Crown Police Pedigree.
They were so powerful, in fact, that on January 26, 1808, the twentieth anniversary of white settlement,
they staged a coup detat by rebelling against governor Bligh, deposing him and running New South Wales as a military junta
for two years. For this remarkable mutiny, none of the officers was hanged or even seriously punished. Their junta mentality
fostered two assumptions. The first was that none of them-especially not john Macarthur, who organised the rebellion from
a prison cell where Bligh had put him-believed that naval governors were ever on their side. The second was that convicts
were there to be used, not reformed. Both caused a rapid hardening of attitudes against convicts, the lumpenproletariat of
New South Wales. The New South Wales corps stiffly resisted any effort to criticise, or even inspect, its treatment of the
convicts. The emblematic form of this attitude would show itself on Norfolk Island. Pg 111
Grose picked up his pen. "No provocation that a soldier can give," he wrote to king, "is ever to
be admitted as an excuse for the convicts striking a soldier." No soldier could be tried by a civil judge or magistrate,
or even put in the custody of a civilian constable. Most important of all, these constables "are to understand that they
are not on any pretence whatever to stop or seize a soldier, although he should be detected in an unlawful act." This
remarkable letter was a charter of immunity for the NSW corps. For Grose, the word convict meant both felons under sentence
and emancipists. Since the number of free immigrants was negligible, "convict" in Groses eyes included virtually every civilian
in the colony. Pg113
One prisoner named Joseph Mansbury had been flogged so often- some 2000 lashes in three years-that his back
appeared quite bare of flesh, and his collarer [sic] bones where exposed looking very much like two Ivory Polished horns.
It was with some difficulty that we could find another place to flog him. Tony [Chandler, the overseer] suggested to me that
we had better [do it on] the soles of his feet next time. Pg 115
Thus, one finds Robert Jones, Foveauxs jailer, quoting a fragment of some official address by his commandant-"His
Majesty King George has been pleased to grant to all his subjects complete protection, in out of way places........."
Then he scribbles, "What a mockery to issue such a piece of information to chain convicts. Protection when we were the
greatest enemy-as my orders were to murder all the prisoners under my care should any foreign nation bear down upon us. Protection
be Damd." Pg 117
Such men could not defy the Junta. The corps, therefore, was virtually immune from civil law, and military
law was exercised by its own officers to protect the interest of their own group. One sees why Foveaux could flog and kill
without restraint on Norfolk Island and yet have no word breathed against him by his brother officers. The question of the
"Rights" of convicts was barely worth raising in New South Wales between the departure of Arthur Phillip in1792 and the arrival
of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810. Pg 119
Extracts from "The Fatal Shore" Robert Hughes.
In July 1864, there occurred a shooting in Cooma, causing the reputation of the force to slump to its lowest level. The
police had issued a warrant against James Kirwin on a minor charge. Kirwin was a married man of twenty-four, and had an imposing
appearance and a manly, generous nature. He met Sergent ODonoghue in one of the main streets in Cooma and when the sergent
ordered him to dismount, he turned his horse to escape. ODonoghue shot him in the back and killed him. The incident was made
worse by the fact that Kirwins wife gave birth to their child the day after Kirwins death. It was reported that ODonoghue
said in extenuation that he had shot Kirwin because he thought that if he had got away he would have laughed at the police.
A local news paper expressed the general indignation when it wrote: "Morally speaking, to all intents and purposes, Kirwin
was foully and deliberately murdered." Pg81, 82
Appendix 5
BRAIDWOOD COMMISSIONS REPORT.
It is further disclosed that improper intimacy and familiarity have existed between members of the police
force and certain connections of the Bushrangers. Such improprieties are, in our opinion, greatly to be deprecated as the
efficiency of the police force must be thereby impaired, and the confidence of the public destroyed. The superintendent would
seem to have been unaware of such proceedings; and we are at a loss to understand how he could have remained in ignorance
of irregularities occurring in a part of the district under his immediate observation. Pg188
Extracts from "The bloodiest Bushrangers" John OSullivan.
