cor;l~ON;'JEI\.urI-I PARLIAllENTARY ASSOCIATION

STUDY TOUR = 1976

Undertaken by:the Hon. R. Thompson, M.L.C.

'"

THIS BOOK ISTHE PROPERTY OF THE

PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARYAND MUST

BE RETURNED

S ~Ll

I lEW n.o s t grateful to cho Co-mnonvca.l.t.h Parliamentary

Acsoc:Lation for extendi.ng me the privilege of undertalcing

the Study 'I'our , wh i.ch I feel has been mon t b ene f Lc.i.a.L to

me and. I trv.st the experience that I have gai.ned and the

numerous reports that I have covered will be of benefit

to. the various Govermnent Departments to whom they w.i.L'L

be sent, after »erusa,l. by members of the ;~xecutive of the

C.P.A.

Hy first appointment was on the 6th June, 1976, Hith the

Department of Traffic of: the City of LO:3 Angeles. I wus

afforded the rare opportunity of being able to see the

computerisation of their traffic system, traffic lights and

freeway control. I trust that our city nover takes on

the proportions of Los Angeles and ':lest Berlin, which system

I 1'7ilJ. cover later on in this report.

l')r. I,. JJ. Clea:C\-iater, :)enior Traffi c EnGineer, Pr-ogr-amme

Development, Dqlartment of 'j:raffi c , L08 1\11::,;ele8, and his

offi.cers, in c on j unct t.on '·!ith Hr. (3,,10'.11) Taylor, City Traffjc;

Engineer and General of the Department of 'fra:i'fic,

are justly 1Jroud of the scramble from "hich they have been

able to resolve their tr"dfic problems and they now have a

frcce-runni.llC, hi,ghIy nobile, near accident-free f'r-e eway

system to meet the needs of motor vehicles wi.th i.n their

city and sulJurbEl. r[,hey have'econtly initiated a Diamond

Lano 3ystem v;}LLCh covers the left-hand lane of eac h of their

freeHays, betueen 7 and 9 a i m, and 4 and 6.30 p i m, This

e x per imont hei.i) born rr-u it. in as much as only publi c tran:3Irort

(1.1:};:} motor

us o tho I)i;'.;nond Lane , and heavy penalt imposed on

othcr VC:U-'.C.uc',; of

per t1.;::::i.ng the:: .lano ,

This sycd:em has 8, tv! ofold r-e suI t of t~P8eding traffic 1'10\1

and allo\'iine poliee/ambulance/tOif t.i-ucks to proceed quickly

to any blockage on any given 1'reevJay. In conjunction wit.n

this syst em, there is a COHC3tant helicopter patrol of 811

n e tw or-ka , and I had the privilege of spending t.wo hours aloft

during the peak-hour period and was able to observe the

benefits of this helicopter patrol. The vigilent eye of the

helicopter acts as a deterrent to the speeding motorist and

in conjunction wi t h th" computerisation in their City Head-

quarters, uhereby the flow of traffic at any given point on

their fremwys can be monitored at the flick of a sw Lt ch,

it is possible to see cars moving across a c Los e d circuitand

television monitor which gives the speed. /the lane in uhich

the vehicle is travelling, and this information can be

Lnuncd.i.at e Ly relayed to the Helicopter whi.ch can, if deemed

necessary, Land at accessible points along the f'r-ecway or

direct any highvJay patrolman to intercept the vehicles.

I have previously advocated at least five he.Li.ocp t er-s to be

brought into a c.rv.icc in \'JesteI1n Australia and after s ooing

the bcne f jt.s of helicopters in Los Angeles, it has more than

reinforced in my mind the v a.l.ue of such mach.i.ncs • To give

an illu.stration - a fire, apparently started in a par-lc 'by

a group 0:[ youths, waa observed. The constable in -1:100 heli-

copter c:i rcled the area and called the Pire Brj.gade and Police

and wit h i.n s i.x minutes 0:[ observing the fire 11e we.re ablc to

see these services ~irrivj.ng arid ie-king the necessary aob.i on,

L'i.kow.i.a e , on the outskirts of Lo s j\'.nGeles, a stolen vehicle

Vias reported. 'i'hc helicopter quickly changed COUnJ8, Locrrt e d

the vehicle and from the dei,cription Given of the car thief,

if he had been on thee street, :Lt wou Ld have b e on no trouble

to :i.dent.ify him. 'j'he helicopter" ,by the collapsjn,"; of

tHO of ,c~eD,ti::;t CLll1 be: turned. into an ac.r ia.I .unbuLanc o ,

This, of cours , would be of

- :3 -

Auotra.Li.a uhe:re .i.or.g stl':J..:l{;hts of c ount.r-y rOGlClc:~ preva.i.L

and whe r-e accidents are pr-ovaf.crrt , e. g. Eyre lIighHay.

