Racist Police E-mails In Australia Lead To Investigation, Suicide

MELBOURNE, Australia — As many as 100 Australian police were being investigated Thursday over racist e-mails circulated in an internal police e-mail system, a scandal that cost the life of one officer.

The police ethical standards department found multiple e-mails that were too shocking to be released publicly, Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said.

He would not confirm the subject matter of the e-mails but said some were "extremely serious, some are offensive," and he raised questions about some officers' suitability to their jobs in Victoria state.

"If the Victorian public were aware of the nature of that material, I believe that it's of such a nature that it would cause significant concern," Overland told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Overland said those who introduced the material into the police e-mail system would be fired.

He also confirmed a police officer who committed suicide earlier this week was one of two given notification their jobs were on the line.

Tony Vangorp, 47, tendered his resignation Friday and returned to the police station Monday night and shot himself.

"A tragic event has happened," Overland said. "It's deeply, deeply regrettable and we need to learn the lessons but it doesn't mean that I can or should avoid my responsibilities around the good order and governance of Victoria Police."

The Age newspaper reported the investigation centered on a graphic image of a non-Caucasian man being tortured. It said computer experts tracking the e-mails found that several police had added further racist comments before forwarding the image.

The report said those who forwarded it would be cautioned, while those who added comments faced more serious discipline.

Overland refused to confirm whether the e-mails targeted Indians or Africans, two minority groups that have criticized police conduct in recent months.

Overland last week acknowledged a small minority of police officers were racist, in response to a report that said police suffered from a "culture of racism."

Comments

[overview]

10:46 AM on 03/29/2010

What happened to the Australian apologists, the ones who were dancing with glee when they found a couple of murders of Indians were by Indians? What's your excuse now, oi oi oi?

[sonoffestus]

01:15 AM on 03/26/2010

Racism is a world wide problem. Only education and the death of old racists will be the solution.
It will take a long time. Rats are hard to eradicate.

[Jezebelle75]

03:06 AM on 03/26/2010

Sadly, I think it will remain an ongoing problem. Old racists beget new racists, and the cycle continues. There are those who rise above the bigoted influence, but even if 50% do, there is also the other 50% who don't. Something really drastic will have to happen before we all start seeing one another as human beings rather than a race. It's unfortunate.

[SiberianRat]

06:53 AM on 03/26/2010

"Rats are hard to eradicate." Um...excuse me? At least rats aren't racists. They're very sweet if you get to know one.

[deluk]

09:52 AM on 03/26/2010

Are you sure rats aren't racist? I understand that Russian rats feel particularly threatened by the multiculturalism that they believe exists outside their territory.

[Lulubelle1]

11:37 PM on 03/25/2010

The officer who committed suicide may have at least had a moment of shame and regret over his behavior.

Meanwhile, the worst are probably still alive and well, going to work every day.

Those who are waiting to see if they can hang onto their positions despite tacit or overt approval of such despicable attitudes need to be rooted out for the safety of any citizens over whom they might be able to assert authority.

It's a tragedy that we are still dealing with these attitudes that dehumanize and demonize our fellow man. I don't get it. I just don't. And it saddens me.

[st0ked]

12:09 AM on 03/26/2010

Lulubelle1, I feel like that myself on many days. That such attitudes are not as prevalent as they once were is cold comfort on those days , I know . Keep your head up , you are not alone .

[Kandahar]

11:28 PM on 03/25/2010

Its funny The lefties of Ozzies are actually racists.

[GSR]

08:07 AM on 03/26/2010

You know nothing about the Australian left Kandahar. But try this for size.

I joined the anti apartied movement in Sydney in 1971 at age 14. I became a member of the ANC and was in Lusaka in 1985 with ANC president Oliver Tambo and chief information officer Thabo Mbeki. it was at the height of Umkhonto we Sizwe's soft target policy and the South African special forces had easy access to Zambia. They blew the solid steel gate off our compound when I was there.
My son in year 6 last year wrote a speech for his class on the straight line between MLK's dream and President Obama's election. So impressed was his school that he was asked to travel to the senior school to deliver the speech to the entire student and academic body.
In the same year I took him to RSA to visit Robben Island and walked with him through the streets of Soweto. We visited the The Hector Pieterson memorial. My son is the same age as Hector when he died.

