aboriginal, institutional racism, Police, Racism
Q. Institutional racism is where the institutions in a society are biased in a way that means particular ethnic groups are disadvantaged.
For example, Indigenous Australians are more likely to be arrested in some situations; whereas, white (European) Australians are more likely to be warned, cautioned or diverted away from the criminal justice system. Additionally, Indigenous Australians are more likely to die in custody than white Australians. To some people these arguments show that there is institutional racism against Indigenous Australians.
Which of the following best describes your view of institutional racism in Australia?
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| There is no racism in Australian police forces | 9% | 7% | 11% | 8% | 11% |
| While there may be isolated incidents involving racism, police forces in Australia are not institutionally racist against Indigenous Australians | 43% | 40% | 54% | 21% | 50% |
| There is institutional racism in Australian police forces which is shown through many examples of discrimination against Indigenous Australians | 30% | 36% | 19% | 56% | 29% |
| I do not know enough about the issue to provide a view | 18% | 16% | 16% | 15% | 10% |
| Base (n) | 1,073 | 325 | 419 | 90 | 136 |
alcohol, doctors, King's Cross, Last Drinks, nurses, paramedics, Police, violence
A quick update on something I pointed out three weeks ago — union workers know a lot more about how to stop alcohol-fuelled violence than most politicians because they are on the front lines.
Two years ago– TWO YEARS AGO — a coalition of unions representing doctors, nurses, paramedics and police officers demanded that politicians act to stop alcohol-fuelled violence. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand why: those front-line workers have to deal with the violence and it’s an occupational hazard. Union workers have to transport injured people to hospitals, stitch up the wounds, and restore order in the streets.
So, today’s news vindicates the campaign being run by the Last Drinks campaign:
PUB lockouts that ban patrons entering licensed premises after a late night deadline but allow those already inside to keep drinking could be the answer to curbing drunken violence in Kings Cross, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione believes.
Save lives. Sign the petition.
02 April 2012, 020412, drug or alcohol, firearm, gang or mob, mentally ill, Police, police work, policing, Polling, polls
Q. There is a debate in many parts of Australia on the appropriate response of police to a range of situations.
In your opinion which of the following are appropriate responses for police in the following situations? (Version A – asked of half the sample)
|
Appropriate police responses |
|||||||
|
Situation |
Firearm |
Taser |
Capsicum spray |
Baton |
Physical restraint |
Verbal response |
Don’t know |
| Police confronted with an armed individual |
67% |
42% |
30% |
20% |
26% |
23% |
6% |
| Police confronted with a drug (eg ice amphetamines) or alcohol affected individual |
10% |
44% |
47% |
22% |
43% |
26% |
5% |
| Police confronted with a mentally ill individual (eg schizophrenic episode) |
6% |
31% |
39% |
15% |
48% |
34% |
7% |
| Police confronted with a gang or mob |
47% |
44% |
43% |
33% |
32% |
26% |
9% |
A substantial proportion of respondents think that firearms are an appropriate police response when confronted with an armed individual (67%) or confronted with a gang or mob (47%).
Tasers are more likely to be considered appropriate when confronted with a drug or alcohol affected individual (44%), a gang or mob (44%) or an armed individual (42%).
Capsicum spray is more likely to be considered appropriate when confronted with a drug or alcohol affected individual (47%) or a gang or mob (43%).
Physical restraint is thought to be more appropriate to situations where police are confronted with a mentally ill individual (48%) or a drug or alcohol affected individual (43%).
02 April 2012, 020412, drug or alcohol, firearm, gang or mob, mentally ill, Police, police work, policing, Polling, polls
Q. There is a debate in many parts of Australia on the appropriate response of police to a range of situations.
In your opinion which of the following is the most appropriate response for police in the following situations? (Version B – asked of half the sample).
|
Most appropriate police response |
|||||||
|
Situation |
Firearm |
Taser |
Capsicum spray |
Baton |
Physical restraint |
Verbal response |
Don’t know |
| Police confronted with an armed individual |
55% |
25% |
7% |
2% |
2% |
1% |
8% |
| Police confronted with a drug (eg ice amphetamines) or alcohol affected individual |
5% |
37% |
28% |
3% |
18% |
2% |
7% |
| Police confronted with a mentally ill individual (eg schizophrenic episode) |
2% |
24% |
24% |
1% |
31% |
10% |
7% |
| Police confronted with a gang or mob |
39% |
19% |
19% |
8% |
3% |
2% |
9% |
A firearm was considered to be the most appropriate police response when confronted with an armed individual (55%) or a gang or mob (39%).
When confronted with a drug or alcohol affected individual the most appropriate responses were thought to be taser (37%) and capsicum spray (28%).
When confronted with a mentally ill individual the most appropriate responses were thought to be physical restraint (31%), taser (24%) and capsicum spray (24%).
Banking and finance, career opportunities, career path, Careers, Defence forces, EMC, ER, Essential Media, Essential Report, IT, Nursing, occupations, Police, Polling, polls, Retail, Teaching, Tourism and hospitality, Trades
Q. Which of the following occupations do you think provide good careers for young people?
| Yes | No | Don’t know | |
| Trades | 88% | 6% | 6% |
| Computing and information technology | 86% | 6% | 7% |
| Nursing | 78% | 15% | 7% |
| Teaching | 75% | 17% | 8% |
| Tourism and hospitality | 72% | 19% | 9% |
| Police | 71% | 20% | 9% |
| Defence forces | 71% | 20% | 9% |
| Banking and finance | 70% | 19% | 10% |
| Retail | 54% | 36% | 10% |
The most favoured occupations for providing good careers were thought to be trades (88%), computing and IT (86%) and nursing (78%).
All occupations tested scored at least 70% except for retail at 54%.
Younger respondents (aged 18-35) tended to have a similar order of preference to the general population – their most favoured occupations were trades (78%), computing and IT (76%), teaching (68%) and nursing (67%).