I also c:ove1'2d approximately one hundred milc;3 on the v ar i.ous

I'r-c eway systems in a Department vehicle. I feel that the

effort t.r.o J,OS Angeles Authorities is putting into driver

education is of great benefit to a city ,'lith one of the

highest car population ratio in the wor-Ld , It is apparent

that the drivers in Los Angeles must be some of the roost

efficient in the vlorld as accidents are rare in c ompa.rLs on

with the number-s who use these freeHays daily. When such

accidents do occur, an efficient team of operators are qu.lclcLy

on the scene and from their records, the maximum time from

time of report of the accident to the return of normal traffic

flo," ia 42 minutes.

- 4 -

San FranCisco afforded me the opportunity of leoking at

general police work within that city, which comprises

49 square miles, population equivalent to Perth, and it

maintains a police force of 1,800 members. Crime wLt h i.n

the city regions is not of great concern, However , within

the outer Tegions of Fremont, Oakland. and like subuz-bs ,

a 'high crime rate exists and throughout the eity and suburbs

they have nine regional headquarters, (approximately 50 poJ.ice

cars) and they are respcnsible for crime and traffic problems

as distinct. from the high,my patrol, whi.ch only controls

traffic wi t h i.n the American Highway System.

It was po Lnt ed out to me by a senior officer in the San

Francisco Police Headquarters that much of the time of members

of the police force is taken up investigating burglar alarms

within the commercial sector of the ci.ty and they "ere COIl-

s i.dering a very he avy penalty on establishments who did not

take the necessary precautions of swi.tching off their alarms

on entering the bui.I.d Ln-ju , I observed quite a f'ew of these

calls and it vra.s recolll.mended by this officer that if vre have

the same problems in Perth, \1hilst it is still relatively a

[-;mall city, ,Ie shmld take the necessary steps to educate

those respohsible in our commercial sector in assisting the

po.Li.ce by not having to anewe r calls caused by negligence

on their part.

The San :F'rmcisco Police Depar-t.rne n l. prides itself on their

Po.l i.c c 'l'nd.ning Academy and thoy consider they have comparable

courses with those of Hendon .i,n London. To gain entry to

the Academy, it if> ne c e e aar-y [;0 have the mi.n unum r-cqu i r-ement.a

of the High :3cho01 Jhploma. 'I'he i.r- failure rate i.8 very 101-1 anc

the competition vrithin their police force can be measured by

their dedicaLi.on to duty.

- 5 -

Captain En t.e L rscorm,lended that the I'lefc3tern Australian Police

Fo r-ce obtain 8. copy of the Rand Corporation :l.eport which vias

commissioned by the NevT York Police }orce and vhLch makes

many valuabl e recorillllendations for streamlining of police

duties in fuxk'riea. As this Re po r-t is only avai.lable to

p o.l.'ic e forces, I was unable to obtain a copy.

The San Francisco Police Force has adopted one r-eo ommendat f on

for reporting of stolen property and I attach (Appendage 1)

an Inci(lent Report Form. A similar form is also being uo e d

'oy the London Netropolitan Police on a tric.!l bas is, wher-eby

any :)erson who reports stolen goods was given the form to fill

in in detail and the obligation placed on him to give an

accurate des crLp't t on of the stolen property. 'i'he police

do not investigate the alleged stealing until such time as

the form is returned to them by the complainant, and they have

found that this has reduced their Hork very conc i.d e rabIy ,

I feel that we could adopt the same or-oc edur-o in \-!estern

Au.stralia as I feel that eventually the community would realise

it is n e co as ar-y to keep serial numbers and details of thi.ngs

of value vrhich may hr.vc to be traced.

members of our police forcc of investiga:ting the theft of

items vrhjch have not received the necessary security of their

owno r-a ,

- 6 -

Prior to vj.,"itiE[~ 1\1'l'3r:]ca, I r eoe tvod an invitation to

inspect the 3H Company in St. Paul, HhLnesota, wher-e I

sa'l'l possibly the mast 8cientific approach being made to

traffic safety in the world. The research and the testing

of their products leave nothing to be desired in the

setting up of a Transport Safety Centre and Auditorium

where traffic signs, computerisation of traffic lights,

vehicle handling and driver reaction under all types cd

conditions ,lere shown on the screen. Seminars are

regularly hcld in this Centre and it is a credit to the

Company ill,d their dedicated staff. They have also

constructed a test roadway and control centre at a cost

of $750,000, whi.ch allow's for the testing of road signs

from most oountr-Lce of the woz-Ld , wh.i ch are compared with

theil" own old and new products. This centre Ls in an

j.solated area whcre no illumination can interfere wi.th

the headlizhts of the vehicle wh i.ch you are dr-Lv Lng ,

The testhig of the various road s:i..gns takes place

behlcen 10 p i m, and midnight, therefore you are abl.e to

evaluate the quality of the various products on display.

