Private Column by Frank Short, CBE

Who is Frank Short, CBE? | See all Entries of Frank Short, CBE

Frank Short is a British born Australian citizen.

He served as the Commissioner of Police in the Solomon Islands from 1997 to 1999.

As a young national service officer he was a member of the Corps of Royal Military Police in Hong Kong from 1959 to 1962 when he commanded an Anti-Vice Section, receiving commendations from the Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong and the Commissioner of the Royal Hong Kong Police.

His later civil police career was spent in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), Swaziland, Hong Kong, New Hebrides (now Vanuatu), St Helena and Ascension Island and Bophuthatswana.

He was twice awarded 'Batons of Honour' during his early police career, the first when serving in the Northern Rhodesia Police (NRP) and the second as a member of the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP).

His appointments have included Head of the Training Wing of the Swaziland Police College,Public Prosecutor in Swaziland, Officer Commanding the Northern Police Division of the New Hebrides Constabulary, Santo, Chief of Police on the Island of St Helena, Registrar of the Supreme Court, St Helena, and Detective Inspector in the Special Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police.

In Bophuthatswana, as a contracted British Adviser, he lectured on human rights and successfully commanded a Civil Claims department and a Complaints Against the Police office.

In 1995 he was appointed Senior Legal Administrative Officer to the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Safety and Security in the provincial government of the North West Province of South Africa.

In his role as Senior Legal Administrative Officer he continued his work as a human rights adviser and lecturer, working in close cooperation with staff from the Raoul Wallenburg University in Sweden and the University of Essex in the UK. He was also involved in the pre-planning work for the establishment of a South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In 1998 he was invited by the United States Army to address a Pacific Armies Management Seminar (PAMS) in Manila, Philippines, on the role of "Leadership." This was the first occasion a police commissioner had been invited to address a gathering of senior international military officers from some 40 countries.

Since retiring as Commissioner of Police in July 1999, he has maintained a close relationship with the Solomon Islands and been a strong advocate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

He believes passionately in restorative justice and reconciliation for all the people of the Solomon Islands.

In recent years he has done voluntary teaching work in Thailand, including aiding socially disadvantaged young people.

He was appointed CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours, 1999.

Policing a Clash of Cultures Part 11: The Command Structure

Excerpt from my memoirs.

The Command Structure was : a Deputy Commissioner as my deputy, with Assistant Commissioners responsible for admin, crime operations, NRSF.

Another Assistant Commissioner commanded the Honiara police separately. Chief Superintendents commanded the Police Academy, the Fire Brigade, the CID, SB and Traffic. The senior female officer ranked as Chief Inspector.

The structure also allowed for an establishment of other ACP’s in the larger provincial commands including Guadalcanal and provincial areas of Auki and Gizo.

At the time of my arrival the provincial command positions were occupied by Chief Superintendents. This structure had by now gone down its own path, due to a mixture of politics and situational requirements.

The whole organization was overwhelmed with senior ranks, uncoordinated to a large extent and having a confusing mix of duties. It was like a tree – when planted it grew fine for the first few years then got out of hand as no one trimmed it.

However, the most serious drain on personnel and finance was the rotational deployment of the NRSF on permanent border protection duties. One could say they were the roots of the tree.

Considering we were well below authorized establishment to start with, this was a heavy burden on manpower. The Honiara uniform officers had to deal with petty theft, assaults, incidence of drunkenness, housebreaking and traffic accidents. Much of the crime and road offences were associated with high unemployment, urban drift, lack of housing, alcoholism and the influx of second hand motor vehicles that poured in from Asia, to run on inadequate, poorly maintained roads.

There was yet another problem concerning the police executive which I soon discovered within days of assuming office.

I had mentioned earlier that the Mamaloni Government had talked of structural reform in order to moderate spending to aid the ailing economy. A down sizing of the civil service, including the police, had been proposed some weeks before with the suggestion of redundancy packages on offer to those willing to retire.

When my appointment became known, my entire senior executive officers, including the Deputy Commissioner, all of whom had individually bid for the top job, decided to apply for redundancy and at my first meeting with them they made their position clear telling me they were only waiting their “packages” before leaving the force.

In the event, the Mamoloni Government lost the election and the incoming administration shelved the previously announced redundancy plans.

My job became all the more difficult, however, knowing they harboured some grudge against my appointment. It took the promise of overseas attachments in community policing to motive them, but also a good deal of hard work on my part to encourage their support.


To be continued …

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