Politically correct Victoria Police insist they DON'T have an African gang problem despite the blight of Apex, an officer being kicked in the face and 100 'South Sudanese' youths trashing an AirBnB

Victoria Police insist they don't have an African gang problem in Melbourne after an officer was kicked in the face at a shopping mall and 100 youths of Sudanese appearance trashed an AirBnB house.

The comments from Superintendent Therese Fitzgerald came after a boy kicked a police officer in the head as he crouched down attempting to arrest a 16-year-old youth for alleged shoplifting on Boxing Day.

The scuffle at Highpoint Shopping Centre, at Maribyrnong in Melbourne's west, was caught on CCTV on Tuesday afternoon.

However, Superintendent Fitzgerald said this latest incident involving African youths was not a sign there was an ethnically-related gang problem, amid a spate of crime linked to Apex gangs.

'We have problems with youth crime across the state and it's not a particular group of youths we are looking into. It's all youths. It's youth crime,' she told reporters.

Superintendent said 'youth crime in general' was to blame - a week after police were pelted with rocks after being called to an AirBnB house at Werribee, in Melbourne's west.

Officers were forced to retreat from the house, trashed inside by a party, when more than 100 youths of primarily South Sudanese appearance turned on them.

Photos taken from inside the house show walls kicked and punched in, mattresses thrown on top of furniture and pepper spray splattered across bedroom curtains.

Neighbours say they were left terrified when youths from the house started roaming the streets, throwing rocks and smashing cars.

Less than a week later, a police officer was kicked in the face as he crouched down trying to arrest a 16-year-old boy for alleged shoplifting at Highpoint Shopping Centre.

The scuffle, which was captured on CCTV, unfolded in front of shocked Boxing Day shoppers before the assailant ran from the centre into the car park.

The senior constable sustained non-life threatening injuries and was taken to hospital as the youth who assaulted him remained at large. 'It could have been a lot worse and I'm pleased to report he's returned to work today,' Superintendent Therese Fitzgerald told reporters on Wednesday. 'He's got bruising to his eye but is in very good spirits.'

A 16-year-old Flemington boy was arrested over the alleged theft but he was released pending further inquiries.

Police are wanting to speak to a teen who is described as African in appearance and was wearing a white top and black bandana.

In June, at nearby Footscray, a man was struck in the head with a tomahawk as a gang of 15 African youths burst into a barber shop and began rioting.

In April, a gang of five Sudanese teenagers allegedly bashed their autistic classmate, in a horrific attack on a bus at Tarneit, in Melbourne's west.

The 17-year-old student was travelling alone to the city centre, when five boys approached him and told him to hand over his mobile phone and new Nike shoes.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5216327/Victoria-Police-insist-dont-African-gang-issue.html">SOURCE</a>

Another disgraceful Sydney cop

An off-duty Sydney police sergeant who was found guilty of using her rank and authority to avoid being randomly breath tested by a junior colleague has been jailed in a Sydney court.

Sarah Louise Johnston, 50, drove away from the RBT site without having been tested after a short conversation with the rookie officer at North Sydney on January 8, 2016.

She wept in the dock on Friday as Judge Christopher Hoy sentenced her to 16 months in jail with a non-parole period of 12 months.

'I consider the offender's conduct was disgraceful,' he said at the Downing Centre District Court.

The trial heard Johnston drank at least one schooner of beer while celebrating the new year with colleagues from North Sydney Police Station at two nearby pubs.

She was driving home to the Central Coast when she was pulled over at a random breath testing site on the Pacific Highway at Crows Nest.

Two junior officers conducting the RBTs - Constable Cameron Brooks and Constable Tugcan Sackesen - immediately recognised her.

Const Sackesen gave evidence at the trial that Johnston first pulled her car up alongside Const Brooks but rolled forward towards him before Const Brooks could breath test her.

'Hi sergeant, you've just been stopped for a random breath test,' Const Sackesen told her. He said she replied: 'You're not going to breath test me are you?' 'Yes sergeant I am,' he said.

She allegedly said: 'No because that would be a conflict of interest.' 'Imagine if I blew over, which I won't, because I'm not.' He said she told him it would put him in an 'awkward situation'.