Their high grade retro-reflective signs are a distinct

advantage over their other product, wh.i.ch i8 standard

engineering reflective material and if we compared the

standard stop signs as used in H.A. as against 1/6 inches

smaller, covered with retro-reflective material, the

comparison is that the latter can been seen at a distilllce of

1700 feet as against the standard engineering reflective material

just visible at beh:een 800 to 1000 fect. 'I'ho retro­

refleetivG rlator:Lal is thouGht to be the most super-Lor-

sign beille; used in many countries of the vror-Ld today.

I am firmly convinced tho,t all our traffic si!,';n G in

country areas should be r ep.Laced by this mat e r La.L and if

our Helin Roads Bn{~ineer.s and :3a:fcty Counc.iL Offic(~rs have

not oocn thorn tested to "hovl the bcmef:i.ts of this mat.cr i.al.,

I 1dou.ld r-e c omnond t.h.rt the:;/" ob t.o.Ln 881:1plc sj_c;n :Cor

cOlup:;u,"ison "lith tl10r>c He ar-c oui-r-errt Lv 11.:35.1.1,:;&

.- 7 -

Ultimately, I feel that all our road '3i,c:;ns througll.cut

':loGtern Aust r-a.l.t.a Ghould be conver-teC. by the UGe of thi,G

material, ,,(I:lich hars been thoroughly t.e s t cd under alJ.

o ond i, tions for a period of ten years, and Ls being wLd e.Ly

used in America and Europe wher-e they have dismantled

illwninated signs and replaced them I'Tith thede new modern

signs to overcome the energy crisis that the'38 countries

are facing. Although I mention stop signs only, all

overhead and directional signs have al;;o been converted.

Another product of this Company is bicycle tyres wh.i ch

have a strip of retro-roflective material weLded into each

side of the tyre and the cycle can be safely ridden at night

\Vithout lights, as the lights of a car pick up at a great

distance these revolving ribbons of light on the tyres.

A:':l0",;"tler product is an oil absorbing material wh i.ch can be

e'uc cc s s I'uLLy used whc r e oil spillages occur and in quick

time w oul d make '<;h8 road1·ray quite safe to vehicular traffic.

v!hen one Le aves the :::m TosthJg Centre you cannot but help

acknowledge a most r cmar-kabLe contribution that iG being

made to road and traffic safety for the benefit c f manlc.i.nd,

I realise that cost is a factor, howeve r if I'Te moauur-e cost

as against human suffering, and if vte should concentrate

more on using the best materials avatLabLo , then I believe

these productG to be that.

In Vancouver I had the privilege of meeLd.n.t David :)chreck,

;.rho is llcgJ+on8."L I,Lllt::tgCl' or Vancouver He30lLJ..~es Board, uhen..

we kd a f'u.Ll, eli sCLls8ion on the programmes initiated by

their Department as our Department of Coinmun.i.by

Helfare. Hany of their services to the c ommun.i ty are of

a like nature to that of our Department, but they appeared

to have a larger annual budget than ours and many more officers

able to concentrate on specialised case loads than is the case

1ITith our Social Horkers in 'Ilestern Australia.

A significant change in the operations has been the phasing

out of'their laxger type detention establishments whLch

appear to be of the size of our "River Bank". They are

nOH building centres to cater for be twe cn 75 and 80 young

people for a max.i mum per i.od of up to go days. It has been

the expor-Lcnco that no good purpose is being served in caterinl';

for several hundred people in a large institution as :Lt d09E'

no t assist in their rehabilitation and acts as a ueterrent

in re-entering society and becoming a useful citj.zen.

'l'h e i.r legislation )rovides that the Community Services Officera

have power- to direct, under supervision of probation officers,

offenders \'Tho they consider should not appear before the court

for a total period of thirty hours to clean wLndowo and yards,

gather litter and any other wo r-k whLch wouI d be of value to

the commum.ty , This pr-ograrnmc h:::.8 been tested and has proved

most successful and has rcau.Lt.ed in 30';~ of minor offenders

not having to appear before the courts.

I realise the success of our panel system in dealing wi.bh

first offenders, but this community service work could be

investigated by our Department \d.th a v i.ow to implementing

if thought des Lr-ab.Lo ,

- 9 -

Another nov ~)ro::,;r'llnme bein!~ initiated in Vancouver is

vrLere juv(,n~..lc shop lifters are directed. acoompani od by

one of the parents, to under-Lake a pr o.n-ammc of training vrhLch

"ill cover either ar-t s and crafts, wood wor-k, metal vlork.

we.LdLng , ladies hairdressing, dress making etc. 'I'he

Department has carr.ied out extensive research and they have

high hopes of its success as they consider it has a tvro-fold

advantage in bringing the parent and ·child together at least

once or t';Iice a Heek and an added interest wh i.ch could pcssibly

create a better family/cclillmuUty relation~hip.

