Long Arm of the Law

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In a hectic and controversial year, Australia's Federal Police Commissioner seemed as likely to turn up in Jakarta, Seoul, Dili, Nuku'alofa, Honiara or Lae as in his home base of Canberra. Mick Keelty, 50, is the region's premier crime fighter at a time when law enforcement is anything but a desk job. The force he leads is charged with fighting terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, people smuggling, identity theft, sexual servitude and child pornography. The A.F.P.'s first duty is to Australia, but on Keelty's watch it has also taken its intelligence-based approach abroad, helping police in other countries boost their skills, combat transnational crime, and keep the peace in trouble spots. Its sleuths may not be as visible as their high-profile boss, but they're out there: from Bogotá to Riyadh to Papua New Guinea, keeping an ear to the local bush telegraph and building high-tech information networks that span the globe. "The A.F.P. has demonstrated its capacity to serve the government of the day, the community and indeed the regional community," Keelty tells Time. "The work we are doing in the region will be a foundation stone for all of us in the future."

Under his command, and following 9/11 and the 2002 Bali bombings, the organization has moved to the heart of power in Canberra; in the past four years, the A.F.P.'s head count has doubled to 5,000 officers and its annual budget has almost quadrupled, to $A926 million. Australian agents now work in 33 cities in 26 countries. Recalling a talk given to A.F.P. executives by Peter Shergold, the head of the Prime Minister's Department, Keelty says the new status is a "double-edged sword." "He said, 'The good news is that we're at the center of government, getting a lot of resources and attention. But the bad news is that it puts a lot of pressure on us to perform.'" Keelty, who appears comfortable with managing a vast enterprise - and the corporate jargon that goes along with it - believes the organization is doing remarkably well, citing as successes the Bali investigations, a key role in the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, and this month's deployment to P.N.G. At home, the genial and softly spoken police chief points with pride to counter-terrorism charges laid and drug busts made, as well as the A.F.P.'s low staff attrition rate and a major business award for family-friendly policies. "Our results speak for themselves," he says.

The code-red scrutiny that now accompanies the A.F.P. and its boss was played out dramatically in March, after the Madrid commuter-train bombings. Keelty was asked during a TV interview whether a similar attack could occur in Australia. "The reality is," he replied, using a trademark phrase, "if this turns out to be Islamic extremists responsible for this bombing in Spain, it is more likely to be linked to the position that Spain and other allies took on issues such as Iraq." Prime Minister John Howard disagreed, dismissed any link between Spain and Australia, and maintained that Australia was not at greater risk of terrorist attack because of its involvement in Iraq. Senior ministers, and Defence Force chief Peter Cosgrove, rebuked Keelty, a 30-year police veteran; behind the scenes the government, facing an election later in the year, pressured the police commissioner to issue a clarification. "We've moved on from that," says Keelty of the humiliating episode, ever keen to emphasize that the Howard government has been a strong supporter of the A.F.P. The lesson to be learned, he says, is "to make sure that you don't go into any interview without being well briefed, and to recognize the potential fallout if you haven't got it right. I'm not saying I didn't have it right on that occasion."