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The Police Service (Volunteer Police) Amendment Act 1992 was an Act of the
Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, establishing a trial of volunteer police officers in the New South Wales Police Service.The New South Wales Police Service is now known as the New South Wales Police Force. 'Service' is used throughout this article as it was the correct name at the time the Act was in force. Introduced to the Parliament by the
Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...
, the Act was strongly opposed by the Labor Opposition and the New South Wales Police Association. The Act was automatically repealed by virtue of a sunset clause on 31 December 1994.


Background

The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and
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have long histories of allowing volunteers to serve on a part-time basis alongside regular
constables A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
in their special constabularies and auxiliary constabularies respectively. The intention of the ''Police Service (Volunteer Police) Amendment Act 1992'' was to adapt the principle of voluntary part-time police service for New South Wales.


The volunteer police

The Act established the position of 'police volunteer' within the Police Service and collected these volunteers under the title 'the volunteer police'. The Commissioner of Police was given the powers to appoint, discipline and dismiss police volunteers and also to determine their functions, with the requirement that police volunteers be under the supervision of police officers at all times. Appointment as a police volunteer conferred on a person the same powers and privileges of a special constable appointed under the ''Police (Special Provisions) Act 1901'', which gave the police volunteer the same powers as a constable employed by the Police Service. However, while the Commissioner could determine what weapons were to be carried by police volunteers, the Act specifically prohibited them carrying or using
firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
.


Debate

There was much parliamentary debate on the Act. When the Opposition called a division, the vote was split evenly and the
Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...
of the Legislative Assembly used his
casting vote A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...
to resolve the matter in the affirmative.


Support

Supporters of the Act - members of the Liberals and the Democrats - argued that volunteer police would build upon the
community policing Community policing, or community-oriented policing (COP), is a strategy of policing that focuses on developing relationships with community members. It is a philosophy of full-service policing that is highly personal, where an officer patrols ...
practices implemented by the Government, would augment police in the event of an emergency, and would allow members of the public to contribute to a cause which they felt strongly about.


Opposition

The Labor Opposition, backed by the principal unions in the Police Service - the New South Wales Police Association, the Commissioned Police Officers Association of New South Wales, and the Public Service Association - was opposed to the Act. Arguments against the Act revolved around concerns that police volunteers would not be sufficiently trained, experienced or equipped for police work, and that the Government intended on tricking the public into thinking there were more police officers on the streets than was actually the case.


Successor scheme

In 1995, the NSW Police Service introduced a scheme called Volunteers in Policing which allows community members to assist police by performing certain ''non-core'' police duties. Such duties are limited to community engagement and basic administrative tasks, with no law enforcement responsibilities or powers granted to volunteers.


References


External links


NSW Parliamentary Counsel's Office
- Full text of the Act.
NSW Parliament Hansard
- Parliamentary debate records relating to the Act.
Volunteers in Policing
- The current scheme whereby volunteers can perform non-policing functions within the Police Force. {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 1992 in Australian law New South Wales Police Force New South Wales legislation 1990s in New South Wales