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Scales of Justice (1983)

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Original classification rating: M. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

Provisionary Constable Webber (Simon Burke) is on patrol with his more senior sergeant (Bill Hunter). When an alarm sounds at a local furrier, they’re sent to investigate. The rookie Constable is sent to check the back entrance while Sergeant O’Rourke helps himself to one of the expensive furs. Constable Webber surprises him just as it’s being stuffed into the boot. Back at the station, the rookie Constable finds the fur hanging in his locker. He joined the force with an idealistic belief in law and order and now he finds himself deeply compromised in a sordid theft while at the same time not wanting to dob in a work mate.

Curator’s notes

by Janet Bell

The quasi-documentary style of this series adds a gritty reality to the typical car patrol of a police crew on any evening shift around Sydney streets. The performances are nuanced and extraordinarily real. No-one is entirely honest, everyone has to cut corners in order to complete the mountain of paperwork that’s required and yet these same less than perfect officers risk their lives to investigate a warehouse break-in or remove mangled young bodies from a car wreck.

And at the upper levels of policing, there are huge sums to be made from importing and dealing in drugs, not to mention the seduction of rubbing shoulders with well-heeled crims with the venality and naked ambition of the politicians they are sworn to serve. This is television drama at its very best, and after two decades, this series has not lost its bite.

Teacher’s notes

provided by The Le@rning FederationEducation Services Australia

This clip shows Provisionary Constable Webber (Simon Burke) investigating a possible break-in at the back entrance of a local furrier. He returns to the street where the police car is parked, to find his patrol partner, a Senior Sergeant (Bill Hunter), hiding a fur coat in the boot. Webber is left to stand guard at the shop until the detectives arrive. Back at the station, the rookie Constable finds the fur hanging in his locker.

Educational value points

  • Scales of Justice was regarded as a groundbreaking television program when it was broadcast in the 1980s because it focused on corruption within the New South Wales Police Force. It highlighted connections between members of the police force and organised crime figures some 10 years before the Royal Commission into Corruption in the NSW Police Force began. It was also one of the first Australian miniseries to depict contemporary Australian society at a time when historical themes predominated.
  • The police corruption depicted in Scales of Justice had strong parallels with the culture that existed in the NSW Police Force in the 1980s, and the audience was quick to identify the actual people being depicted. The Royal Commission into Corruption in the NSW Police Force, which was conducted by Justice James Wood between 1994 and 1997, found that corruption was endemic and systemic within the service. The Royal Commission revealed that there were police officers at various levels who abused police powers and were involved in taking bribes, fabricating and planting evidence, drug dealing and in the cover-up of paedophile rings.
  • In a dramatic way the clip reveals how an idealistic and honest young policeman may be drawn into collusion with the corrupt practices of his colleagues. It is made clear that the probationary officer Webber has been placed in an invidious position when he sees his superior officer hide the 'stolen’ fur coat in the boot of the police car. The inner conflict, turmoil and disillusionment experienced by Webber on finding that his partner has placed the stolen coat in Webber’s locker are powerfully conveyed by actor Simon Burke.
  • The research for the scripts of Scales of Justice included actual interviews with police officers and with criminals, and while the series was presented as a fictionalised account, it revealed aspects of corruption in the police force and implicated politicians in ways that mirrored reality. Through their work, Australian filmmakers and investigative journalists have prompted a number of Royal Commissions and reforms. Chris Masters’s 1987 Four Corners report The Moonlight State exposed endemic corruption in Queensland. The ABC’s 1995 miniseries Blue Murder, set in Sydney, was based on actual events concerning the relationship between a corrupt former detective and a notorious criminal.
  • Simon Burke is an experienced Australian actor who has been a popular screen presence since his earliest appearances in The Sullivans (1976) and The Restless Years (1977). In 1976 Burke won the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role for The Devil’s Playground. He has specialised in television series, including several police drama series such as Young Lions and Blue Heelers. More recently, Burke has appeared as a regular on the ABC’s Play School.
  • Michael Jenkins, the director of Scales of Justice, has a broad filmography encompassing a range of popular productions for both film and television. Jenkins directed the 1995 ABC series Blue Murder, based around stories about corrupt practices in the NSW police force. His feature films include Emerald City (1988) and The Heartbreak Kid (1993). He has also worked on other police drama series including Wildside (1997) and Young Lions (2002).
  • Bill Hunter is one of Australia’s most respected actors and has appeared in over 100 productions in a career spanning from the 1960s to the present day. With roles in some of Australia’s major national and international hits, including Gallipoli, Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Hunter is a much loved screen identity. He has won a number of awards, including an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in Newsfront (1978).

The rookie Constable Webber checks the back entrance of a furrier which has been broken into while Sergeant O’Rourke helps himself to one of the furs. Constable Webber surprises him just as it’s being stuffed into the boot.
Provisionary Constable Webber Sarge?
Sergeant O’Rourke I’ll go back to the station, mate. Tell the night detectives to organise the owners. You stay on guard here. I’ll get Bull to pick you up.
O’Rourke drives off, while Webber looks thoughtful.

Webber is waiting on the step outside the shop when two detectives drive up. He puts his police hat back on.
Detective 1 Is there a toilet here?

Back at the station, the rookie constable finds the fur hanging in his locker. He examines it then slams the locker shut, looking around to see if he’s been observed.
Webber Jesus.