On Friday Judge Hoy said the experienced and well regarded supervisor set a 'disgraceful example' that night. He said she 'brought shame upon herself... and to all honest members of the police force'.

'This is misconduct the community would expect honest and upstanding members of the police force... to abhor, resist and report,' he said.

Judge Hoy commended the two junior officers for courageously reporting her misconduct. Johnston will be eligible for release in December 2018.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5181965/Policewoman-jailed-refusing-random-breath-test.html">SOURCE</a>

Police face charges for 'leaving an overdosed teenager to die' - and he would have survived if they'd taken him to hospital

<a href="http://jrtestemp.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/gold-coast-police-roundup.html"><i>The Gold Coast cops have a very bad reputation</i></a>

The death of a Gold Coast teenager from a drug overdose in 2015 could lead to charges against police officers who attended the scene.

Coroner Terry Ryan delivered his findings at Southport Courthouse on Thursday into the death of 19-year-old Charlie Robertson at his Miami apartment in June.

Mr Ryan found Mr Robertson's death was preventable and said police had 'acted inappropriately and incompetently' in their care for the young man.

Mr Robertson was unconscious in his bedroom when seven officers from the Gold Coast's Rapid Action Patrol raided the property, looking for one of his flatmates.

Despite being unable to wake Mr Robertson, the officers left without providing him with medical assistance despite the presence of paramedics at the property, the inquest heard.

The inquest found Mr Roberston would 'very likely' have survived had he received treatment.

'I consider that the attending police officers who witnessed Charlie's condition acted inappropriately and incompetently with respect to his presentation,' Mr Ryan said.

Mr Ryan added evidence given at the inquest that officers lifting a mattress the unconscious Mr Robertson was lying on was 'inappropriate' while laughter heard from officers when Mr Robertson fell from the mattress reflected 'very poorly' on the officers involved.

Mr Ryan said he will refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions, meaning the officers could be potentially be charged for their actions.

Charlie's father Graham Robertson told reporters outside court the inquest had shown his son would be '100 per cent alive today' had police acted 'accordingly'.

The inquest heard at the time of Mr Robertson's death, frontline officers had not been trained in recognising signs of drug overdose but that this training has since taken place.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5180753/Police-face-charges-allegedly-leaving-teenager-die.html">SOURCE</a>

Hefty Yiannopoulos bill shows Victoria Police has taken sides with the Left

THE last group you'd expect to indulge in victim-blaming is Victoria Police. Our police force is meant to protect and serve, not fine victims of lawlessness for needing police protection.

That is essentially what happened last week when police command decided to send a hefty bill of at least $50,000 to the organisers of the Milo Yiannopoulos tour.

Not only does the decision set a dangerous precedent for free speech in Victoria, but it also reveals a perverse lack of fairness.

The enormous bill reflects the significant police resources that were needed last Monday night when feral mobs rioted for five hours in the streets of Kensington while trying to stop ticketholders from entering the Australian Pavilion.

Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane first threatened to fine the venue before it was determined that the organisers would foot the bill. Police Minister Lisa Neville said: “For these sort of rallies, but also for the AFL and those big events, there is an agreement around the costs."

This attempt by the minister to compare the charges to what sporting bodies routinely pay is disingenuous nonsense.

A law-abiding crowd of 3000 attending a ticketed event would not require 300 police officers, including dozens in riot gear.

That came about purely because violent far-Left activists converged on the venue to try to shut down the event — an all-too-regular occurrence in Victoria.  Not satisfied with hurling vile abuse, the protesters also threw rocks, sticks, bottles, and even street signs.

If it were the ticketholders rampaging, then I'd have no qualms about saddling the organisers with the bill.

However, the small number of police that would normally be needed, and paid for by organisers, at an event of this size ballooned to something entirely different thanks to the actions of extreme Left agitators.

Anyone who has seen footage of the mayhem would be surprised to learn that police arrested only two people that night.

Victoria Police may have created a rod for its own back by punishing the injured party and effectively rewarding the thuggish louts who want to use violence and intimidation to shut down events, meetings and rallies of their ideological opponents.

Today, the event organiser, Penthouse publisher and free speech advocate Damien Costas, spoke of his dismay over “political grandstanding" in Victoria.

