Another crooked NSW cop
A former NSW detective breached the community's trust in police by carrying out a string of illegal acts, but he was not as corrupt as Mark Standen, a court has heard.
Christopher Laycock is facing a sentencing hearing in the NSW District Court more than seven years since the allegations against him were first raised in the Police Integrity Commission.
Laycock, the son of former Assistant Commissioner John Laycock, has pleased guilty to five counts relating to theft and corruption - including two counts of aggravated breaking and entering, fraud, illegally taking information from a police database, and lying to the PIC.
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The court today heard Laycock, who had been commended in the force prior to his offending, committed his crimes out of resentment after being injured.
Laycock's barrister - former Supreme Court justice Greg James, QC - submitted that as a result of his injury, Laycock set about committing "opportunistic" crimes, motivated by "a willingness to exploit his job and the trust in that job".
Mr James said there was no doubt his client's offending was "a serious breach of trust" that the community deserved to have in the police force.
"However, it's not in the same category as either Standen's case, or [former detective inspector Nelson] Chad's case ... those who have commenced a continuous, organized activity such as the importation of drugs in which Standen was involved, or the long-term and highly nefarious activities Chad was involved with," he said.
Standen, former assistant director of the NSW Crime Commission, was convicted and sentenced last year over a conspiracy to import and supply a commercial quantity of drugs, using his law enforcement position to pervert the course of justice.
The late Nelson Chad was accused of a variety of crimes including loading up criminals and having inappropriate dealings with members of the underworld.
Crown Prosecutor John Powers took issue with the description of Laycock's crimes being simply "opportunistic".
The crimes for which Laycock is to be sentenced all involve "substantial planning, involvement of others, illegal financial gain and then on no fewer than three occasions at the inquiry into his activities he gave false evidence".
He said the crimes must be punished by "a substantial term of imprisonment".
Mr James submitted Laycock's incarceration would be more difficult due to his status as a former policeman, so urged the court to apply a shorter non-parole period, and a longer term of supervised parole.
In one theft, in July 2004, Laycock went to a man's home and pretended he was conducting police business in order to steal $11,000.
On another occasion, in December 2003, he took $23,500 from a man's home in the inner Sydney suburb of Chiswick after breaking in.
Laycock has admitted that he lied to the commission in October 2004 when he said he did not have a corrupt relationship with another former police officer, when he knew the opposite to be true.
Judge Jonathan Williams revoked bail and remanded Laycock in custody ahead of him delivering the sentence next Thursday.
SOURCE
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
W.A. Police crooks again
A LAW professor and his female companion, who were arrested and tasered in Fremantle, have launched a civil lawsuit against three police officers and the State over the incident.
Charges against University of WA assistant professor of law Robert Cunningham and the women, Catherine Atoms, were dismissed on April 29 last year.
As first revealed on PerthNow's iPad app tonight, they are now claiming unspecified damages for what they describe as police brutality.
A magistrate previously ruled their arrest on November 2, 2008, was unjustified and unlawful, and accused police witnesses of collusion.
Fremantle-based police officers Simon Traynor, Peter James Clark and Glenn Alexander Caldwell have been named in a District Court writ, which was lodged in October.
Mr Cunningham and Ms Atoms are claiming damages for personal injuries sustained at the time of the incident and afterwards.
They claim the officers:
*Breached a duty of care owed to them.
*Breached their statutory duty.
*Assaulted them.
*Falsely imprisoned them.
They are also claiming interest at a rate of six per cent per year.
Three police inquiries found no wrongdoing but the Corruption and Crime Commission’s Parliamentary Inspector Christopher Steytler found evidence of police misconduct.
In the lead up to his trial, CCTV footage of police tasering the pair was stolen from Mr Cunningham’s university office before police presented edited footage of the incident in court.
The chain of events raised suggestions police had tampered with the evidence, Mr Steytler found.
In September, Labor MP Tony Buti alleged police were trying to put pressure on Ms Atoms by claiming officers went to her house in 2009 and tried to intimidate her.
“The police officer tells her ‘your car has been involved in a hit and run accident’, she had no idea what he was talking about,” he said at the time.
Mr Buti called for the officer’s actions to be investigated.
The same month, Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan referred the matter back to the CCC.
