducted on the Midland Highway during the first six months of 2008, yet police say they intercepted 204 000 vehicles across the State for the same period. So why is it that so few - just over 1 per cent of vehicle interceptions - are being done on one of the busiest highways on the State, a highway which also has an appalling record of fatal and serious crashes?



In addition, according to the minister, high-visibility patrols occur on almost a daily basis on various sections of the Midland Highway by country traffic and divisional personnel. In the absence of reported stats that support this claim it is difficult to judge the performance level of traffic enforcement in these patrols. This is a point made by the Ombudsman, who said that the measure of total patrol hours ought to be better reported. From anecdotal evidence there is a serious community concern about the apparent absence of police on the major highways and roads performing dedicated traffic patrols. We started this campaign for conspicuous policing last year when I said publicly before Easter that we were receiving then a high level of complaints that there was no police presence on the road and that we would appreciate feedback from Tasmanians as to how many police were on the roads over Easter. We got a torrent of feedback. People travelled around, up and down the east coast, up and down the Midland Highway, up and down the north-west coast and phoned in and said, 'I have just come back and have seen no police cars'.



We were told afterwards that there were plenty of police cars on the road. That is our point exactly - they are there but nobody sees them, so the deterrent factor is not there. It is like the Hobart Police Station saying at any given day there are 49 police officers on the beat in the CBD of Hobart but they are not wearing uniforms so you cannot see them. We just have to take their word for it. There was a brawl here and a fight there - where were the police officers? Nobody saw them so there was no deterrence factor.



There are several key indicators that demonstrate the failure of this Government in its approach to the key area of road safety and traffic enforcement. The fatality rate in Tasmania continues to be one of the worst in the nation, but these statistics are not used by the Government, who prefer to use a different counting methodology to sell their message, saying instead that police law enforcement activities are producing a reduction in serious injuries and fatalities. The high rate of traffic offences being committed, notably speeding offences, indicates current strategies to reduce this offence are not working. During the last five years the number of drivers caught speeding continues to increase. Since 2002-03, more than 20 000 extra infringement notices have been issued. Further, there has been a dramatic increase across the State in the number if disqualified drivers continuing to drive. Statewide there has been a 70 per cent increase in the previous 12 months of drivers being charged by police. These figures are concerning because they demonstrate the very real perception by drivers that the likelihood of detection is low, which then reinforces the behaviour of repeated offending. Coupled with the increased rate of speeding offences, this strongly indicates a policy failure by this Government to deliver high-visibility and targeted traffic policing that increases community perception of the likelihood of being detected.



The Tasmanian Liberals have released a plan to address the matter of Tasmanians feeling safe on our roads. To improve the State road safety outcomes - namely, crash statistics and to reduce traffic offences - a Hodgman Liberal government will immediately establish a highway patrol unit that services the main highways and roads within the State and upgrade all operational vehicles in the Tasmania Police vehicle fleet with a high-visibility marking scheme. The goal of this policy initiative will be to have a highly visible police presence on the State's main roads and highways that really is highly visible, just like every other State in Australia. It is a policy that is firmly grounded in rational science. The Premier of Tasmania wants to be a data-driven and evidence-based Premier that is connected with the Tasmanian people. We see no evidence of that in him continuing to reject a program for high-visibility policing.



Our research uses research from the ACT Ambulance Service, which informed the Tasmanian Ambulance Service's decision to upgrade their vehicle markings. We have also used work done by the United Kingdom's Home Office Police Scientific Development Branch which developed a marking scheme along proven ergonomic principles to achieve superior conspicuity performance. The laboratory and field trials conducted in the process found that the older purpose marking scheme, whilst not identical but similar to that currently in use, rendered the vehicles 'not easily recognisable as a police vehicle.' This research, Minister, should alarm you and your Tasmanian police service. The United Kingdom and New Zealand have adopted the vehicle-marking system called the 'Battenburg check', which uses alternating blocks of contrasting colours of blue and yellow because these colours are detected significantly earlier by other drivers because of the contrast with colours in nature and almost every type of urban and rural background. Fluoro colours are also shown to outperform traditional colours in all weather and reduced light conditions and are more easily detected by those who are colourblind or have an age-related deterioration of vision.