My son has been taught not to resort to violence but if a racist raises his head above the parapet to metaphorically kick it in.
I invite you to review my posts here, where you'll see that racism is a major interest of mine.
I'll tell you about my work in Australian racial politics after you've told me what you have done for the cause Kandahar..

[OBAMAMOI]

11:00 PM on 03/25/2010

Aboriginals are not considered as Australians, most of them live in isolation and in abject poverty . Their only solace is alcohol or petrol sniffing ....Abut 90% live far away from all the big cities as White Australians are very embarrased by their presence.

The constitution itself has a lot to be desired, Its only in 1968 or so Aboriginals were included in the Australian census as their constitution prohibited it since 1900 or so . Only in 1975 did the constitution allowed Aboriginals to vote. check it out your self via google

In 2007 the conservative government ( Bush 2' friends) desperate to hold onto power ,hypocritically used the Aboriginals as a way to gain votes by suspending the Racial discrimination Act ( a treaty to the international convention for human rights) in order to tackle the 250yrs white invasion consequences of alcohol/ drug abuse that was introduce to finally wipe out the "black" populace
Sadly the current labour government still adopts this policy!!!

Most aboriginals ( probably about 0.0001%) you see on Aust TV are almost as white as the Anglos.

[blutigeroo]

12:29 AM on 03/26/2010

Aboriginals are considered Australians--they are called "the first Australians". 90%? Where did you pull that one from? Between 30-40% of Indigenous people live in urban centers.

[tenderlung]

02:15 AM on 03/26/2010

While you're correct that there are huge problems with the treatment of Aboriginals in Australia, your post includes a fairly basic misunderstanding about why there are many Aboriginals living in remote outback communities. This is actually because these are the sites of their ancestral homes. Aboriginal culture emphasises a sacred connection to the land and many (particularly older) Aboriginal people do not want to leave their ancestral land and move into the city. It makes it difficult to efficiently deliver goods and services to the communities as they are so remote (when an Australian talks about something being remote, we're talking days from the nearest small town) so unfortunately most of the time the government doesn't really bother, or their efforts are woefully inadequate. But while that sucks, it would also be pretty terrible to force these communities out of their homes and into the cities, which is part of what the Stolen Generation policies tried to accomplish.

The problems with alcohol and petrol sniffing etc are exacerbated by the isolation of the communities as there is no work and not really anything to do all day. Alcoholism and drug abuse are big problems in rural Australia generally, but are highly publicised when it comes to Aboriginal communities because, like you said, it's a way for politicians to win votes.

[OBAMAMOI]

10:48 PM on 03/25/2010

Oh yes, Its well and alive in Australia

especially with the police .....

Non caucasians are called Immigrants and Caucasians esp from Anglo background are deemed Australians

[Progressneeded]

09:00 PM on 03/25/2010

Not that Wikipedia is a great resource, but according to it, "The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia from 1901 to 1973. The end of the White Australia policy came in 1975." So it would make sense that there is a high level of racism still in existence there.

[hereticalthought1]

09:15 PM on 03/25/2010

White Australians also stole about 100K Aboriginal children from their homes to raise them by white parents and indoctrinate them .This stretched from 1910s-1970's. The Australian government has recently apologized for this. Just google "Stolen generations" and it'll come up

[GSR]

09:16 PM on 03/25/2010

No not quite. The White Australia Policy was administered by regulation rather than legislation and to all intents and purposes was disposed of in the 60's In 1972 a left wing government came to power after 23 straight years of conservative rule. So from early 1973 it was officially discarded.
1975 was the year that Federal Parliament passed the Racial Discrimination Act.
The act has been strengthened through amendments over the last 35 years.

There should be a way of quantifying the level of racism in one society compared to another and if anyone has the data please post it. However Sydney and Melbourne are both about one third Asian and Australia does have a humane refugee policy.

[GSR]

08:53 PM on 03/25/2010

The racism displayed by the Victorian Police is probably as much an institutional problem as a societal one. The fact that it was passed to 100 policemen via internal emails before it was reported is bad enough. That any of the police officers who dealt with the emails thought it was a safe practice to do so, makes it so much worse.
I believe that Institutional camaraderie within police departments is more dangerous to society than general institutional mistrust and division.
The accused will be subject to prosecution under the Racial Vilification provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975. (This law does deal with internet publication) This is Federal law and I hope any charges arising from the vilification will be handled by Federal Police. I don't trust any Australian police department to investigate and prosecute its own members.