SOURCE
A LAW professor and his female companion, who were arrested and tasered in Fremantle, have launched a civil lawsuit against three police officers and the State over the incident.
Charges against University of WA assistant professor of law Robert Cunningham and the women, Catherine Atoms, were dismissed on April 29 last year.
As first revealed on PerthNow's iPad app tonight, they are now claiming unspecified damages for what they describe as police brutality.
A magistrate previously ruled their arrest on November 2, 2008, was unjustified and unlawful, and accused police witnesses of collusion.
Fremantle-based police officers Simon Traynor, Peter James Clark and Glenn Alexander Caldwell have been named in a District Court writ, which was lodged in October.
Mr Cunningham and Ms Atoms are claiming damages for personal injuries sustained at the time of the incident and afterwards.
They claim the officers:
*Breached a duty of care owed to them.
*Breached their statutory duty.
*Assaulted them.
*Falsely imprisoned them.
They are also claiming interest at a rate of six per cent per year.
Three police inquiries found no wrongdoing but the Corruption and Crime Commission’s Parliamentary Inspector Christopher Steytler found evidence of police misconduct.
In the lead up to his trial, CCTV footage of police tasering the pair was stolen from Mr Cunningham’s university office before police presented edited footage of the incident in court.
The chain of events raised suggestions police had tampered with the evidence, Mr Steytler found.
In September, Labor MP Tony Buti alleged police were trying to put pressure on Ms Atoms by claiming officers went to her house in 2009 and tried to intimidate her.
“The police officer tells her ‘your car has been involved in a hit and run accident’, she had no idea what he was talking about,” he said at the time.
Mr Buti called for the officer’s actions to be investigated.
The same month, Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan referred the matter back to the CCC.
SOURCE
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Two Victoria Police officers could face criminal charges following coroner's investigation into deadly chase
TWO police constables face possible criminal charges after a coroner found they lied to a series of investigations about their involvement in a deadly police chase. The coroner, Peter White, also called for mandatory real-time video and "live" feed recording of all police vehicle pursuits.
Shane Bennett, 19, died after being chased by police through Seaford in 2008.
As first revealed by the Herald Sun, crucial elements of sworn statements of the two officers chasing Mr Bennett, Sen-Constables Michael Bednarczyk and Cameron Orr, were proved false through the use of GPS data.
In a Victorian first, investigators and international experts took the data from the officers' vehicle to prove they were going much faster than they told several inquiries - including an ESD inquiry, an OPI probe and a coronial hearing.
Data proved they were travelling at 177km/h in a 60km/h zone through Seaford streets before Mr Bennett later ran a red light and hit another car - killing him and leaving an innocent driver maimed.
The coroner:
ACCUSED the constables of turning a "blind eye" to their dangerous speeds before Mr Bennett crashed and died.
DID not believe the constables' evidence and referred them to the DPP.
ACCUSED them of deliberately ignoring command calls to stop chasing Mr Bennett.
MADE four recommendations that call for greater independence of internal police investigations.
CALLED for GPS terminals to be placed in every police car to feed live data back to command centres.
Sen-Constables Bednarczyk and Orr could face serious criminal charges, possibly including endangering life causing death and reckless driving.
Mr White rejected their statements that they were not aware of the speeds they were travelling, which were also not told to the chase controller, who ended the chase when he learned the speeds were over 120km/h.
"At all relevant times both officers were broadly aware of the speeds they were travelling and deliberately turned a blind eye to this issue," he said.
Mr White said the ESD's original investigation was unsatisfactory and that Mr Bennett's death was a devastating loss.
SOURCE
TWO police constables face possible criminal charges after a coroner found they lied to a series of investigations about their involvement in a deadly police chase. The coroner, Peter White, also called for mandatory real-time video and "live" feed recording of all police vehicle pursuits.
Shane Bennett, 19, died after being chased by police through Seaford in 2008.
As first revealed by the Herald Sun, crucial elements of sworn statements of the two officers chasing Mr Bennett, Sen-Constables Michael Bednarczyk and Cameron Orr, were proved false through the use of GPS data.
In a Victorian first, investigators and international experts took the data from the officers' vehicle to prove they were going much faster than they told several inquiries - including an ESD inquiry, an OPI probe and a coronial hearing.