In the development of a highway patrol unit it would not be necessary to have extra high-performance vehicles because modern vehicles have the necessary performance power. I add that comment because a former police commissioner said these vehicles are too expensive because they have special engines and brakes so therefore when you sell them you take a big hit on them. We are not proposing here higher performance vehicles than the police already have. What we simply are talking about is completely different markings, which are essentially stick-on markings that come off a white vehicle afterwards leaving a pristine white vehicle for sale at the auctions to achieve full price. So there is no cost issue here at all.



Therefore, Minister, when you claim repeatedly that the vehicle-marking scheme in use by our police currently is highly visible, on what tested basis are your claims based? You need to tell this Parliament why the current grey and blue vehicles with dabs of blue and white check around them is appropriate policing, despite the studies done around the world and the fact that almost every police service in the free world does not agree with you or your police service on this matter. You stand alone on this and it is a dangerous position you are taking. The minister should need no reminding that the stated benefits of this policy reflect the core principles and strategic claims of his department's key service delivery areas. The most important outcome of adopting this type of vehicle marking system is a greater recognition of the vehicles, as police cars can be seen up to 500 metres in normal daylight. This maximises the presence of police and their ability to operate safely and effectively in preventing and detecting crime.



The benefits of this policy initiative are to provide the Tasmanian motorist a greater sense of safety while driving on the State's roads and highways due to there being a more visible and actual police presence. This presence would also operate as a much-needed deterrent to those driving behaviours likely to either break the law and/or cause crashes, particularly fatal crashes.



In respect of speed reduction, high visibility approaches are one of the key high-impact strategies recommended by the National Road Safety Action Plan 2009-10. Minister, do you not subscribe to the National Road Safety Action Plan? You must. It tells you that you need to upgrade the conspicuity, the high visibility, of your vehicles and you will not do it.



What this research tells you, Minister, is that while your speed cameras have an effect on speed reduction they have no effect whatsoever on aggressive drivers, on ridiculous overtaking manoeuvres, on people drifting across the white line because they are half asleep or dozy or dopey or simply behaving in an inattentive fashion. You get drivers driving at 80 or 90 kph with a phone up against their ear and people wondering what is going on until they pass them and see they are chatting on the telephone. Covert policing will do nothing about that but a good number of high-visibility police cars out there that you can see from 500 metres will attack that form of poor driving. In private discussions with police officers for the last 12 months now, there is no-one that I can find in road safety who disagrees with the fact that we need a higher visibility for our police vehicles.



That tells me that this is political, that this minister having been questioned about it at Estimates does not want to change his mind because it would be seen as a backdown. This Labor Government is prepared to play with the road safety toll and the crash toll in Tasmania, flying in the face of evidence from around the world that the police markings in Tasmania are insufficient and not up to a national standard, let alone an international standard, to meet the requirements of research on conspicuity. It is ridiculous that all their stated documents, talk about the performance measure of feeling safe in Tasmania but they do not question whether they feel safe on the roads, and their operational statistics and their operational statements, call for a high visibility level of policing.



Yet somehow this minister appears to be holding back the department from doing exactly what their business plan calls for them to do. We will be fascinated to hear the minister place on the record of this House why the Bartlett Labor Government wants to stand alone from the rest of the world and the rest of Australia by putting blue and grey vehicles on the road with minimum markings and to have the feedback from Tasmanian people that no-one sees police officers on the road.



How that could be sustainable as a policy position by this Government is astonishing to us and I will ensure that the Road Safety Task Force reads the contribution to this debate. I cannot imagine that the Road Safety Task Force, in spite of the fact that it is chaired by a Labor backbencher, will ignore the fact that the Government of the day is ignoring international research - not just anecdotal but hard evidence - that every police service in the free world has signed up to the science that says high conspicuity vehicles are an important part of policing. What on earth the Road Safety Task Force will say about that I do not know. They would have to have a view and they would -



Mr Morris - I think they were going to but then decided not to have a view.