“Our attendees did nothing wrong. They lined up quietly and looked on as the protesters that weren't invited and, frankly, weren't welcome, threw rocks and bottles at police," Costas told the Herald Sun.

“We negotiated in good faith with the Victorian police and we reached an agreement as to what was required and what we needed to pay for." Mr Costas also revealed that he was yet to receive the bill, and would refuse to pay it if it did arrive.

“This is nothing more than political grandstanding … we haven't received a bill and there's been no talk from police on our end to even suggest we're getting one," he said.

But last week, Ms Neville warned that the bill had to be paid, saying: “(It's a) big call to say you're going to ignore a bill from Victoria Police."

Yiannopoulos's events in Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland went ahead with little trouble. In NSW, demonstrators were aggressive, but not as violent or as destructive as their Victorian counterparts.

NSW police arrested seven protesters, who were charged with offences including assaulting police, hindering police, affray, failing to comply with directions, and breaching the peace. It seems they take upholding the law and protecting the peace a little more seriously north of the border.

In one sense, we shouldn't be surprised with the climate of censorship in Victoria, where conservative commentators have had to cancel book launches, and members of the Jewish community cannot meet with MPs due to fears of violence from far-Left activists amusingly calling themselves “anti-fascists" or “anti-racists".

Meanwhile, Melbourne's CBD is regularly thrown into disarray by activists who block traffic to protest over a variety of national and international issues.

When have the socialists, anarchists and other assorted fringe-dwelling malcontents ever been sent a bill for the police presence needed at their rallies, or a bill to cover the cost of the loss of productivity that comes about as a result of CBD streets being blocked for hours at a time?

The desire to silence opposing views is a phenomenon of the Left.

You don't see speeches by visiting Left-wing commentators with far more outlandish views than Yiannopoulos — who was farcically misrepresented by much of the media — being subjected to violent protests.

Look at the extraordinary measures the organisers of the Yiannopoulos tour went to, to minimise the violence of the Left.   The venues were kept secret until a couple of hours before each event, to prevent activists from monstering the venue and intimidating the staff and business owners.

Those same activists now have another weapon in their arsenal to silence opposing views.  By rioting and causing maximum mayhem, they can financially punish their political opponents.

Who will bother to bring out any speaker with Right-of-Centre views when the threat of violence from a small group of pests could result in an enormous bill from the police?

This decision will embolden totalitarian thugs to behave even more violently.

<a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/rita-panahi/hefty-yiannopoulos-bill-shows-victoria-police-has-taken-sides-with-the-left/news-story/0d154c1b96853e5b261a332786a75e80">SOURCE</a>

Milo Yiannopoulos promoters won't pay $50,000 Victoria Police bill

<i>I can hardly believe how far left Victoria is veering: State police charging a conservative to protect him from Leftists. Charging protection money is what criminals do. The next step is refusing protection and letting harm happen. 

The whole rationale for government is that there are some things that should not be user-pays, but which the State should pay, like roads and infrastructure, defence, police, search and rescue, and emergency services, certain amenities ... etc. If the police don't think it is part of their job to prevent criminal assault, what are they good for?

The only consolation is that this is probably a try-on</i>


THE ORGANISER behind controversial Milo Yiannopoulos' Melbourne event is refusing to cough up $50,000 to cover the cost of police after a violent protest broke out.

Penthouse publisher Damien Costas, the man who organised Milo Yiannopoulos's tour, told 3AW he had no intention of paying the five-figure bill from Victoria Police, following the Kensington clash.

“I can't imagine we would (pay the larger bill)," he said. “In Melbourne they were talking about a user pays model but a particular sergeant at our head of security we were dealing with said ‘We'd like you to pay for the barriers, bollards etc'."

“I think the entire thing was about five or $6000." “I paid what I was asked to pay. Anything over and above that we can determine." “This is actually asking the victim to pay the bill."

He said user-pay models were discussed in every state and he'd paid about $9000 for police in the Gold Coast and nothing in New South Wales.

Supporters of the far-Right figure were involved in violent clashes with left-wing protesters on Monday night in Kensington.
Hundreds of police were called in with some using capsicum spray to subdue rioters.

Mr Costas said the 3000 attendees didn't do anything wrong rather those uninvited threw rocks.