Mr. Schreck, who is a comparatively young man w.i.t.h very sound

ideas, a eeraed most interested in the ,wrk of our Community

\'IeJ.fare Depo.r-trnorrt and wou Ld weLcome interchange of ideas,

which I feel wouLd be of benefit both to the Vancouver

Reaour-c ee Board and our Department. He has supplied me wi t h some

publications wh.i.ch I vlill foruard to the Commun.ihy h'elfare for

their consideration and, likevlise, I ,-lill f'o rwa.cd to the

Attorney General a large report of the Canadian Royal Commission

into "The Pam i Ly and the Courts in the Community". This

Roya.L Con:::ni,Jsion, uhich is referred to as "The 13ergeron

Report", has been reporting/the views of the community prior

to the introduction of legisJ.ation on similar lines to our

Family Dm, Act.

H.eport No.4, wh.i.ch decus wLt h most aspects of the Viestern_

Australian Fanri.Ly Lair Act, Report No.5, wh.i ch deals ,-lith

Property Settlement and Report No.6; vhtch deals "ith

Maintenance, can be obtained by the Attorney General if he

so deGires~

thro Vanc ouve r- TI 220u r c e s Board has a staff of 1800 social

\-lol'ker3 and has :cegionalised officers much the same as ours.

HOVlever, they have a greater degree of autonomy than exists in

'ilestern Australia and are a111e to make cheque payments fro!'!

each centre for emergency care. I feel this has been a drav-r-

'bac k to a;~~r;j.sting people in clil2rgcnt need in ~'1C'8tcrn Itll;T~;_r:_11ia

- 10 -

Be given the necessary authority to act in the case of

emergency.

lhth the cho,nGe of Government in Bri:t;ish Co.Lu.uo i.a , thc::re

is a great deal, of uncertainty as to the future of Social

Security. The new Government has set about streamlining

services whi.ch it is felt '.rill more than add. to the cost

of Social 8ecurity and ~llpai.rjng benefits to the recipients

of those services.

As an example, the vork of the Regional Citizens Panel,

consisting of 23 people on each panel, was to direct or

advise the Department and Regional Officers of their pro­

grammes. This has been discontinued and the grass-root

level of community involvement has been destroyed. In

place of this Panel they have appointed a Board of seven

members who now direct operations of the whole of the

Province of BrHish COI1JJllbia. This is felt to be a retro-­

grade step and is denying regions of local participation

and resulting in deterioration of services 0

In v Lew of the valuable assistance of the 23 member panel

in the regions of British ColLunbia and the advanced ])1'0­

gr~nmes in community velfare in most ether courrtries of

t.ho wor-Ld , and the acceptance of citizen involvement at

a local level, I wouLd suggest that our- De]J8.rtment of

Community \"lelfare should-give consideration to setting

up panels of interested people on a local level in both

metropolitan suburbs and some country centres on a trial

basis. I feel that He should gain from the success of

Canada, America, Great BritaDl and the Scandinavian

countries in the contribution that the local coruraunt t~,

involvement has placed in progrrunmcs of human relaticns.

- 11 -

\lhen I visited Oslo I found a crell advanced regionalis(od

system of community car-e that performed many of the duties

undertaken by our Department. Houever, again they did not

suffer the budgettry c ondI t Lorcs ths,t we experience in

vlestern Australia. I was advised that there are regular

meetings vith neighbouring countries of S",eden, Germany

Denmark etc. whor-e an interchange of ideas and problems

concerning the various countries are quickly sorted out.

It appears that their programmes are identical. They have,

from t~ne to tline, an interchange of officers and indeed

Non"ay has officers pennanently stationed in Denmark to

intercept escapees from Nonray.

Uhilst in Oslo I also visited a very grand behaviour

assessment centre. ThiEl 'tlaS unlike Longmore in as much as

it was pu.r-eLy an open institution and staffed by s ome of

the professional brains in Norway , They appear to be the

leaders in this field of assessment and I think a professional

officer of our Department in this field should be given Em

opportunity of visiting and evaluating their programmes.