Tuckiar was an Arnhem land aborigine who was imprisoned in Fannie Bay goal in 1934 after being convicted
of murdering police constable McColl. McColl had gone to Woodah island in the gulf of carpenteria to apprehend the killers
of the Japanese crews of the Myrtle Olga and the Raff who had been massacred at Caledon Bay in 1932. McColls
life ended, speared by Tuckiar who mistakenly thought McColl had come to arrest him for an earlier murder. After a long series
of attempts to apprehend Tuckiar he, and his alleged fellow offenders, were brought to Darwin for trial. Tuckiar was eventually
tried, convicted and sentenced to hang. Because of certain irregularities in the trial, the case was appealed and the verdict
squashed. This did not benefit Tuckiar, however, who disappeared mysteriously. Rumour has it, that police loyal to the memory
of McColl, had taken events into their own hands, murdered Tuckiar and disposed of his body in Darwin Harbour.
Extract from "Fannie Bay Goal" Museum & Art Galleries of the Northern Territory.
Todays Situation
13/02/2002,Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns. MLA. Member for Johnston, from Stephen Barnes.
I further assert that if Chamberlain had Dum Dum bullets removed from the British allied troops in 1899 during
the Boer war, because of provisions of the Geneva convention, then it is entirely barbaric for NT Police to be using this
type of ammunition against civilians in "OUR" community.
I am putting to you that the NT police force NEEDS investigating, pruning out the corrupt police
and then reorganising with professional procedures and requirements to minimise the environment for malpractice and corruption.
Further I am putting that the watch dog for the NT police needs to be an external body of qualified investigators who answer
only to the minister for police and operate under strong legislative powers for investigation.
16/02/2002, Extract of letter to Chief Minister, Hon. Claire Martin, MLA.
From Dr Chris Burns, MLA. Member for Johnston.
Re: Request for an inquiry into NT Police
Please find the attached letter from one of my constituents, Mr Stephen Barnes, calling for
an independent inquiry into the Northern Territory Police force.
Mr Barnes has asked that I send the letter to you as he wishes to make his request to the highest level of
the Northern Territory Government. I have also sent a copy to Minister Stirling.
Apart from concerns related to type of guns and ammunition issued to the NT Police, the control of these
weapons and monitoring of Police Officers in carrying and using such weapons,.........
15/04/2002. Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns, MLA.
From Minister for Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Mr Syd Stirling.
..........I understand that further to my advice to you of 7 March 2002, you sought advice from the acting
deputy Commissioner Wernham as to the nature of the round used in the standard issue Glock firearm.
The Northern Territory Police use a standard police issue round manufactured for and used by those police
forces in Australia and overseas who operate the Glock .40 calibre pistol.
23/02/2002,Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns. MLA. Member for Johnston, From Stephen Barnes.
The Falconio case is not a case in isolation but very much the norm for the NT Police performance. What it
does do is highlight publicly what many NT constituents already knew, and that is a police force that is lacking due professional
procedures, lacking due internal discipline, a uniform culture that harboured and protected malpractice and corruption. The
problems further highlight the ineffectiveness of NT Police professional responsibility by being an internal section of the
NT Police and clearly having a conflict of INTEREST!
CITATION: Inquest into the death of Eduardo Concepcion [2001] NTMC 25
FILE NO(s): 9924736
166/99
JUDGMENT OF: Mr Greg Cavanagh SM
Extracts of ............
34. CORONERS FINDINGS AND COMMENTS
(3) A Coroner shall not, in an investigation, include in a finding or comment a statement that a person is
or may be guilty of an offence.
58. TIPPETT:".... And it would appear that that was not done in this case; is that right? No, Sir, it was
not. But again, I - I basically followed a lead, if - if thats the right word, of how other investigations that involved police
shootings had been conducted."
60. ....However, for reasons that were never adequately explained they, together with Hillcoat and MacDonald,
all ended up together in the muster room before being allowed to go without such interviews taking place. On 30 October Constables
Ragg and Terawsky attended at
police headquarters and gave recorded statements about the event to investigators while refusing to allow themselves to
be questioned. Constable Heath did the same thing on 31 October. I find their resistance to questioning somewhat disturbing................