Police Minister Lisa Neville told the radio station on Wednesday the event's promoters would have to foot the bill, which would be at least $50,000. She said billing event organisers for police resources was commonplace.

“For these sort of rallies, but also for the AFL and those big events there is an agreement around the costs," she said. Ms Neville said she was confident Mr Yiannopoulos would cough up.
“(It's a) big call to say you're going to ignore a bill from Victoria Police," she said.

Mr Costas said the police presence was executed with “military precision" and there were also 70 security guards at the event.

<a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/milo-yiannopoulos-police-minister-lisa-neville-says-50000-bill-on-the-way/news-story/791f67ac689562f4ea1c0504954b5d05">SOURCE</a>

Thug cops still working in NSW police

A toy dinosaur could end up costing NSW about $500,000 after police settled a claim they had bashed two men in Queanbeyan in 2013.

The two officers have been promoted, one having made detective, and remain on the force after NSW settled the claim without admission of liability in August.

Court-tendered documents alleged Rickey Caton and Adam Antram were beaten by then-senior constable Todd Finnigan and then-constable Patrick Hicks in December, 2013 after Mr Caton pointed a toy dinosaur at senior constable Finnigan.

According to the claim, the two officers then charged Mr Caton and Mr Antram with numerous offences, including assaulting an officer, in what is now known as "the dinosaur incident".

The case went ahead until a third officer who was present, constable Lucie Litchfield, testified in court to the contrary.

In total, the incident could cost NSW about $500,000. After police dropped the criminal charges against Mr Caton and Mr Antram in October 2015, they paid their $110,00 legal costs.

Their lawyer, Peter Bevan, expects the NSW government to pay over $300,000 in legal costs after a civil claim lodged by the men saw the police settle for $45,000 apiece with the two men in August this year.

An internal police investigation into the officers' actions that night concluded in June this year they had not acted improperly and no disciplinary action was taken.

The two officers have been promoted. According to unrelated court documents from September this year, Finnigan has been promoted to detective; another unrelated document from May shows Hicks is now a senior constable.

"Those two officers remain in the workplace with the full confidence of the commander," a NSW police spokeswoman said.

Ms Litchfield resigned from the force in 2015, then telling Fairfax Media she had been driven out. Ms Litchfield was contacted for comment for this article.

Mr Bevan has lodged a complaint to the NSW police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, regarding the investigation's outcome.

A commission spokeswoman said they were reviewing the internal report. "Once the LECC has completed this review, further information will be sent directly to the complainant about the matter," the spokeswoman said.

Speaking for the first time since the settlement, ?Mr Caton and Mr Antram expressed frustration the two officers remained employed.  "It wasn't even about the money for me, I would have rather seen them lose their jobs," Mr Caton said.  "If it wasn't for Lucie we probably would be in jail."

According to court documents from the settled civil claim on December 21, 2013, police stopped Mr Caton, Mr Antram and two other friends on Morella Avenue in Jerrabomberra.

They'd mistaken their car for one associated with a nearby violent home invasion when the men were in fact heading to the shops to buy more alcohol for their work Christmas party.

Senior constable Finnigan asked the men if they had any weapons. Mr Caton then held his daughter's toy dinosaur out the car window and said "No weapons, but I've got a big dinosaur. Roar."

According to the claim, senior constable Finnigan then opened the rear passenger door where Mr Caton was sitting, pulled him from the car, kicked his legs from underneath him, smashed his sunglasses and handcuffed him.

Constable Litchfield ordered Mr Antram from the car and told him to stand by a nearby retaining wall, which he did.

Constable Hicks then tackled Mr Antram, who was standing still, causing his head to collide with the wall, knocking him unconscious. The constable later claimed Mr Antram had charged at him.

"I couldn't believe it. Being charged with assaulting police, I thought I was honestly going to jail," Mr Caton said.

According to the claim in January, after the incident, officers Finnigan and Hicks told Mr Caton's and Mr Antram's boss the pair were unsuitable for employment.

He fired the two, who then couldn't find removalist work in Canberra.

Mr Antram's partner left him and he moved to Cooma where he still finds it difficult to find work.

Mr Caton believes he could have got more from the police, but working as a concreter in Canberra, he couldn't afford to take time off for a 16-day trial in Sydney.