It's impossible to legislate against racism in the community but it is possible to prosecute public servants for racist behavior especially when their work is at the pointy end of civility maintenance. I feel sorry for the policeman who chose suicide to avoid prosecution but it is essential that the full weight of the Racial Discrimination Act be brought to force against the perpetrators.

[dbdzen]

07:22 PM on 03/25/2010

Hundreds of thousands of South Africans who didn't want to live under majority rule have moved to Australia since 1990 when Mandela was freed. I wouldn't be surprised at all if a meaningful proportion of the 100 people under investigation are ex-South African cops.

[LunaSylph]

08:12 PM on 03/25/2010

What a racist and ignorant statement to make! You have obviously never been out of your own one-donkey town and seen and experienced what the real world out there is like - full of all sorts of humans who have prejudices. Australia has always been known as a country for white people...what do you say about countries such as Russia, Austria or the Scandinavian countries? The South African jibe is really old and tired and always used to deflect attention away from what is happening in other so-called 'first world' countries.

[Progressneeded]

08:52 PM on 03/25/2010

"Australia has always been known as a country for white people"! Did you tell that to the aboriginal people of that country? They have not gotten the memo yet.

[blutigeroo]

12:35 AM on 03/26/2010

It is just about as racist and ignorant as your comment. Australia is not known as a country for white people; it is known as a multicultural country. Multiculturalism is even celebrated on Australia Day (Jan 26th).

[Newthron]

07:22 PM on 03/25/2010

They are not the only one, but the world of racism is predominantly white. White as righteous. God's chosen and all that freaking jazz.
Soon the Chinese xenophobia will be true @cism, because they feel marginalized by the white people. And maybe one day, the blacks will unleashed their century of bitterness and mistreatment against whites, Asians and blacks to.

The humans....Hum...I feel like I don't want to be human when extra terrestrial being drop on heart to rule us, us, as the worst predators, of them all, walking the planet.

[Newthron]

07:43 PM on 03/25/2010

by the way I meant "drop on earth."

[deluk]

06:12 AM on 03/26/2010

"the world of racism is predominantly white"

no it's not, don't be silly.

[Newthron]

02:12 PM on 03/26/2010

I'm trying not to. I'm getting better though.

[terramartom]

07:04 PM on 03/25/2010

The entire planet has racism in every country, in every community.
It is Human choice, and ignorance to put down one group of Humans to try to feel empowered.

[queensboro]

07:32 PM on 03/25/2010

and then some!

[EuroPreacher]

07:02 PM on 03/25/2010

When resources get scarce, humans look to perceived "others" and lash out on them. It is a tribal mentality.

Your opinion matters at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WSGJDX6 , peace!

[LMPE]

06:07 PM on 03/25/2010

Is this police force Australia's version of the KKK or something?

[mamababa]

06:25 PM on 03/25/2010

In Oz, the police ARE the KKK!

[blutigeroo]

12:36 AM on 03/26/2010

Racism in the police force can be found all over the world.

[WendellPerrySociety]

05:47 PM on 03/25/2010

I know some are not going to like this statement, but the hard truth is you have so many racists issues with cops because only the bottom feeder type of white guys become cops. Any white guy with intelligence is going to choose a more lucrative career such as doctor, laywer, scientist, banker, etc. Therefore, you are left basically with a bunch of bottom feeder, ignorant white guys who didn't even have enough intelligence to become a plumber or electrician both pay more than being a cop.

[terramartom]

07:08 PM on 03/25/2010

That is both sad and true.
Based on poor self esteem experiences in youth to grow up looking towards a position of ultimate power holding a gun.
But who else wants this job?
It is about power, and lack of it.

[Dham4201]

07:10 PM on 03/25/2010

CHP starts at $60,000 a year here

[WendellPerrySociety]

07:16 PM on 03/25/2010

Yeah but state police officer positions as well as federal law enforcement positions tend to pay more and draw better candidates, which is why you rarely hear of racial incidents with them. When was the las time you heard of the FBI killing someone and claiming they thought they saw a gun and it turned out to be a cellphone.

[MikeDu]

05:31 PM on 03/25/2010

Gee, if the GOP's raceists ever committed suicide out of shame a large swath of the country would be depopulated, including much of my old home town in northern Maine.