Sponsored Police

Corporate sponsorship is all the rage, even with the New South Wales Police. In 2002 a mother of three, Diane Brimble, died on board the P&O cruise ship Pacific Sky from a combination of alcohol and the drug gamma hydroxybutyrate. Her death was investigated by officers from the NSW Water Police. Eighteen months later, P & O was one of five sponsors of the opening of a new headquarters for the water police. A P&O spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that "this support for the police on such an important occasion was entirely appropriate." NSW Police also defended the claim claiming that close ties with the community were "fundamental to community-based policing." A hearing into Brimble's death is currently being conducted by the NSW State Coroner.