Mr Antram said the harassment hasn't stopped. He described a night at the Cooma Hotel in August last year where he was invited to celebrate a mate's engagement.

Within minutes of showing up, Mr Antram said police had arrived with sniffer dogs, including constable Hicks. "You're looking good, aren't you," constable Hicks allegedly said.

There were other police who were looking at Mr Antram, one commenting "this is the guy who's taking us to court".

"I got underneath a camera straight away," Mr Antram said.

NSW Police were contacted regarding the incident, they declined to comment on the scenario but said the use of sniffer dogs at venues was routine. "The use of drug detection dogs within licensed premises has been used across the command with great success and will continue into the future," a spokeswoman said.

Mr Caton said he hasn't had similar encounters but refuses to go to Queanbeyan. "I'm alright with the coppers, but I won't go to Queanbeyan any more. I used to go there for pool comps, dart comps, all that sort of shit," he said.

Their lawyer, Mr Bevan, said they were still pursuing their legal costs from the state. "Although this is a lot of money to pay out, NSW Police have determined that no one is accountable," Mr Bevan said.

<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/act-news/nsw-police-settle-with-assault-victims-in-dinosaur-incident-offending-officers-promoted-20171121-gzpyra.html">SOURCE</a>

Three police officers who kicked a woman to the ground and punched a man 20 times face investigation

Three West Australian police officers have been put under investigation after a disturbing video of an arrest was played in court.

The officers, known as Hitchen, Richardson and Thompson, originally claimed a woman grabbed one of their guns during the confrontation.

However, shocking footage captured by a witness shows otherwise, with the officers seen kicking the woman to the ground and unleashing more than 20 punches on another man.

Jacqueline Briffa faced three charges of assaulting a police officer and attempting to possess a firearm, with all thrown out in court after the video was played, The West Australian reports.

The incident occurred in Hamilton Hill, south west of Perth, and was filmed by witness Elise Svanberg, who described the scene as 'awful'.

The magistrate called the allegations Ms Briffa had tried to remove one of the guns as 'frankly nonsense' before throwing the charges out.

Meanwhile, the man who was punched multiple times walked away with a $100 fine after being charged with obstructing police.

The officers pictured in the video have been placed under review, but have been allowed to remain on full duties.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5026057/Three-WA-officers-investigation-violent-arrest.html">SOURCE</a>

Australian Federal Police launches a new recruitment drive – but only WOMEN can apply

<i>What a howl there would be if the advertisement were "men only".  Why must people be hired on the basis of what they have between their legs?</i>

Men wishing to join the Australian Federal Police need not apply - for the next few months at least. The AFP's Acting Commissioner Leanne Close is hoping 1,000 women apply to become federal police officers during the next recruitment round.

But she argued the exclusion of men, as part of the force's first-ever women's-only recruitment round, was not sexist with women making up just 22 per cent of sworn AFP officers.

'What we are not doing is recruiting enough women to reach the targets that we want by 2021 … so we are actively marketing out there to really target those women who would be keen for a great, challenging and really diverse career,' she told a graduation ceremony attended by the ABC.

The AFP wants female representation to jump to 35 per cent by 2021 and is working to employ 600 more women during the next four years.

The women's-only recruitment round, from now until Christmas, will relate to entry-level positions.

The AFP told the ABC women made up just one-third of its staff and a quarter of senior leaders.

The gender-biased recruitment policy was announced on Thursday the AFP's latest graduation round, of which more than half were women.

Australia has only had one female police commissioner, with Christine Nixon leading Victoria's police force from 2001 to 2009. The senior police commander came under fire in 2010 when a royal commission into the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires found out she was having dinner during a disaster that killed 173 people.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4929894/Australian-Federal-Police-recruiting-women-ranks.html">SOURCE</a>

Police officer allegedly ‘hit teen in face’ while bodycam was switched off

<i>A cop switching off a body camera during a confrontation is prima facie evidence of conscious ill intent.  One hopes that this is treated as a matter of great gravity.  The testimony of the officers concerned should be disregarded as corrupt</i>

Queensland’s corruption watchdog has reportedly been asked to investigate an alleged case of police brutality after claims a Brisbane senior sergeant punched an intoxicated teenager in the face while his body camera was turned off.

