Commissioner Ken Moroney
Commissioner Ken Moroney AO, NSW Police Force
Tuesday, 14 March 2006. 5.30pm. CBD Campus
Leading the fifth largest Police Force in the Western world, NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney AO provided guests with an insight into his leadership philosophy and its application. He acknowledged the many challenges facing the organisation, and discussed his proposed solutions.
The NSW Police Force is a growing and dynamic organisation and one shaped by political, media and community agendas. Commissioner Moroney told guests that he judged the health of the organisation by the perceptions of these varying groups. One recent positive indicator of the organisation's public perception is the recent 7000 applications to join the Force. He felt that this demonstrated that the community felt that the organisation was moving forward and that it was worth pursuing a career in the Police Force.
However, the organisation has also faced many challenges of late. The well publicised incidents at Redfern, Macquarie Fields, Cronulla and Dubbo have reinforced the need to prepare for the future by engaging with the community at a higher level. Commissioner Moroney felt that this was influenced by how they police, rather than by constantly increasing police numbers. Whilst the Commissioner feels that police numbers are part of the answer, this solution alone will not develop the relationship with the community that the NSW Police Force seeks. Commissioner Moroney told guests that under his leadership, he envisioned the organisation becoming a trusted, decisive, honest and open organisation.
Recently, Commissioner Moroney provided media comment on the Macquarie Fields riots, stepping out in support of Father Chris Riley and the Youth Off the Streets organisation. Many media commentators could not understand why the NSW Police Commissioner would do so, but Commissioner Moroney told guests that Youth Off the Streets was keen to build more youth facilities, rather than more jails and this influenced how the Police enacted their role.
He felt that the best strategy to skill up the organisation was to engage with the community. The ability to engage with the community in a preventative manner becomes important as this engagement builds trust. Commissioner Moroney acknowledges that there is no universal franchise of endorsement of trust for the NSW Police, and it likely that this will not ever be realised. However, he sensed a strong level of support for the NSW Police and sought feedback about the level of community interaction. According to Commissioner Moroney, it becomes important to demonstrate leadership within the community and this is best demonstrated by the ability to communicate, sometimes to those who don't want to listen or be engaged.
He provided an example from his days as a young officer in the country, and contrasted the varying approach of two Sergeants at the time. The first, with an "old school" approach faced hostility when called to the "bad" side of town, accompanied by Moroney, after bricks and bottles were thrown. However, when the Sergeant resigned, his replacement, of Maori background, took the role and when called out to the "bad" side of town, and was surrounded, when a young child cut through the crowd he pulled a packet of Lifesavers from his pocket and gave them to the child. This small gesture changed the mood of the crowd, and how that group of people were policed in future. Problems in the area decreased, and police presence did not cause the trouble it had in the past. His honest and open communication paved the foundation for the new way they policed.
Commissioner Moroney also described leadership as "making the hard decisions" and telling the truth even when to do so creates anxiety. He felt that nothing prepared him for the role, but he is constantly aware that the "buck stops" with him. He recognises that the position comes with the need to make the hard and unpopular decisions, but if you stand by your informed decision making and pragmatism, it is a show of leadership. In the end, it is about accepting your errors, he said.
He identified the goals and immediate external challenges for Police leadership:
Clear focus on crime reduction and prevention
Reducing the fear of crime - the real challenge
Visibility (reassurance and deterrence)
Diversion programs - youth, special needs groups etc
Specialist services - forensics, intelligence, IT, research and development
Policies that reflect detection and prevention
Impact of globalisation from a police perspective - immigration policies
Social unrest and
Counter terrorism
He is also mindful of the internal challenges facing the NSW Police Force. The ability to recruit, train and retain qualified, diverse personnel and the ability to maintain professional standards remains an issue for constant reinforcement.
Commissioner Moroney concluded with his view of leadership, reinforcing that leadership is about organisational efficiency and meeting agreed outcomes, organisational and personal discipline and organisational commitment. He felt that part of developing leadership skills was adopting both internal and external role models. Achieving these leadership goals will only be possible with community engagement and is a key objective for Commissioner Moroney.
Commissioner Moroney completed his Master of Arts at MGSM in 1996 and last year was awarded the annual MGSM Alumni Award to commend his continuous outstanding contribution to the community.
Commissioner Moroney joined the NSW Police Force in 1965 and since that time, has assumed responsibility for many departments within the Force. In 2002 he was appointed Commissioner and is now charged with the executive management and oversight of the largest Police Force in Australia with a workforce approaching 20,000. Commissioner Moroney was recently appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to law enforcement
