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There I was an 18-year-old NZ police recruit all fresh faced and keen, seated in the classroom for my first training session at the national police college. The facility at that time was located in an ex-WW2 barracks at the bottom of the North Island far from my home in South Auckland.
“Piss, Property and Prostitutes, the three Ps”, the mustachioed Sergeant Instructor barked at the class. The three things most likely to get a policeman into trouble in his or her career” he warned us soberly at the very first lesson of the three-month training course. “Each must be handled correctly and ethically now that you are law enforcement officers. Because many officers have fallen foul of one or more of those and ended his or her career in flames” was the dire warning. And being 18 I immediately thought of the concept of handling a prostitute properly and although just cautioned by the more experienced man, I sort of liked that idea.
But of course, he was not talking about the sensual and consensual biblical act between a man and a woman, (whether or not the exchange of money was involved). He was cautioning against the corruption that at least in the old days was sadly too often a thing between the person in power, i.e. the corrupt copper and the vulnerable other being the prostitute. That was because there was a massive power imbalance as in most places’ prostitution was neither legal nor regulated.
Prostitutes also made money, cash money never taxed, rarely banked back in the day and before debit or credit cards. More often than not the cash was readily available on the person or in her dwelling tucked under the memory foam mattress. Further a high percentage of the street level prostitution involved the woman being addicted to illegal drugs; and as they say she was working to feed her habit and taking drugs to manage the work.
The scenario therefore in the interaction between a corrupt copper and the working girls sometimes involved coercive blackmail demands for money and/or sexual services. Giving the corrupt copper one or both of those two things the working girl might not be able to resist, nor later complain about. Because resistance or complaint might prove dangerous to her and because senior police managers, courts and society in those days usually chose to believe the cop.
The relationship between a corrupt copper and a working girl might have also actually proved to be fatal for the prostitute should she cross the corrupt copper. There are notable examples of such scenarios in the past particularly in Queensland and Sydney but also Perth in the case of Madam Shirley Finn.
(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Shirley June Finn, née Shewring (2 November 1941 – 22 or 23 June 1975), was an Australian brothel keeper, nightclub operator and socialite who was shot dead at about midnight on 22–23 June 1975 in Perth, Western Australia. Her body, dressed in an elaborate ball gown and expensive jewelry, was found at dawn in her car, which was parked on a golf course next to a busy freeway.[1] The murder is notable because of Finn's close relationship with Western Australia Police detectives who, in that era, controlled and regulated Perth's prostitution and gambling activities. The crime remains unsolved.
A coronial inquest held between 2017 and 2020 returned an open finding with an acknowledgement that “it was most likely she was killed because she had tried to blackmail police about corruption.”
Shirley Finn is perhaps the most significant tale of the dangers for the prostitute when dealing with corrupt copper at least in Perth. For God’s sake when even the WA Coroner finds that it was most likely she had died because of police corruption that suggests strongly that the police or their agents did the deed.
Another famous case was that of another Shirley, in this case Shirley Brifman a prostitute and Madam of both NSW and Qld as detailed in my prior Blog Who is the Queen of the Australian Brothel Scene.
Wikipedia advises Shirley Margaret Brifman née Emerson; 7 December 1935 – 4 March 1972, was an Australian sex worker and brothel madam who was known as a whistleblower on police corruption. She died at the age of 36 in suspicious circumstances, in what was ruled a suicide.
Again, for God’s sake Ms. Brifman was in a “safe house” under police protection prior to being due to give evidence against an alleged corrupt copper when she died of a drug overdose. Hmm?
Happily, for me I did not get into any trouble involving the Three Ps during my career. I was once a young aspiring, and might I say at times perspiring detective used by the Auckland Vice Squad. I was to go undercover to be fresh young bait to be solicited (whilst in the white police carpenters van- beware the white van!) by working transvestites in the infamous Karangahape (K) Road of Auckland City one memorable Friday night. Apart from that experience I never really even crossed paths with working girls either professionally or might I say personally.
My only direct encounter involving a sex worker came one night during a callout to a local motel in our patrol area. An elderly, obese gentleman had tragically suffered a fatal heart attack mid-act, quite literally on top of a young woman who, as I recall, was rather petite. While the situation was understandably distressing for her (and a logistical challenge for us), I must confess that, in the back of my mind, the thought did occur: “what a way to go”.
However, even though modern hard to detect devices such as smart phones with the recording of sound and sight inbuilt and CCTV plus other digital recording devices now often catch corrupt cops in the act to be used as evidence, it’s still a fact that some corrupt coppers simply can’t resist the chance to make quick but dirty cash.
I recently watched a UK police documentary where a detective set up his own off duty surveillance of the camper van of a mobile prostitute without the knowledge or permission of his superiors. He photographed a male customer arriving and leaving and took down the registration number of the man’s car. Back at work in the police station he illegally accessed the police computer records to find the car’s owner and address etc. He then left a gotcha note on the windscreen to be found by the panicked family man the next day. It included a photo of him heading back to his car after the act and a blackmail demand for money or else your wife will find out what you have been up to. However, the victim wisely went to the police who soon discovered the computer search, identified the copper who had made that search and quickly locked up one of their own.
There you have it; a corrupt cop in modern times, misusing his power and the investigative resources of his employer, to breach at least two of the Three-Ps. Of course that is the intended lesson of this blog.
Good cops despise bent cops. Today the police in Australia/NZ at least are very sensitive to the possibility that one of theirs might stray into such corruption and embarrass the service. Most western police forces have in-house units of hardened investigators who enthusiastically investigate any such complaint or suspicion.
Hopefully the examples of the alleged past police corrupt and evil acts involving prostitutes remain just that; a feature of the past however if you should have the unfortunate experience of being entangled by a corrupt policeman or woman you do have remedies as Ms. Google kindly provides below.
AI Overview
To report police misconduct or corruption in Western Australia, you can file a complaint with the Western Australia Police Force or the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC). For general misconduct, the WA Police Force's Police Conduct Investigation Unit can be contacted. For serious misconduct or corruption, the CCC is the appropriate body.
Here's a breakdown of the options:
1. WA Police Force:
2. Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC):
3. Additional Information:
When making a complaint, it's helpful to include as much detail as possible, including:
Author: Magnum
For: Langtrees.com
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“This blog provides a candid and unsettling glimpse into the complex intersection of power, corruption, and vulnerability within law enforcement. The “Three Ps” warning illustrates how even well-intentioned actions can be compromised by unchecked authority. The historical cases of Shirley Finn and Shirley Brifman starkly illustrate the dangers faced by sex workers in the face of institutional corruption. While it’s heartening to see modern oversight improving, the risk of abuse still exists. It's a sobering reminder that integrity in policing must be constantly defended—by the honest officers within and the vigilant citizens outside. Transparency and accountability are non-negotiable.”
“Thanks for writing this. I learned a lot about police history and corruption. You explained it clearly and honestly.”
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