Over the next two weeks on Canberra’s roads you can expect a temporary increase in random breath testing, most likely in the form of large roadblock-style breath testing operations. “Why?” I hear you ask…well that’s simple, the police have new recruits [1] and for whatever reason, all new recruits get stuck on traffic duty for two weeks.
Twenty-one new ACT Policing officers were officially sworn in as Constables of Police at the Australian Federal Police (AFP) College in Barton today.
[..]
The new officers will be deployed to stations within ACT Policing after completing a two week rotation with Traffic Operations.
As I understand it, the way this generally works is that a Sergeant will get stuck with supervising them all in one large group (the official wording for this might be that “the new recruits are assigned to an experienced senior officer”) and will be told to take them out on the road for some practical experience in dealing with people who probably don’t want to encounter the police, such as drink-drivers and people in stolen cars. Presumably they do it in this manner so that the recruits can handle a few angry people in a large enough group to contain trouble if it erupts…so that their first real experience of restraining an angry, violent drunk is not when there’s only two of them out on the beat.
I suppose it also helps with their confidence in asserting their authority over civilians by requesting licences and samples of breath etc.
Regardless, they’re out there, and you’ll probably find yourself in a car near them at some stage in the next two weeks here in Canberra.
Samuel