\D.wreas in I'lestern Australia our community relations officers

involve themselves mainly in ground troz-k required within "ehe

local authority, I found an enlightened appr-oach to thi8

aspect of the wor-k in Oslo. They employ many female trained

social workers, many of whom have had experience in lunerica

and England.. They usually ·'lork in pairs and are supplied

vlith a KombL bus and involve themselves "rith youth in groups

on street corners or wher-ever- they can find them. They

make ava.i.LabLe the use of the vehicle, take them to various

centres of activity but they do not act as policemen and

they have no case load as community welfare officers (other

than who r c drug[l are involved). I felt that here lie wer-e

finding concern by the Department in involvement wh.i.ch ,

according to the social \lorkers, has had a marked imp]~ovement

0::1 tho 'JchzLviour and :Lel3Der:.od court appearances in 1.112,t

c.ity, Pos},.l:Lbly 1'TO could give consideration. to D. pro{!,.1:'PllW1G

- 12 -

of trd.s natnu-o ,

I can:::8:l1cJ l~lY visit to S,-[edcn mainly becauae no

arrangements had been wade for me through the British

High Commis:doners Office 2..1'1d in vim, cf the advice I

had received it vrould have been a repetition of ,-[hat

is taking p.l.ace in Norway ,

-- n -

I visited 3eot1"nd Yard on the 7th, 8th and 9th JuJ.y.

It ,mE' indeed a }H'ivilege and wouLd be, l'I:Lthout doubt,

the :lighlight of the 8tudy Tcmr.

I ,'IUS r-e ce i.ved by the Assistant Commissioner and from the

outset you could feel the ,Jarmth and the desire of the

Commis s ioner, and, other ten Commanders and their officers,

to assist and explain quite frankly all the operations of

their various department$. I had the opportunity of seeing

most departments, nameLy Finger Printing, Criminal Hecords,

Crime Squads, Computer Ro om, C. LD. Policies and Procedures,

Drug' Detection, Illegal Llmigrationand Intelligence generalJ.y.

I received "Police Training Programmes", "Judges RuJ.es of Court",

"Annual Ileport from the j'ijetropolitan Police Foree" and many

other a.ns t ruct j on booklets and brochures wh ich I consider

wi.L]. be of value to our \'testern Australian Police For-ce ,

I th:i.nk it wcuLd be vr-ong to make a l'iTitten report on the

information supplied. to me whi.ch I consider to be top secret

and, therefore, should not become the property of anyone other

than our Commissioner of PoJ.ice or his officers who may be

able to benefit from l"hat I I'TaS able to v i.ew ,

The efficient and casual approach of Scotland Yard haD to

be seen to be b e.Li.eved , I>lost officers we r-e on duty wh.en I

arrived at 9.00 a.m., and many were still there "hen I left

at 8 0 I clock at night. Y,10st other courrt r-Les , as lTell as

Yhlitary Intelligence, use the facilities of Scotland Yard

and the Hendon Detective Training Centre to brj,ng their senior

officers up to date 1'Tith new pr-ocedur-es that are being

continually developed at the Yard.

Other 3tates of Aus t r-a.l i.a have sent deteetives to b o t h

~kotlanc', Yard and Hendon 'J' r a i n i n g Centre to gain experience

in the latest mct hodu in the detect:Lon of crime. I feel that

we are not doing justice to our ovn Police Fo r-c e by not pa1'­

t:i.ci})at:i,ng Ln this h:i.ghly oduc a.t Lona.L programme -rh Lch couJ.d

- 14 -

stimulate our .Police Fo r c o in new methods at a very Low

cost. 'I'h i o i,3 not a reflection in 2IJ.Y l"!fey on the 1101'1: carTi,::d

out by the l1es cern Aus t r-a.Lian Police I'0rce, but I feel tlmt

up and coming officers, wh os e 1"Iork shows promise, should be

sent to "sain this v o.Luab.Le experience Hhich they could then

impart to other members of the force 1'lith whom they woz-lr,

Although our Training Academy has stood the test of time

and has turned out many fine officers 1'Tho have left their

mark of distinction in the prevention of crime over the years,

it wouLd appear to me that we are training and maintaining our

po'LLc e force on the cheap. I wouLd hope that in the near

future 11e wou Ld be able to establish a "live-in" Academy such

as applies at Hendon. Possibly this could be established on

a trial basis at the Noalimba Imm.igration Centre at Bateman,

1"Ihich I believe to be vacant for the greater part of the year.

The Advanced Detective Training School at Hendon contains a

complete museum of all aspects of crime wh i ch could reasonably

be expected to be encountered in the United Kingdom. Closed

circuit televir3ion is used extensively and detectives enter

into a progrmnme vrhlch could be likened to "Its Academic" wh.i ch vre

see on our local television. 'I'hey compete agaim'Jt each other

on all matters of 121'T and crime detection and are awar-dcd marks

on the G1J1S11erS they supply.