A senior constable had been questioning a 19-year-old boy about a brawl at a Brisbane railway station in May last year when the sergeant allegedly appeared and confronted him, The Courier-Mail reports.

Bodycam footage obtained by the newspaper shows the officer swearing at the teen before he allegedly deactivates his body camera.

“What are you looking at me for? What’s your problem?” a voice can be heard asking.

“Why are you looking at me?” another voice responds.

“Because you’re a f----- idiot, that’s why I’m looking at you,” the first voice answers.

Officers claim that within the minutes of the constable’s body camera being turned off, the boy threatened to bite the sergeant and was then hit by the sergeant.

The teen had been arrested after his involvement in a brawl with a group of men at Boondall train station on May 4 last year.

The Courier-Mail reports a complaint has since been lodged with the Crime and Corruption Commission Queensland by barrister Allistair MacAdam.

A police spokesman told the newspaper the matter was with the corruption watchdog and “it would be inappropriate to comment further”.

<a href="http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/09/25/11/10/police-officer-allegedly-punches-handcuffed-teen-in-face">SOURCE</a>

Police coverup of attack on Christians

Three days before Christmas, a van packed with gas bottles detonated outside the HQ of the Australian Christian Lobby.

The very next day, after conducting an interview that lasted about 7 minutes with a man suffering from massive burns, the ACT Police made this statement:

"Police spoke briefly with the man before he continued with treatment. Police were able to establish the man’s actions were not politically, religiously or ideologically motivated"

But see the front pages today of The Australian:

"The man accused of driving a burning van laden with gas bottles into the Australian Christian Lobby headquarters was a gay activist who disliked the group because of its "position on sexuality” and had searched online how to make plastic explosives and a pressure-cooker bomb.

Court documents tendered to the ACT Magistrates Court yesterday reveal Jaden Duong had also run searches about gay marriage in other countries and, a month before the alleged attack at 10.45pm on December 21 last year, had searched for the "Australian Christian Lobby”…

…Police allege 36-year-old Mr Duong had stepped up internet searching from July last year for terms including "how to make ammonium nitrate”, "pressure- cooker bomb”, "C4”, "how to buy a gun in Australia”, "gas leak explosion” and "how much gas to cause explosion”…

…His hospital records allegedly showed Mr Duong had attempted suicide previously, had chosen to target the ACL spontaneously and had "quit his job to plan this suicide attempt”.

"He is ‘not a huge fan’ of the ACL, or religion in general, due to their beliefs and position on sexuality,” the records from Sydney’s Concord Hospital state…

…According to documents tendered in court, soon after the explosion, police asked Mr Duong why he had picked the location.
"Because I dislike the Australian Christian Lobby,” he allegedly replied. Asked why, he allegedly said: "Because religions are failed.”…"

One could reasonably form the opinion that the ACT police have  engaged in a political cover up. There needs to be an immediate investigation into its handling of this incident.

And it needs to answer why the ACT police were so quick to rule out any political, religious or ideological motivation when the evidence it had received directly pointed to the opposite conclusion.

<a href="http://bernardgaynor.com.au/act-police-questions-answer-acl-bombing-alleged-gay-activist/">SOURCE</a>

Dangerous Victoria police

A 16-year-old girl has reportedly taken out an intervention order against a senior constable she has accused of raping her in a park.

The order – preventing the officer from contacting or approaching her - was issued after the girl made multiple sexual assault allegations against him, according to The Age.

The incident in a park in Mildura is the latest allegation of serious predatory behaviour being investigated by an internal taskforce.

A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed the investigation with Daily Mail Australia.

Detectives from Taskforce Salus arrested the policeman on January 25 and he was suspended with pay, she said.

'The male senior constable from Western Region was interviewed in relation to sexual offences and misconduct in public office,' the spokeswoman said.

She added the alleged offences date back to December last year, but declined to comment on whether they are said to have occurred while the officer was on duty.

'The victim has been referred to appropriate support agencies,' she added. 'As the investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to make further comment at this time.'

According to The Age, it took two months after the complaint was made for detectives to interview the girl.

It is also not clear whether she is the only alleged victim in the case.

