Chapter 161: Chapter 156: Joining the Army Tide

The grand naval parade in Australia received a positive response, and even New Zealanders paid some attention to it.

After the naval parade, an obvious difference could be felt: there were more people gathered in front of the Administrative Building every day, among whom many wanted to enlist in the military.

Unfortunately, Australia’s current conscription system does not allow them to enlist now. After the last conscription was completed, the next one might not happen for several years.

Seeing that their goal of joining the military was unattainable, these people turned their focus to joining the police force.

After more than two years of expansion and development, Australia’s police department has become very advanced, including strict police training schools and a trial period system, before one can officially become an Australian police officer.

Of course, with strict training systems, Australian police officers have considerable power.

As the most important weapon for maintaining public order in the Public

Security Department, Australian police are not only equipped with the standard Australian-made As-1898 semi-automatic pistol, but also have the right to control some heavy weapons.

Like other semi-automatic pistols of this era, the As-1898 semi-automatic pistol adopts and draws from the principles of Maxim heavy machine gun automation, allowing handguns to achieve preliminary semi-automatic capabilities.

Of course, it is also influenced by the principles of the Borchardt C93 automatic pistol born in 1890.

Strictly speaking, the Australian As-1898 semi-automatic pistol is an improved version of the Borchardt C93 automatic pistol, with significant performance enhancements.

The As-1898 semi-automatic pistol has a total length of 270 millimeters and a weight of 1.05 kilograms.

This pistol uses a bow-type magazine with a capacity of eight bullets, which are nickel-plated, giving them strong penetration power.

The effective range of this pistol is 500 meters. Although it is not as long as the current rifles’ effective distance of several hundred to thousands of meters, it is sufficient for practical purposes.

As effective distance increases without using a magnifying scope, soldiers view of distant enemies becomes increasingly blurred.

In this case, the current rifles’ effective distance of thousands of meters is a complete waste, which is why countries around the world started developing rifles with an effective distance of around 400 meters after World War I.

With the growth of Australia’s population, public security is becoming a very serious issue.

Although the police department has undergone more than two years of change, building various-sized police stations in major cities and training hundreds of excellent police officers, this is only a drop in the ocean considering Australia’s vast territory.

Based on the current population and urban distribution of Australia, at least a thousand police officers are needed to better maintain public security in Australia.

Although there was little resistance to police recruitment earlier, the number of people willing to become police officers was not that high.

The salary of police officers is not as generous as that of soldiers but can be considered mid-to-high level compared to Australia’s income level.

Although it surpasses the average income, it only surpasses it slightly. Australia’s per capita annual income is twelve pounds and six shillings, while the average income of Australian police is only thirteen pounds and two shillings.

Compared to these police officers, the income of the Australian Defense Force at fourteen pounds and twelve shillings and the Guards at eighteen pounds and ten shillings seem quite generous, which is why people are more willing to join the military.

(British currency conversion: one pound equals twenty shillings, and one shilling equals twelve pennies.)

Since they cannot join the military, these people can only shift their focus to joining the police force. This has had a very positive impact on the expansion of the police, allowing the relatively slow-growing police department to enter a period of rapid development.

Of course, while this is good news for the police department, it does not mean that the security department will relax its training of police officers.

On the contrary, as more people register to become police officers, police selection and training become more and more stringent, even surpassing previous training programs and time requirements.

The enthusiasm for enlistment after the National Day lasted for half a month. Within this time, the security department received nearly 4,000 applications to join the police department.

After several rounds of selection by the security department, a final group of 800 people, who met the requirements for their background, physical fitness, cultural level, ideological performance, and previous experience, were selected as reserve police officers.

These 800 people need to undergo six months of training to become a true Australian police officer.

Of course, this is not the end. After that, they still need to go through a three- month probationary period, and only after they have proven their ability to master their previous training and shown no problems can they become a genuine, full-time Australian police officer and be assigned firearms.

Yes, although there is no official gun ban instituted by the government, Australia’s control over firearms has become increasingly strict, basically not allowing the sale of firearms to civilians.

While many Australian ranchers and hunting enthusiasts still own firearms, they also need to register with the Australian Government, and each time they replenish their ammunition, they need to explain the use of their previous ammunition.

Although Arthur is eager to promote the development of Australia’s gun ban, he understands that this cannot be achieved in a short period.

Australia has a vast territory with sparse population and a proliferation of wildlife. Many of these animals can pose a threat to human safety, such as venomous and carnivorous animals.

In these circumstances, allowing ranchers and hunters far from urban cities to carry firearms is the best way to ensure their safety.

If their right to carry firearms is taken away, it may cause dissatisfaction among them.

However, in Australia’s major cities, the execution of a gun ban is still very smooth. At least, firearms cannot be carried into cities, but they can be deposited in city councils and police stations and collected when leaving the city.

During this period, by paying a small maintenance fee to the government or police station, they can maintain the deposited firearms to ensure that they do not rust or become unusable due to long-term storage.

The city-wide gun ban has succeeded in putting an end to various gun-related incidents. In cities, no one can match the legally armed police officers, which gives Australian police greater confidence and ability to maintain public security.