'I'he Cadet !\.cademy wh i.ch is also a "live-in", contains both male

and female and with the coming into operation of the Non

Discrimination of Sexes Act wh i ch operates in Great Britain,

there has been a keen demand by fem:lies to enter into police

training. According to the officers in charge, this is Horking

very successfully and no problems have aricen and females have

become an integr,Ll part of the Hetropo]j.tan Police Po cc e ,

1'lhen one compares facili tiC's, the cost .i.nvo.Lved , the nature of

the accommodat Lon and the amenities provided at Hendon, a person

c omi.n j from ':lestern .\ustril~ia c ompar i.n; O1).r llleC{;re faeilities

against tl1()irr.:, m.ilco s ono Honder hO\1 \H) ever get people -to join

our police force. I t rust that jn the fub,l.re v o can lift 'our

standm:ds and do justice to those

- 15 -

In '.'Jest Be r-Li.n , t.hanks to the ar:r-angemc)nts made by the

of Poreign Affairs'J I vraf3 able to ~:j~)end ti:JO days

at the West Berlin Poliee lorce. IV[oc~t o:f thi:J time was

concentrated on traffic mat.t e r-s and iJ; should be recalled that

Hitler constructed the first aut ob ahn or freellay in the v or-Ld ,

They 2.1130 brought into operation 53 years 2"gO the fh'st set of

traffic lights vrh.f.ch was operated by a clock and t~lis uas in

the doys of tram cars.

The traffic control system and computerisation of the 960

sets of traffic li:ghts Vii thin their city is totally controlled

through sub-computers into a central computer system and from

this centre any set of lights can be progrmmned to suit the

needs on that highlray at any given point of the day. Every

set of lights has a telephone set attached to it in a box

wher-o traffic polieemen can request the ewLtehi,ng off of lights

in C8-'3e of aceident or for some other reason. Lilcevlise, any

malfunction of lights shoVis on the master board and the computcr

ind,icates the reason for the ma.Lf'unc t Lon , They justly claim

that this is the most sophisticated system in the w or.l.d and

although they are still installing s omc 80 sets of li:;hts per

year, they feel that the cost involved is 1Vortln'Thile b ccauco

of the great benefit in that o e r Lou a accidents ar-e rare ,Lid

minor ace i,clentr; are fel'l on their hi:;h1Tays.

At many .i.nt e r-oe c t i.ons whez-e light3 are installed they have

installed a similar traffic light standard on which is placed

a black box wh.i ch holds a camera vrhich c.vn t akc 210 sets of

photos of mot or Le t s wh o eross or enter the interseetion acai.nst

the reel light. 'I'ho camera is activated by an o.Leot r Lc a.L

Lmpu.Ls c Hire wh.ich is embedded in the r-o aduay , This is

simulated Hith the red traffic light and if a vehicle crosses

the Lmpu.Ls e Hire .04 of a c3econd after the li::;ht turn3 red,

t ho oaucr a talce,; t\lophotographs of the of'f'e nd Lng ear.

'I'he phot on me:.WUl'e the time in a decimal point of a second, the

date and exact time of the offence 1-!hich is fed from an

eleotric 24 hour clock.

-16 -

lj_ght, an automatic flasfLU_Ght comes LDtO opc:;-ation and,

therefore, the c,J,ll1cras can operate for ~)/i, hours per day.

I merrt Lon t.hu t many of the:38 standards and boxes 21.1"8 cr-e c t od ,

however the tr:Jffic authorities 1)O~~8e;3~j only five cam er-as ..

It is the sight of these blade boxes t uat act as a deterrent

to cross against the ligl1.ts, as drivers are unawar-e if the

camera is in the box or not. The authoritiee claim that

this dov i.o e has had a remarkable effect on the accident rate

at traffic lights and on general driving behaviour of the

motorist. I wou.Ld hope that if CLYly of our nOcld Traffic

JSngineers are visiting overseas, Vlest Berlin should be a "must"

to be included on their itinerary to gain ],;:nm;ledge of up-to­

date traffic control.

A nev safety helmet for motorcycle patrolmen 'dcu3 currently

being tested Hhilst I was there. The holmets have internal

microphones and ear phones vrh i.ch are connected to a radio set

wh i.ch is positioned on the top of the petrol tank of the

mot orcycle. They cLa un this has been a maj or advance in

communications from motorcycle to control room. The motorcycles

they are us j_ug are BI1vJ R500-5. They are not the most pOllerful

machines m..nutactui-cd by J3HVI, but are considered t'J te [J"c.eqi)_atB

for the Hark that they perform. They say that thsir b i.lr e a

never w oar- out and are sold because of their age and are

cons:Ldered to be the "Ro.LLs Hoyce" of motorcycles. Our Hoad

Traffic Authority may care to investigate their 3uitab:Llj_ty

for iJest ern Australian co.nd i. tions.

