Criminology Research Council grant ; (9/76)
This study examined major manpower trends in the Australian police forces for the 1960s and 1970s. While the picture varied from force to force, the study sought to provide an overview for Australia as a whole since the mid 1960s. Major institutions involved in the police labour market were first defined and characterised and it was concluded that the police manpower system is an unusual one, with a limited number of employers and restricted union activity operating within an arbitral environment and subject to close political scrutiny and that this has had consequences for the level of public security, as will be seen. Police themselves were reviewed using census data and it was seen that the police represent a relatively young, male but less well-educated workforce, with particular per capita concentrations in the Territories and also in South Australia and Tasmania. There is also a disproportionate (and increasing) trades skills representation, and higher incomes than average.
A range of indicators developed demonstrated that there has been an increasing divergence between police requirements and available labour for policing over the period since the mid 1960s. Requirements were established in relation to numbers required for prevailing populations, crime and traffic levels in the mid 1960s and by what has happened to these three factors since that time. Per capita crime levels, in particular, grew significantly over the period, as did traffic. Available labour referred to both existing police strengths and the pool of potential recruits.
Given the background of requirements, trends and supply forces outlined, the actual size and composition of police forces reflected accommodation to those trends and influences. A range of possible adjustments could be and were pursued. An obvious one is wage levels and it was found that police wages have responded a little to the trend divergence of requirements from the available labour pool. By the end of the 1970s police wages had increased more than comparative wages, especially for more senior police. The latter observation could well have been related to a dramatic rise in resignations and retirements in the late 1960s. Nevertheless the relativity changes were basically small.