'It wasn't like normal policing': voices of Australian police peacekeepers in Operation Serene, Timor-Leste 2006

摘要

This article presents some findings from a pioneering study of Australian police peacekeepers and capacity-builders conducted over 2005-2007. The discussion draws upon 44 interviews with Australian policing personnel who served in Timor-Leste (TL) at some point between 28 May and 1 December 2006, as part of Operation Serene, the Australian police component of an intervention in TL to restore law and order. Two particular themes are explored: dealing with youth, particularly gangs in Dili; and building confidence in peacekeeping forces within the community in a politically divided society. The challenges of transition to a new UN mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) are also examined. These matters arose as major preoccupations for Australian police peacekeepers. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the implications of these findings.