Hotorists in \'!est Berlin are dcalt ,'lith more democraticcllly

than vrhat they are in \lesternC11:3tralia, as the only accepted

manner of testj_ng those charged \lith drivj,ng under the j_nfluence

of alcohol is by the blood test. 'l'hcr-e is no standard Get of

pona'l. tj_eG for such offences. '1'he fine and suapcnc t on of licence

is determ:Lncd by the seriousness of thc accident or the offence.

ir

\·r11icll i..-~ :3:L]J1Lll,,;.tcd. to

o omce into operat i.on alL;. take's a phot o OT,' the v chi.cLo , on

the v eh.icLe ,

~~h8Y af3]'(E.'d ab out our cy st e:n in \Ie3tern AU~3tr;.ilia anfl 'dhcn.

r8adj_l"lC;? they e r e clJIID.Z{::d and , like1·rig8, they

a -photograph

of lli,'1

thu disti.nct -f(':el:Lng th(:lt ·they th(iuC!.llt th.at l..1e V101:'8 dictatorial

in our D..)pr·oa.c:h to trafLLc control. Houever" I ex.pl :tined

J3GrJ.:L:n, i:'i..nd the n(;Ce;~3S ty to t(·:lce BtrOl1t:S' action. to C().rl,trol

the (·J.ceid.ent r:J.te on the ~r'oada",

wor.Ld , 011 ~:--e.tiJ.rY.l,ing horae and. tr~t.·\;r811j_nG on our 118:'1}Y con-

- 18 -

AltYI.ough not j.n:;or'I)Oratccl in my Study T()U~Cf I \,ro·Llld be

r-cmi.s s if I di,J not 8.cl(no,:~:"L8d(~e the gr 0 at· vrork th::~_t is

being pe:rforrnecL lJy OU:l' \'Testern ju:tstra1i::ul Agent General,

Hr. J. Richards, in Lorid on ,

On a prior vi,ei_t to Londcn in 1975, I found Hr. Richards

eager to wo r-k and promote \'Jestern Australia. Twelve months

later I was pleased to discuss kith him the vror-k that he

had performec1 and the enthusiastic manner in wni.ch he is

selling \Iestern Australia, and the atmosphere he has created

in our office. I wou l d par-t LcuLa r-Ly like to thank him for

the service he and his staff rendered to me. I trust that

he v1i11 r-erna i,n in London for many years as I feel \'l.A. I-Till

benefit by his being there.

Another pleasurable occasion vias calling on Sir Hobin

Vanc1erfel t, Secretary- Cene r a.L of t he Cormnomrealth Parliament8.l'Y

Association :\n Londor., Hy vis:.; t coincided wi.th the Roc eptLon

being given to members r c t ur-n.i.nj tram the C.P.A. Conference

in Canada. The Han. J. Tozer, H.L.C., wae present, as \lere

several other ':!estern Australian Federal Jl1embers.

In d i.s cuao Lon wii.h Sir Rob i.n , who Vias looking forward to

the proposed conference to be held in Perth in 1979, Vie

canvassed rony other matte:cs effecting the C.P.A. :\.11 coun-crjeiJ

I had v:\.sited.

Eeg1'etfully, 1'11'. P.O-. i·jolloy, Secretary of the U.K. Branch

Has abs cnt from London and I VlaS unable to r cneu ac qua.Irrt anoe

with him.

acpects of my ~)Lvdy 'lou r-, aid 1 t: :-c<d: it vJill be acce"ted

in its brevi.Ly ,

member of the C.T.A. or JCiembers of Par1iament or officers

of Government Departments icny aspect of the tour and supply

any further information they may desire.

I wisb to extend my grateful thanks for the assistance and

arrangements of my Study Tour to :

111'. J. 13. Roberts, N.J3.,~. ,E.D. ,J.. , Secretary, C.1'.A.\'lestern Australian Branch.

Sir Robi.n Vanderfelt, EJecn:tary-General, C.l).1\., London.

Nr. Ian n. Horne, Cl.C., Hon. Secreta:!y, C.1'.A., British COhUilbi2..

The Unit e d ;3tiites Information Serv:ico, Perth.

Austral .ian Depa:!~·tmc!lt o f Eoreign Affairs r Canber-r-a:

Mr , J. lUchardn, \':estern .~:Qstralian Agent General, London.

Hr. Vi. BUITO\·rs, Agent General's Office, London.

Assistant Commi.ooi.onor , J.~ S. Hilson, Scotland Yard ,

Capt~ H. D. Hartmari.ng, Police ])epartment, West Berlj.n.

Nr. Kevin M. Carton, Director of Sales, Sheraton-Perth Hotel.