Mr HIDDING - I would be astonished if that were the case. If that is where they want to place themselves, they place themselves in quite some jeopardy as a serious outfit.



The benefits of this policy initiative will be to provide for the Tasmanian motorist a greater sense of safety while driving on the State's roads and highways due to there being a more visible and actual police presence. This presence will also operate as a much-needed deterrent to those driving behaviours likely to break the law and/or cause crashes, particularly fatal crashes. In respect of speed reduction, the high-visibility approach is one of the key high-impact strategies recommended by the National Road Safety Action Plan, and I am putting that back on the record. In addition, this policy has the benefit of providing improved safety for the police officers in the vehicles, especially in the instances of providing assistance at crash sites on the highway.



This is another element that was not raised with us by the Police Association, but the research shows that it was raised by police services around the world in reviews of their conspicuity issues and it became an OH&S issue. On a dark night or at dusk, if you have to pull up a motor car or there is a bingle on the road and you have to park there, and you are in a dark blue office car with a little bit of blue braid down the side, you are in a dangerous situation. It has not escaped my attention that the Tasmanian Police Association lobbied for a number of years for high-visibility jackets. In a fanfare the police commissioner of the day announced that he had agreed and ordered the new jackets and when they arrived, guess what their colours were? They were dark blue with some yellow fluoro strips on them. What on earth would possess them to do that, when a road worker or any other worker wears a fluorescent jacket? Why would they give them a dark-blue jacket with some fluoro strips?



Mr Morris - Distinguished.



Mr HIDDING - Distinguished and dangerous I would have thought. But for whatever reason, the Police Association thought that they looked very dapper in these high-visibility dark-blue jackets with a few yellow stripes on them. That is a matter for them but it does indicate some sort of thinking in this police community that high visibility means something entirely different from what police services around the world apparently think.



The use of these vehicles is to increase the awareness amongst the public that police resources are out in the community and that would provide reassurance and a deterrent against crime. Establishing the highway patrol unit would be cost- and resource-neutral if it was drawn from the resources of the public order response team and traffic divisions. The cost of the marking schemes could be approximate to current costs - same material issues just different colours and markings would be used. The minister no doubt has seen that in Launceston and Hobart there used to be signwriters where white cars go in and come out later in the day with the most extraordinary commercial markings over the windows - buses, for instance, with their advertising all down the sides and over the windows. It is high visibility, selling a certain message. The message to be sold here is that this is a police car, it is out here to maintain law and order on the roads and to keep you safe. 'Put your telephone down and start paying attention.' That is the advertising message of these high-visibility police cars and for some reason this Government does not want to play.



Concern is growing that the State Labor Government will make cuts to front-line policing in an effort to plug holes in its ailing budget. Labor desperately needs to cut waste and to make savings but front-line police services should not be subject to these actions. Cuts to these services may mean immediate budget savings but the resulting increase in accidents on our roads would be borne by the community. Such cuts will in no way improve safety or reduce the real costs associated with road accidents and fatalities and, in any event, the Liberal policy that is embodied in this motion before the House, as being moderate in terms of politics but extremely tough and effective in low-cost good outcomes on the road toll. This is reflected in deaths, but we rarely see the huge number of traumatic medical outcomes, as well as death, that flow from these crashes on the road. I am aware of a couple of families whose lives have been changed; they are looking after a loved family member who is in just awful medical condition for the rest of their life. Thankfully in the enlightened society in which we live, with compulsory and no-fault third-party insurance and the MAIB, they are comfortable in terms of medical facilities but the strain on the families and on the persons involved is just appalling.



Anything we can do to reduce the appalling road toll ought to be of immediate interest to this minister. Why he has not grabbed this with both hands before, why he now has to stand and try to explain why lightly marked police cars are a good way to do good policing in Tasmania when no-one else in the free world thinks so, is beyond me. Why he feels that is the appropriate way to manage his portfolio of Police and his responsibility for road safety in Tasmania is beyond me, but perhaps we can learn from him what his magic solution will be if he wants to leave these vehicles in this manner.