All three Police officers were again spoken to at length on 3 November 1999 when they were eventually interrogated.
61.......However, in my view such flaws do tend to lesson public confidence in coronial investigations and
I trust they do not continue to occur.
62..... And "The issue made of separation of police members after a police shooting is accepted and recognised
to be the subject of further instruction to all members of the Northern Territory Police ."
64........ This conversation was not taped nor were notes taken of what was said; Constable Hillcoat, in
frank evidence, said it was carried out for the "bosses". It is a pity that this briefing was not taped for the purposes of
the Coronial investigation. It is also to be noted that it was naive and unwise of police officers Hillcoat and MacDonald
to meet at the home of Constable Hillcoat on the evening of Saturday 30 October, after they had been instructed not to speak
as between themselves about the shooting, and before they gave statements to investigators.
67. It is unfortunate to say the least that as our society enters the 21st century,
law enforcement officers are still resorting to 19th century measures, such as the use of lethal hand guns when
confronting aggression from their fellow citizens.
Although the NT coroner, Mr Greg Cavanagh SM, did not canvas...........
(a) Flight or fight syndrome of an adversarial approach.
(b) The type of bullet (projectile) used for premeditated killing.
(c) The position of the deceased at shot 2, 3 & 4.
(d) The possible non compliance with NT Firearms act in regards to alcohol and drugs.
He did find.
44. The evidence is overwhelmingly in support of the conclusion that the death of Edward Concepcion was a
justifiable homicide.
25/04/2002, Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns. MLA. Member for Johnston, from Stephen Barnes.
.........I have read the coroners report into Mr Eduardo Concepcions fatal shooting by the NT police.(A)In reading the
findings of the Coroner I couldnt help but feel disgusted @ the NT police actions. Simply when the Police arrived they had
advance notice that Mr Concepcion was armed. Given mankinds wealth of knowledge, resources and training facilities we resort
to a classic 19th century showdown (note>"fight or flight syndrome")
Point 19 > Advising armed.
Point 21 > Police advised of drugs.
Point 23 > Eduardo retreats. (Flight syndrome)
Point 24 > Police follow and pressure by presence.
Point 25 > Eduardo advances (Fight syndrome)
Point 26 > Police aggression precipitates aggression.
Point 28 > Eduardo shot to death (Executed)
(E)(c)I absolutely reject the NT police attitude of being 007 licenced "TO KILL" and being trained
and equipped with that purpose in mind. They are law enforcers, not summary executioners, or in a war zone!...............
NT News, Thursday November 14, 2002. Pg 9
Family Wants Officer Charged . By Edith BevinThe family of a man shot dead by police want the
officer who fired the fatal shot charged.
........The Northern Territory News has also learned that the legal service has been briefed to lobby
the director of public prosecutions to look at pressing charges. The Police Officer shot the 18 year old man during a disturbance
at Wadeye, 300km south west of Darwin, on October 23. ............ The dead mans father, Ambrose Jongmin, yesterday denied
his son was involved in a gang battle. He said his son was trying to disarm another man when he was killed. "Our family
wants justice, " Mr Jongmin said............... The police officer is believed to have opened fire from 50m.
14/11/2002, Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns. MLA. Member for Johnston, From Stephen Barnes.
...... I note the letter Re Ammunition which by quoting a national standard seeks some degree of diminished
responsibility. I simply do not and will not accept this. The Czar or Russia had a social conscience regards humanitarian
treatment 29 Nov/11 Dec 1868 and became known as the "Declaration of St. Petersburg." Further the "Declaration of St. Petersburg"
was adopted at the Hague on July 29, 1899 and became known as the" Hague Rules." These are now contained in the Geneva Convention
and set standards to which the Commonwealth of Australia is a signatory.
I reject absolutely the notion that this barbaric practice of the NT Police is acceptable because the Geneva
Convention only applies to two nations at war. I assert that this practice constitutes a form of TERRORISM that is simply
unacceptable for a first world civilised nation.
To put it simply, the police abuse of DNA under the "Police Administration Act." is an NT parliament responsibility.
Further the use of Barbaric ammunition is the NT parliament responsibility. The lack of due professional procedures in the
NT Police force is the NT Parliament responsibility.