Taskforce Salus was set up in November 2014 by then chief commissioner Ken Lay to crack down on sexual predators inside the force. It is responsible for handling internal complaints as well as those made by civilians. The taskforce's detectives have charged a number of officers with rape and child sex offences.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that 144 claims of sexual abuse or harassment have been made against serving officers in the year since the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission gave its reports after reviewing sexual discrimination within Victoria Police in December 2015.

Last year, chief commissioner Graham Ashton said Victoria Police was facing its 'biggest journey of cultural change' to overcome the sexism and predatory behaviour ingrained in the force.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4730632/Girl-16-takes-AVO-against-constable-accused-rape.html">SOURCE</a>

Disgusting Queensland police show no regard for the law

<i>They hate it that they don't have a total monopoly on gun ownership</i>

FOR a Justice of the Peace, Gympie gun dealer Ron Owen has had a lot of run-ins with the police. This month he further increased his lead over all rivals for the self anointed title, "most charged innocent man in Queensland." Claiming to have faced more than 2850 charges, he says he has beaten them all.

The Gympie Times reports that on Thursday Ron Owen revealed that he had now received one more vindication, when police withdrew an assault charge involving a person Mr Owen claimed was lawfully removed from his McMahon Rd gun shop.

The defence was that he acted lawfully, but that police did not when an officer seized the shop’s CCTV footage.

Mr Owen says the would-be customer had become agitated at the time staff took to finalise a eight-month old lay-by, so much so that Mr Owen refunded payments, rather than take responsibility for arming him. Yesterday Mr Owen said police wrote to him this week, saying the charge had been withdrawn.

But Mr Owen insists it is not a case of him beating the law. It has always been, he says, a case of the law protecting the citizen against sometimes mistaken agents of the state.

Some of his trouble started years ago, when he published a recipe for black powder, something which he says could also be found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Then came the gun de-activation case, in which he was charged with de-activating guns other than by approved methods.

He made history (and The Gympie Times front page) by re-activating an approved replica in less than 15 minutes, at the bar table of the Gympie Magistrates Court, armed only with a screwdriver and pliers. The witness forced to acknowledge his point was the head of police Ballistics.

"I would have done it quicker if I’d remembered to put the firing pin back in the first time," Mr Owen said later. "And did you notice I didn’t use the pliers?"

Then came the gun buyback in which he proved, using data from police computers (purchased second hand at a police auction), that he was being paid less than anyone else for "millions of dollars worth of gun parts."

An attempt was once also made to cancel his gun dealer’s licence.

Once, after civil action in which police were ordered to pay costs, he says he had to take further action to force payment. At one point he and his family were offered witness protection by the then Criminal Justice Commission.

He refused, because it would have silenced him.

He wonders how many others, without such generous legal support, have suffered serious injustice.

<a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-and-justice/queenslands-most-charged-person-gympie-gun-dealer-ron-owen-wins-again/news-story/585327d38e5e5c313923b9ded8f13b55">SOURCE</a>

Bungled DNA evidence again

<i>It's not proof against crooked cops</i>

The son of a Melbourne mum murdered almost 40 years ago is angry police bungled the investigation by mixing up DNA evidence.

Victoria Police admitted on Thursday DNA taken from bloody pillowcase, and used to rule out priest Anthony Bongiorno as a suspect, came from an unrelated case.

Maria James, 38, was killed in 1980 in her Thornbury bookshop and the priest, who's since died, was a key person of interest.

Her sons Mark and Adam were 13 and 11, respectively, when she died.

The siblings have long suspected the Catholic priest was involved because he had abused Adam as a child. Adam James recently detailed his abuse to an ABC Trace podcast looking into the case. 'I remember he said to me 'Adam, can you come with me and I don't want you to tell your mum or Mark',' he told the ABC.

Bongiorno abused him before Ms James came to collect her son, Adam said.

Mark James says he's angry around the latest turn in the Victoria Police investigation. 'I am actually angry. I feel quite indignant,' he told ABC television on Thursday.

But despite the disappointment, Mark's also relieved. 'When I was originally told that Father Anthony Bongiorno had been eliminated through some form of DNA-type testing, I found it difficult to accept,' he said. 'But now that police have confirmed that Father Bongiorno and others are actually not eliminated, I'm feeling some relief.'

