It seems to be the prevailing attitude of police on the world scene. They never admit that they were wrong - and they never apologise. Such is the verbiage coming out of the aftermath of the Indonesian execution of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
The officer who made the decision to tip off the Indonesian authorities and set in motion the arrests that led to two Australians facing the firing squad admits " How in the past ten years I have agonised over that decision " - but then goes on to say " Even with the benefit of hindsight he would more than likely have made the same decision " !
The Australian Federal Police ( AFP ) grudgingly admit that "Guidelines are in place to prevent AFP pursuing some transnational crime in case more Australians receive the death penalty " ! Those same guidelines protected those in Australian custody from being deported to another country if it still legislated for the death penalty as a possible outcome. There is a very thin line between refusing deportation - and willingly putting an Australian citizen in danger of the death penalty for an intended crime where that punishment exists.
The sad thing is that the Indonesian police were completely unaware of the attempt to bring heroin into Australia strapped to the bodies of these drug mules. In all probability they would have successfully boarded planes and the AFP could have pounced at the Sydney airport terminal and made the arrests - and put the Bali Nine before Australian courts.
In all fairness, the AFP would not have expected an execution outcome. A very different president with a more humane attitude was in office in Indonesia ten years ago, but such is the way of politics. A change of government brings a new attitude- and in this case - a very different outcome.
Sadly, the father of one of the Bali Nine tipped off the AFP about his sons intentions with the expectation that this would prevent this drug run from becoming a reality. The AFP now claim that they were aware of this coming event from information gained from two other sources, and it is now unlikely that any other parent will adopt a similar course of action to prevent a family member pursuing a dangerous criminal activity.
It is also certain that none of the Bali Nine had an expectation that they would receive other than a stiff prison sentence if caught. The Schapelle Corby conviction had filled magazine covers for years and she became something of a celebrity prisoner, constantly visited by her family and regularly making new headlines. Birthdays were celebrated with a party within prison walls and on numerous occasions she seemed to be granted "leave "to visit her hairdresser or seek further legal advice. The grim aspect of Indonesians prisons quickly became opaque.
The entire Bali Nine episode will now fade into history with many recriminations about "what might have been "! Hopefully, we may have learned something and that will lead to wiser decisions in the future, but there is a unmistakeable tendency for all aspects of policing to immediately retreat behind a wall of defensive arrogance any time their actions are questioned.
There is a rock solid attitude of denial. They are never wrong, irrespective of the evidence - and they never apologise - and this does much to create the "them and us " attitude that prevails between police and the public.
We could achieve a better relationship if the police attitude changed and they admitted that they are also human - and faced up to unfortunate outcomes with that magic word - Sorry !
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