18/11/2002,Extract of letter to Mr Chris Burns. MLA. Member for Johnston, From Stephen Barnes.
.........(F)Further at the 3rd meeting at the preparatory committee in September
2001, the ICRC highlighted the need to ensure respect for the "1868 St. Petersburg Declaration.". The ICRC is deeply concerned
about the proliferation of 12.7mm "multi-purpose" bullets which, through repeated testing, have been shown to frequently explode
within internationally recognised human tissue simulants.
In closing yet another submission to the NT Parliament, its a bitter irony in our society that
Republicanism for the N.T. 4e
(Document B)
the NT Police force that successfully lobbied the NT Parliament to outlaw Shanghais and the like , in the
"Prohibited Weapons Act 2001," behaves in such a barbaric way with no regard for civilised procedures or conventions...........
The most recent enquiry into Police corruption in NSW, the investigator publicly aired that investigations should be carried
out further afield, ie, other police forces in Australia.
14/11/2002, Extract from a letter to NT Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Committee, Mr Chris Howse from Stephen
Barnes.
..........(1)That NT Police use ammunition which does NOT comply with the "Geneva Convention"
or the intended principals of the "Declaration of St. Petersburg", or the "Hague rules". To the contrary the ammunition used
is designed to maximise shock and rupturing of blood vessels with the premeditated intention of killing.
(2)That the NT Police are trained as a standard operating procedure to shoot to kill, without regard to the
principal of common law of using only "Reasonable force", resulting in most police shootings being fatal.
(3)That the NT Police do not have to comply with "NT Firearms Act", in having no influence of drugs or alcohol
when in possession of a firearm in our community. Further the NT Police are not randomly tested for drugs or alcohol as other
industry standards, and more specifically after an anti personnel firearm discharge!
(4)I believe that NT Police shootings of civilians as well as the national Police shooting figures are increasing
with each decade. I firmly believe that it is an obscenity to a first world developed nation to treat its civilians in such
a barbaric manner.
20/11/2002, Extract from a letter to Stephen Barnes from the NT Aboriginal Justice Advocacy Committee,
Mr Chris Howse.
...........Re: Police shooting at Port Keats
I have received your letter today regarding the above. This office has serious concerns about the events at Port
Keats, Surrounding the Police shooting of an Aboriginal man on 23 October 2002.
AJAC has been in touch with the Coroners Office about this matter and will seek leave to appear at the Coroners
Inquest to cross- examine witnesses and make such submissions as it believes are in the interests of Aboriginal people generally.
In short, This office will take every opportunity to scrutinise the matter.
26/11/2002, Extract from a letter to Minister of Police, Fire and Emergency Services. The Hon. Paul Henderson,
MLA. From Dr Chris Burns MLA
........In his letter, and on previous occasions Mr Barnes has raised his grave concerns that the Northern Territory
Police are using ammunition which he contends is outside the Geneva Convention. Mr Barnes also raises other matters relating
to drug and alcohol testing of Police who have discharged firearms especially in those cases which result in injury.
29/01/2003, Extract from a letter to The Hon. Chris Burns MLA, from Minister of Police, Fire and Emergency Services.
The Hon. Paul Henderson, MLA.
.....The commissioner of Police advises me that the ammunition used by the Northern Territory Police is consistent with
the ammunition used by Police forces Australia wide. Mr Barnes view that the ammunition in use is "contrary to the Geneva
Convention" is inaccurate insofar as these conventions are the "Rules of War". They do not bind Governments and their
agencies for other purposes. The ammunition used by the Northern Territory Police force is
of a type and standard similar to that used by all other Australian Police services.
The commissioner also advises me that it is not common practice in Australia to provide for mandatory drug or alcohol testing
of police officers who have discharged their firearms. I am not aware of any circumstances that warrant making this a standard
practice.
It is considered that that the issues Raised by Mr Barnes have been adequately investigated and responded to on more than
one occasion. Both my predecessor , the Hon. Syd Stirling MLA, and myself have given due credence to Mr Barnes concerns, and
have ensured that his issues were appropriately investigated. It is therefore my view that nothing further can be achieved
through further correspondence on these matters.