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana the DNA mix up was the result of a 'human error' made three decades ago.

'Basically, this means we need to go back and re-examine all the exhibits from the Maria James investigation.' Persons of interest previously ruled out of the investigation would now be re-examined.

'We've got to go back and ... see whether we can actually identify whether the offender has left any trace evidence behind,'Mr Fontana said. 'We don't have a profile on the suspect at this stage.'

Mark is seeking clarification about when the unrelated DNA was introduced to the investigation. 'I accept it was human error but the clarification I am seeking was, specifically, did this interference occur before Father Bongiorno became a suspect in this case?'

Mr Fontana said the error was discovered this year after a cold case inquiry into Ms James' death began. The James family say they have applied to the Victorian Coroner to re-examine the case as well.

Mr Fontana does not expect the exhumation of bodies, including the remains of Father Bongiorno, will be needed as a new investigation gets underway.

The admittance comes after it was revealed Ms James issued her son Mark a chilling warning just hours before her death. 'If anything happens to me, make sure [your brother] Adam is looked after,' she told him.

The conversation took place at the breakfast table, and by the time Mark, then 13, and his younger brother Adam, then 11, returned home from school, their lives had changed forever, reported ABC's Trace Podcast.

Father Bongiorno picked the boys up from school and broke the news.

It is believed she was killed with a small knife with a green handle, taken from her own kitchen drawer.

When she was killed, she was on the phone to her ex-husband John. She had briefly put down the phone and never returned.  Police arrived to find the phone still off the hook. 

Despite police finding blood at the scene which they believe belongs to the killer, Maria's murderer has never been found.

Officers investigated multiple leads, but all of them went cold. 

Detective Ron Iddles, who is widely regarded as Australia's greatest detective, was unable to solve the case, and though he retired from Victoria Police this year, will continue trying to hunt down the mother's killer. He told Trace the amount of stab wounds Maria received suggested her killer was certainly someone she knew.

'I've investigated over 320 homicides. Those where you have absolute multiple stab wounds like this, I don't think I've ever charged anyone where there is no connection between the killer,' he said.

<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4691182/Melbourne-police-examine-Maria-James-investigation.html">SOURCE</a>

<a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/australias-lurch-to-the-left-will-lead-it-down-the-same-path-as-greece/news-story/7cb6b5544ef2d06ebfed1c97fb08c3c7">SOURCE</a>

Police officer ‘disciplined’ for sharing address of domestic violence victim

A QUEENSLAND cop who used the official police database to share a Gold Coast mum’s home address with her former husband who was bound by a restraining order – and then joked about it – has avoided the sack.

Almost nine months after The Courier-Mail revealed the shocking allegations, an internal affairs police investigation has determined Brisbane Senior Constable Neil Punchard should receive “disciplinary sanctions”, but it is understood he was not suspended.

The terrified woman, who has been forced to move house, said she was disgusted by the decision and has now appealed to the ­Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee to review the case. She has also sought an ­urgent meeting with State MP Shannon Fentiman, the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.

The Ethical Standards Command investigation ruled that the allegations against Sen-Constable Punchard were substantiated and imposed “disciplinary sanctions”, but in a statement refused to tell The Courier-Mail what those sanctions were.

After learning the woman’s address, Sen-Constable Punchard joked with his mate via text message about how she would “flip out” when she discovered she had been tracked down.

It comes just a week after another police officer, caught using the QPRIME database to look up netball star Laura Geitz out of curiosity, pleaded guilty to computer hacking charges and was fined $4000.

The Gold Coast mother-of-three whose file was ­accessed by Sen-Constable Punchard said it beggared belief that the two officers received such vastly different punishments.

“How is it that an officer can look up a netball player and get criminally charged and another who has completely betrayed my trust is not subjected to further investigation?” she said.

“He should be facing criminal charges.  “I feel like the safety of myself and my family is now at risk.”

Ms Fentiman said no one deserved to have their privacy and safety threatened.  “Any breach of trust by someone tasked with protecting domestic violence victims is completely unacceptable,” she said.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/crime-and-justice/police-officer-disciplined-for-sharing-address-of-domestic-violence-victim/news-story/fb83b80e9718907b92fcb414fa4123b9