Data proved they were travelling at 177km/h in a 60km/h zone through Seaford streets before Mr Bennett later ran a red light and hit another car - killing him and leaving an innocent driver maimed.
The coroner:
ACCUSED the constables of turning a "blind eye" to their dangerous speeds before Mr Bennett crashed and died.
DID not believe the constables' evidence and referred them to the DPP.
ACCUSED them of deliberately ignoring command calls to stop chasing Mr Bennett.
MADE four recommendations that call for greater independence of internal police investigations.
CALLED for GPS terminals to be placed in every police car to feed live data back to command centres.
Sen-Constables Bednarczyk and Orr could face serious criminal charges, possibly including endangering life causing death and reckless driving.
Mr White rejected their statements that they were not aware of the speeds they were travelling, which were also not told to the chase controller, who ended the chase when he learned the speeds were over 120km/h.
"At all relevant times both officers were broadly aware of the speeds they were travelling and deliberately turned a blind eye to this issue," he said.
Mr White said the ESD's original investigation was unsatisfactory and that Mr Bennett's death was a devastating loss.
SOURCE
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Tasered man sues West Australian police
THE man suing bashed policeman Matt Butcher claims he has lost $140,000 in income and will never be able to return to work after the constable tasered him in a pub car park.
For the first time, details of 59-year-old Robert McLeod's civil action against the maimed policeman and the State Government can be revealed.
In a statement of claim filed with the District Court and obtained by The Sunday Times this week, Mr McLeod claims Constable Butcher is liable for the loss and damages arising from "wrongful battery" when the officer fired his police-issue Taser at him during a brawl outside the Old Bailey Tavern in Joondalup in 2008.
He claims Constable Butcher was not legally allowed to use force "likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm".
Mr McLeod says he has suffered post-traumatic stress and has needed counselling since the brawl involving himself, his sons Barry and Scott, and patrons.
Constable Butcher was one of several officers called to the scene. He was left partially paralysed after Barry McLeod felled him with a "flying headbutt".
Barry McLeod escaped a conviction for assault despite his actions being recorded on a mobile phone, claiming he had acted in defence of his father, fearing he would die from the Taser because he had a heart condition. His father and brother were also acquitted of assault charges.
Lawyers for the McLeods argued the police used "unnecessary and excessive force" against them.
Though Constable Butcher deployed a Taser on Robert McLeod, who has a history of heart trouble, police have maintained it did not activate. Mr McLeod later suffered a heart attack.
The statement of claim seeks:
* Unspecified special damages and personal injury damages.
* Interest of 6 per cent on any damages payout dating back to February 4, 2008
* All costs of the court action.
Mr McLeod also is claiming other special damages, but those details will not be provided until prior to the trial, which is due in coming months.
The claim says Mr McLeod was the proprietor of a business that earned $35,000 a year before the incident and since then he has been unable to do his job and will remain unfit to work "until his normal date of retirement".
It says he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after he received eight fractured ribs, puncture wounds to his left abdomen and was three days in a coma.
SOURCE
THE man suing bashed policeman Matt Butcher claims he has lost $140,000 in income and will never be able to return to work after the constable tasered him in a pub car park.
For the first time, details of 59-year-old Robert McLeod's civil action against the maimed policeman and the State Government can be revealed.
In a statement of claim filed with the District Court and obtained by The Sunday Times this week, Mr McLeod claims Constable Butcher is liable for the loss and damages arising from "wrongful battery" when the officer fired his police-issue Taser at him during a brawl outside the Old Bailey Tavern in Joondalup in 2008.
He claims Constable Butcher was not legally allowed to use force "likely to cause death or grievous bodily harm".
Mr McLeod says he has suffered post-traumatic stress and has needed counselling since the brawl involving himself, his sons Barry and Scott, and patrons.
Constable Butcher was one of several officers called to the scene. He was left partially paralysed after Barry McLeod felled him with a "flying headbutt".
Barry McLeod escaped a conviction for assault despite his actions being recorded on a mobile phone, claiming he had acted in defence of his father, fearing he would die from the Taser because he had a heart condition. His father and brother were also acquitted of assault charges.
Lawyers for the McLeods argued the police used "unnecessary and excessive force" against them.