Declaration of St. Petersburg, 1868.
In 1863, the Russian military authorities had invented a bullet that exploded on contact with hard substances
like ammunition wagons. The bullet was modified to explode on contact with human bodies, inflicting horrendous wounds. As
such, the bullet would have been an inhuman method of warfare contrary to the customary rule that the use of weapons causing
unnecessary suffering or cruel wounds was prohibited.
The Russian Government suggested that the use of the bullet be prohibited by international agreement. Czar
Alexandra II called a conference in St Petersburg and a declaration relating to the new invention was adopted by 19 countries.
This declaration, called the "Declaration of St Petersburg 1868, renouncing the use, in time of war, of explosive projectiles
under 400 grams weight, was the first formal international agreement prohibiting the use of a particular weapon in warfare.
"Even Wars Have Limits" Pg 22.
Hague Rules, 1899.
In 1899, on the initiative of Czar Nicholas II, the First Peace Conference was convened at the Hague in Holland.
This conference, at which 26 governments were represented, codified a great many of the laws and customs of war on land, working
from the Brussels draft cade of 1874. This code came to be known as the Hague Rules 1899'.In addition, the conference adopted
3 more declarations, like the Declaration of St Petersburg 1868', confirming the customary rule of warfare which prohibited
the use of weapons causing the unnecessary suffering or unnecessarily cruel wounds............. And the third banned the use
of expanding or Dumdum, bullets being used in the Boer war in South Africa at that time. Named after the arsenal at Dum Dum
near Calcutta in India, where they were first made, the bullets expanded or flattened easily in the human body and, like the
exploding bullets banned in 1868, caused horrific wounds. "Even Wars Have Limits" Pg 23
Declaration on the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body; July 29, 1899
........Declare as follows;
The contracting parties agree to abstain from the use of bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such
as bullets with a hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core, or is pierced with incisions. "The Avalon Project
at Yale Law School"
Geneva Convention, 12 August 1949.
Protocol 1
Part III
Section 1
Article 35 - basic rules
It is prohibited to employ weapons, projectiles and material and methods of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury
or unnecessary suffering.
The Review Conference of the 1980 Convention on certain conventional weapons.
................The ICRC believes that the proliferation of these bullets will undermine the St Petersburg
Declaration as well as the prohibition of the use of weapons which cause unnecessary suffering - a norm which is at the very
heart of the UN Convention on certain conventional weapons. The ICRC report submitted to the September preparatory committee
requests states to ensure that such bullets are not produced , used or transferred. In view of the importance of this issue,
the ICRC asks that the final declaration of this review conference take note of the ICRC report and encourage states to review
their stocks of explosive 12.7mm ammunition in light of its contents and recommendations. The ICRC believes that such steps
will prevent the weakening of fundamental norms of international humanitarian law.
Isnt it a paradox that the "Crown" Police who seek to deceptively disarm law abiding Australians maintain
the right to shoot Australians in violation of International Humanitarian Standards established some 135 years ago. Further,
whilst one admires the humanitarian zeal of "Ruth Russell" and other Anti War Human Shields, the fact remains that given ½
a chance the Crown Police would shoot them like "Dogs" in our own country! How much Humanitarian consideration will they receive
in Iraq? Zero!
Access to forensic ballistic science video?
To; sales@projectile.com
Monday February 24, 2003, 11:14:19 pm,
PLEASE ADVISE PRICE AND AVAILABILITY OF "DEADLY AFFECTS VIDEO" (WOUND BALLISTICS) IN PAL FORMAT PLUS THE COST
OF AIRMAIL TO AUSTRALIA.
From
"Heather" <
Sent
Tuesday, February 25th, 2003 11:54
Subject
:
Re: DEADLY AFFECTS VIDEO
..........I am sorry to inform you that your government has officially banned our videos for importation or
sale in Australia. Yours is the only country in the world to have done so.
Heather
ANITE Productions
Sunday Territorian, Sunday March 2 2003.
