Blue army : paramilitary policing in Australia.

McCulloch, Jude

ISBN 10: 0522849601 / ISBN 13: 9780522849608

Published by Melbourne University Press, Carlton South, 2001

About this Item

Illustrated with black and white photographs. 22 cm. XIV, 289 pages VG. Very good condition with light shelf wear and edge wear to covers. Seller Inventory # 43361

Bibliographic Details

Title: Blue army : paramilitary policing in ...

Publisher: Melbourne University Press, Carlton South

Publication Date: 2001

Binding: soft cover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Edition: 1st edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

We expect the police to stop armed robbers, to arrest drug dealers, to keep the peace at demonstrations and to protect us from crime. Many of us believe that police officers need to carry guns to protect themselves as well as us. But do we want our police forces to become armies? Most of us are shocked when suspects are shot dead by police before they can be tried, and disturbed to see police wearing riot gear and using baton charges at peaceful demonstrations. When police begin using paramilitary tactics, the essential nature of their role is redefined, switching from protection and peacekeeping to active aggression. Some units within our police forces, such as the Special Operations Group, train with the military and use military weapons and tactics. In looking behind the extraordinary number of police shootings in Victoria, Blue Army examines how the Special Operations Group and their tactics-which are passed on to ordinary police-have contributed to the toll. Jude McCulloch's involvement as a lawyer in cases of police shootings led her to detailed investigation of changes to policing in Australia. Blue Army arises from her research into the paramilitarisation of the police. It exposes the risks of allowing Australia's police forces to move away from the key principle of keeping the peace with the use of minimum force. Blue Army is a very disturbing book, and one of great importance.

About the Author:

Jude McCulloch lectures in Police Studies at Deakin University. She has worked as a community lawyer for many years and represented the families of several men shot and killed by police in the late 1980s.