Though Constable Butcher deployed a Taser on Robert McLeod, who has a history of heart trouble, police have maintained it did not activate. Mr McLeod later suffered a heart attack.
The statement of claim seeks:
* Unspecified special damages and personal injury damages.
* Interest of 6 per cent on any damages payout dating back to February 4, 2008
* All costs of the court action.
Mr McLeod also is claiming other special damages, but those details will not be provided until prior to the trial, which is due in coming months.
The claim says Mr McLeod was the proprietor of a business that earned $35,000 a year before the incident and since then he has been unable to do his job and will remain unfit to work "until his normal date of retirement".
It says he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after he received eight fractured ribs, puncture wounds to his left abdomen and was three days in a coma.
SOURCE
Sunday, March 4, 2012
How Victorian police spent $3.5 million on 250 taxpayer-funded credit cards
VICTORIA police have used taxpayer-funded credit cards to buy gifts, fast food, doughnuts, artwork and spa resort accommodation.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the Sunday Herald Sun show more than $3.5 million was spent on 250 publicly funded corporate credit cards in the past three financial years.
Among more than 13,000 transactions are tens of thousands of dollars spent on flowers, alcohol and fast food.
According to police rules, the Visa cards, held by senior sworn and unsworn members, are meant to be used for "critical incident procurement".
Transaction reports show the cards have been used for payments to cinemas, ten-pin bowling, concert tickets, golf clubs, go karting, magazine subscriptions, bedding, jewellery and even a company that sells dolls' houses and accessories.
The bank statements span 325 pages and show $1588 spent on glass artwork, $22,464.79 on flowers, $11,221.39 on fast food and $3263.67 on alcohol.
The Chief Commissioner's office has spent almost $150,000 on 17 credit cards, including on chauffeur-driven cars, glass artwork and stays at country spa resorts and the five-star Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.
Other police departments have spent public funds on massages, Mornington Peninsula's hot springs, thousands at golf clubs and online golf stores and more than $3000 on artwork.
"Cardholders must always act in the interests of the state, as opposed to their own personal interests or convenience and must perform their duties honestly, with skill and care," the Department of Treasury and Finance rules state.
Some transactions show obvious work-related expenses, such as a $390 purchase at a ski shop for tyre chains for a search and rescue operation.
Victoria Police said it carried out regular reviews and "there have been no reportable breaches". But it admits knowing of one private purchase of around $20 that was made inadvertently. The money was repaid.
The documents also show more than $6000 was spent at Barbecues Galore, hundreds at ticket agencies and the Home Barista Institute, $800 at Ace Karts and at least three purchases at baby gift stores.
At least one card has a maximum spending limit of $25,000. Most have a maximum limit of between $2000 and $3000. The highest transaction was for $5892.08 at a hotel in mid-December last year.
Other purchases include $1216 at the Village cinema at Crown and $386.30 at St Kilda Sea Baths followed by $412.80 at the nearby Beachcomber Cafe on Christmas Eve.
There are also payments for a $758.80 roller that picks up nuts and $59.70 at Koorong Books - a Christian bookshop in Blackburn South.
Police Association Secretary Greg Davies said the purchases "beggar belief". "These cards do help members book conference rooms at short notice and things like that but I am damned if I know why glass artworks, massages, spa resorts and cinemas are being booked out," Sen-Sgt Davies said. "It beggars belief that these purchases are being made at a time when operational police struggle to find a working computer ... in order to do their job.
"I would hope Chief Commissioner Ken Lay tightens the reins on this spending."
The transactions include $1588 at Kirra Gallery and $345 at Madison Spa Resort.
On Wednesday, the Sunday Herald Sun asked Victoria Police to explain 70 purchases. Spokeswoman Anna Erbrederis said the force would explain only 20 that it had selected.
Of those, massages were given to data-entry staff, artwork was bought for Box Hill Police Station, alcohol was bought for conferences and functions and three gifts were bought. There was also $2248 spent at Macedon Spa for "work-related travel".
Krispy Kreme doughnuts, karaoke, sporting memorabilia and $96.78 at Harrods in London was also deemed correct use of the credit cards by Victoria Police.
"All transactions were for Victoria Police work-related expenditure and none were in regard to personal use," a spokeswoman said.