Hon. R. J. L. \'lilliams, B.A., H.:L.C., Perth.

Mi~JS J. Fe l.Lowa, Permer Secretary, Parliament House, Perth

Miss R. Shepherd, Secretary, Electorate Office, Hilton.

RELEASEO

YES Nq.....,

OCQJPATION

::::-:-::=:;:::;:---------------c==.=-=:::-----------r;~=-:;:::;-;=;::__--____,----iON TnEATEO

~R INFORMATION

FAME (LAST, FIRST, MIDDLE)

L-DENCE AOO;C:R'"ES"'SOC-::&-'P"'H"O""N"'E-'N"U"M"B"E"'R:---'

IRELEASED

.~~~~~

EYE COLOR~GRY ·SANOY 'BLI, 'GLU ·8RO ·GRY -GRN

'BALD 'WHI 'UN~ ·HAZ ·l\1t1R ·M1XFD ."UN'7K~'==d-:;::::-;-=;;=--,,"n-==c--;=:-=-;-;T':;C;;;-=='--,"'B~OOK!C1TESECTION WHERE 110GKEi'~H<!C\TE APpnuVED(LAST N,GME & I.O.1I(50C. SEC.; OP. LIe.; AHMY; E~

::-A: lNFORMATc:,O"N-;---.l-----------·------~--- -- ~t.f~------:-

NO

n-:ECEl~Eo--

YES NO

SEC.; OP. LIe.; An.M';'; ETC.)

;;ON TREATED----'0------------

4 D""VI-A"LE./s'rHIPPI,o/'wR,CCKED 7 NOT OR1VFABLE!WRECKEDI?IVCABLE!STRIPPED 5 NOT or~iVEABLE 8 NOY DRlVEAOLr./sn'1.IPPEO!\\'r~ECKEO

R:V[ABLE!WHECKED G NOT OHlVEA13LE!STRIPPED 9 CONJITION UN1,NOWN

:::RI"I~-OHMATION

reverse SFPD 378 (5/75)

1'Ht~ non. It 'rHOMPSON J/iEIE!3ER OF 'rHE IIEGISLNl'IVE COUNCIL 01" vn.!~STlDnN AUSTHALIA

VISI'r TO THE MD;1'IWPOLIT1,lJ 1'o;J10E lD~ADQuAi"TEns, NEVI SCOTLAIW YARD 7 &: 8 JULY, 1976

Call at the main (DroM",],,) crrt.r sncs to tIcw ';00';1,,11<'. Yard at 10.;.Of'<:1 on both dr.toGand ask for Mr IV F Maxfield., the Reception Offi 001'.

10.30 11.00 Received by Mr J S Wilson - Ansistant Oommi.aei oner (Cri.mo)

I·

Communder G Lambourno - C3 Branch - I"ingorprints

--:..:..(- --

11.00

14.00

12.30

14.00

16;00

Lunch

Commandor'

in') i i i-

"'J-"( ! .'r.: >"C~.Bre.nch)- Criminal Rocoro Offico

'{' tl<_".~ ,""_~~~ ~S~ _

17.00 Call at the Home Offioe, Whitohall, London SVl1.To meet Lord. Harris of Orsonwich - Ministor of State.

(/CoITunn.ncior J Morrinon - CI Br-anch - Cri.mo Squad s

'/(;ornmal1fIer J Car;o - C5 Br-anch - CID Policy nnd Pr-o ooduro »

", .. Dotc ot i vo Chiof Suporintonciont P Gittus - C11 J:l':,.wlt ­"~,Contrn.l Drugs anrl. lllogal Immigration InLoll:i;,(\no;, Un',.\;.

j •.;i/:;C.1/ I

'/ d ..U.".1 to f -<.1-:...

Druv,s

Lun ob ;'!Z.f?1\

C1 Brlll1cf: -

10·30 11·30

11.30 12.30

12.3° 14.00

11; .00 15.00

15.00 16.00

Tho subjects of d Lecunnions during tho v i n i, t wil.l bo as follows

(a)(bi( c)(d)( 0)

Comput e r i.ua.t i.on ami fn.enilllile tr<:lnr;nd.sGion 0,1" finGerprintsCcmpu t o r-LnatLou of C'rim inn} R.ocor(l~;t1 Micr()f:Llmin{~' of P.rl1JH.JJudgoD Ru l o o , HOfJ-trictions app l icd. to poLi.co opo r at i onn

Serious Cri.mo de t.e c ti on Dank Hobbori9D, CrimoD of V501el1co, et.c ,Current trondll in Jhcrcoticr; di.rs t ri.uut i.on , Motho(ln of Do t.o c t.ion

Po li.co DopartmontHomo Offico

Juno 1976

pOL/76 1235/1/14