For many decades the Victoria Police Force (varies levels of Force Management) has had a total monopoly of the Media Machine.

It is now a careful science and it works like this;

Police Officers and the people in the know are strictly prohibited from speaking to the media both directly or generally. Therefore, they are not allowed to repeat what they know, have a position on anything or criticize. They are not allowed to have a position on anything, despite being trained professionals, extremely knowledgeable, informed and have a wealth of information about the truth.

Police Officer’s are only allowed to speak to the media in certain circumstances and only about matters under their direct control and as ‘approved’ by management. They are specifically not allowed to criticize force management, policies or procedures. (even when they are wrong which is most of the time)

In other words, “dare to have your say on anything and we’ll bury you from a great height.”

Please remind me that I am living in a democracy and not a totalitarian State.

Police Officers are threatened and pursued with sanctions, fines and even dismissal if they do. The Ethical Standards Watch Dog (Ethical Standards Department = Internal Affairs) stands guard over this like the barking mongrel dog on a chain that it is.

So having effectively silenced all Police Officer’s on having a say on anything meaningful in any way, Force management are free to ‘spin’ whatever they like, without fear that they can be contradicted by anyone.

So why does this happen you ask?

The media is the mechanism by which public opinion can be driven and influenced.

The Victoria Police is a branch of the Victorian State Government.

Tell the people you are doing a good job and they believe you.

The people think the police are doing a good job it satisfies the “Law and Order Platform” for the next state election and all the usual suspects get re-elected.

Oh, and don’t forget those big cash bonuses for the bosses (only) who are on contracts to portray this!

The Annual Report tells Parliament what it needs to hear and the Politicians tell the public that they are safe.

Crimes down, road toll is down, public safety is up. Everything’s good. Don’t worry about the truth.

As for the media generally?

They are not interested in the TRUTH, they are only interested in flashy stories that hold public interest for five minutes.

All they are interested in is the “juicy” bits and what they can find out for free. The media in this country are lazy and driven by political and financial agenda’s. I mean, Newspaper and Broadcasting Stations have to consider senior management too. They need big contracts and cash bonuses as well.

In an extremely unhealthy relationship, Force management feeds the media with what it wants the people to hear and the News Media laps it up like hungry dogs waiting for scraps from the table.

Combined with a few simple tricks, like “journo contacts” and those police officer’s that are prepared to “leak” to journalists, the fat lazy media of this country have just enough to cobble together some lame story that doesn’t even resemble anything close to the TRUTH. Ask any police member who has first hand knowledge of ANY current news story and you will quickly learn that is miles away from the truth. The media just print what they like without fear of correction or accuracy.

In fact, if it’s a little bit inaccurate on the juicy side, all the better.

For example, there are people like Andrea Petrie from “The Age” who have made a living out of this type of journalism and virtually have a permanent phone line connected to the Ethical Standards Department just to get the “dirt”.

Have you even noticed that the media are never incorrect on the side of conservatism.