"My Son Murdered"
says Mum by Gerard McManus
A senior Government Security officer was murdered because he threatened to expose corruption and misconduct
in Australias police and Security Agencies, his family claims.
Gary Lee-Rogers, an instructor with the Australian Protection Service, was found dead in his Queanbeyan flat,
outside Canberra, on October 1 last year after telling friends his life was at risk.
A pathology report said the cause of his death was"unascertainable."..........
.... Documents show Lee-Rogers made efforts to report corruption and serious fraud inside the APS in 1999.....
.......Letters to Politicians, including the attorney-General Daryl Williams, as well as frantic emails to
friends, failed to protect him.....
.....Five months after his death Queanbeyan Coroner Peter Leonarduzzi has decided to hold an inquest into
Lee-Rogers death - set down for early next month.
AGREEMENTS REACHED BY ALL AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS AT THE SPECIAL MEETING OF POLICE MINISTERS HELD
IN CANBERRA ON 10 MAY 1996..
As a result of this meeting a total of 642,000 guns were arbitrarily taken off law abiding Australians and
destroyed. The following facts supplied by ABS
YearAttempted murder/firearm
2001 132
2000 120
1999 113
1998 75
1997 90
1996 104 (Port Arthur Massacre Peak)
1995 80
1994 79
1993 105
What the FACTS tell us, is that "Firearms control" is not "Crime control."
Today.......
"And I got exactly what Queensland wanted. It was our plan, the Prime Minister has agreed to it, and were
delighted." Peter Beattie, Queensland Premier, 612 ABC Radio 07/12/2002
"The Prime Minister, the Territory leaders and the Premiers agreed today we would lift that
to 20 percent and to make it a tougher and harder regime. Thats important for the safety of our community and I think its
one that we can all be proud or and I am pleased to be apart of it today." Steve Bracks, Victorian Premier, 06/12/2002
"In the end a Prime Minister gets what he wants"
Bob Carr Premier NSW, Sydney Morning Herald 30/11/2002
What History Tells Us
"Germans who wish to use their firearms should join the SS or the SA - ordinary citizens dont
need guns, as having guns doesnt serve the state."
-Heinrich Himmler
"All military type firearms are to be handed in immediately... the SS, SA and Stahlhelm give
every respectable German Man the opportunity of campaigning with them. Therefore anyone who does not belong to one of the
above named organisations and who unjustifiably nevertheless keeps his weapon...... must be regarded as an enemy of the national
government."
-SA Oberfuhrer of Bad Tolz, March, 1933.
"1935 will go down in history! For the first time a civilised nation has full gun registration!
Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!"
-Adolf Hitler
His policy in 1933-39 involved progressively; departure from the League of Nations.......Pg
xxxiii
So why read "Mein Kampf"? There is one reason in the world on the 1990's, The world in which
the cold war has ended and Europe is moving toward closer association. It is true "Mein Kampf" is not an original work. It
is true that as a guide to Hitlers rush to war it is misleading . It is true that much of it is only comprehensible in the
context of Hitlers own experience and the views he developed between 1919 and 1924. It was however published in a world where
the dominant rules of international relations, as enshrined in the Covenant of the League of Nations, assumed that between
civilised states peace was the normal (and desirable) state of relations. War was prohibited. War like conflict might develop
out of rival claims to territory or the like, but aggression was defined by refusal to accept the mediatory and conciliatory
procedures laid down in the Covenant. Resort to war save in self-defence, was outlawed in 1928; Its illegality was implied
in the Covenant........... "Oh that my enemy had written a book", said Job. Hitler did. It was there for people to read.
Despite the omissions from the first English translation, bits of it were circulated to the British Cabinet and made available
through the British pamphlet press. "Mein Kampf" is not in any sense the work of a civilised man who thought peace a desirable
or normal state of international relations. It does not only raise the historical question of why its British readers did
not recognise this and know that in Hitler they faced an implacable enemy of the only state of international relations in
which Britain could thrive. It faces us in the cold war era with a similar question. Are there enemies of peace in power
in the world today? Are we trying to recognise them? Pg lx & lxi Extracts from introduction to "Mein Kampf"
Adolf Hitler by D Cameron Watt University of London
