After English, the language spoken by most members of Victoria police is Hindi.
And Punjabi isn’t far behind.
Going by the composition of its staff, Victoria Police is a truly multicultural organisation. During the recently-concluded Cultural Diversity Week in Victoria (March 16-24), Victoria Police released a video celebrating their cultural diversity.
In the wake of the Christchurch attacks in March, upholding not only the nature of their own multicultural and multifaith composition, but also that of the state of Victoria, Victoria Police has beefed up its presence in public places like train stations and busy streets.
Data provided by the Crime Statistics Agency indicates that increased police presence is the need of the hour in Victoria, with prejudicially-motivated crime in the state having nearly tripled since 2014.
Commander Stuart Bateson from the Priority Communities Division of Victoria Police spoke with SBS Punjabi about the cultural diversity of the police force and how they are ever more vigilant after the Christchurch attacks. He also touches upon how the force is keeping a close watch on hate speech on social media.
“I’m particularly proud that our organisation is continuing on its quest to be representative of the community which we serve... our employees come from 114 countries.
"We have 90 languages spoken by our employees, 66 religions are followed. In fact, our top non-English language spoken is Hindi. Twelve per cent of our employees are born overseas and 469 of our employees are born in India,” says Commander Bateson.
Although it isn’t mandatory for members of the staff to declare whether they can speak a language other than English, 192 have voluntarily declared that they speak Hindi, which accounts for the language spoken by most staffers after English. This includes 26 police officers, 110 Protective Services Officers, four recruits and 52 Victorian public servants.
Punjabi is close behind with 161 employees of the state police force declaring that they speak the language, which according to the 2016 census data released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics, is amongst the fastest growing languages of the country.
Commander Bateson also adds that the highest rank in Victoria Police held by an officer of Indian origin is VPS 7, or the equivalent of a superintendent in police, which he says is a “senior leadership position within Victoria Police leading strategic reform across our operating environment.”
Regarding the enhanced presence and preparedness of Victoria Police after the Christchurch attacks, Commander Bateson says that the police force “worked really closely with the Muslim community” after the attacks.
According to data supplied by Crime Statistics Agency, cases reported against prejudicially-motivated crime (driven by sexual orientation, mental/physical disability, and racial, religious, ethnic or political beliefs) in Victoria stood at 429 in 2014. This figure rose to 1297 in 2015 but registered a meagre fall to 1235 in 2016. In 2017, a significant fall was seen with the figure going as low as 749, only to rise steeply to 1163 in 2018.
He also highlights the increase in hate speech on social media due to the anonymity it provides to people and amplifies the divisive narrative. “Social media gives people the courage to say things they would never say if they were standing face-to-face, to a member of the community,” adding that many incidents go unreported and he’d “like to see it reported to Victoria Police.”
Public transport in Victoria has seen a greater presence of police officers after the Christchurch attacks. Source: Supplied
To listen to this interview in English, click on the player at the top of the page.