"The purpose of the corporate card is to make simple purchases. It is considered easier to use the corporate card and a lot more effective than having employees pay for the goods and then reimburse them.
"Any Victoria Police permanent employee - sworn or unsworn - can request a corporate card with justification and is subject to the approval by local managers and department or region heads. As a general rule, a corporate card should be used for one-off, ad hoc purchases, rather than for the payment of ongoing contracts and services. There are clear consequences if cardholders misuse their cards or if there is unauthorised use."
She added the credit cards can be used for flight and hotel bookings if "out of normal business hours", but it is not encouraged.
SOURCE
VICTORIA police have used taxpayer-funded credit cards to buy gifts, fast food, doughnuts, artwork and spa resort accommodation.
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the Sunday Herald Sun show more than $3.5 million was spent on 250 publicly funded corporate credit cards in the past three financial years.
Among more than 13,000 transactions are tens of thousands of dollars spent on flowers, alcohol and fast food.
According to police rules, the Visa cards, held by senior sworn and unsworn members, are meant to be used for "critical incident procurement".
Transaction reports show the cards have been used for payments to cinemas, ten-pin bowling, concert tickets, golf clubs, go karting, magazine subscriptions, bedding, jewellery and even a company that sells dolls' houses and accessories.
The bank statements span 325 pages and show $1588 spent on glass artwork, $22,464.79 on flowers, $11,221.39 on fast food and $3263.67 on alcohol.
The Chief Commissioner's office has spent almost $150,000 on 17 credit cards, including on chauffeur-driven cars, glass artwork and stays at country spa resorts and the five-star Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.
Other police departments have spent public funds on massages, Mornington Peninsula's hot springs, thousands at golf clubs and online golf stores and more than $3000 on artwork.
"Cardholders must always act in the interests of the state, as opposed to their own personal interests or convenience and must perform their duties honestly, with skill and care," the Department of Treasury and Finance rules state.
Some transactions show obvious work-related expenses, such as a $390 purchase at a ski shop for tyre chains for a search and rescue operation.
Victoria Police said it carried out regular reviews and "there have been no reportable breaches". But it admits knowing of one private purchase of around $20 that was made inadvertently. The money was repaid.
The documents also show more than $6000 was spent at Barbecues Galore, hundreds at ticket agencies and the Home Barista Institute, $800 at Ace Karts and at least three purchases at baby gift stores.
At least one card has a maximum spending limit of $25,000. Most have a maximum limit of between $2000 and $3000. The highest transaction was for $5892.08 at a hotel in mid-December last year.
Other purchases include $1216 at the Village cinema at Crown and $386.30 at St Kilda Sea Baths followed by $412.80 at the nearby Beachcomber Cafe on Christmas Eve.
There are also payments for a $758.80 roller that picks up nuts and $59.70 at Koorong Books - a Christian bookshop in Blackburn South.
Police Association Secretary Greg Davies said the purchases "beggar belief". "These cards do help members book conference rooms at short notice and things like that but I am damned if I know why glass artworks, massages, spa resorts and cinemas are being booked out," Sen-Sgt Davies said. "It beggars belief that these purchases are being made at a time when operational police struggle to find a working computer ... in order to do their job.
"I would hope Chief Commissioner Ken Lay tightens the reins on this spending."
The transactions include $1588 at Kirra Gallery and $345 at Madison Spa Resort.
On Wednesday, the Sunday Herald Sun asked Victoria Police to explain 70 purchases. Spokeswoman Anna Erbrederis said the force would explain only 20 that it had selected.
Of those, massages were given to data-entry staff, artwork was bought for Box Hill Police Station, alcohol was bought for conferences and functions and three gifts were bought. There was also $2248 spent at Macedon Spa for "work-related travel".
Krispy Kreme doughnuts, karaoke, sporting memorabilia and $96.78 at Harrods in London was also deemed correct use of the credit cards by Victoria Police.
"All transactions were for Victoria Police work-related expenditure and none were in regard to personal use," a spokeswoman said.
"The purpose of the corporate card is to make simple purchases. It is considered easier to use the corporate card and a lot more effective than having employees pay for the goods and then reimburse them.
"Any Victoria Police permanent employee - sworn or unsworn - can request a corporate card with justification and is subject to the approval by local managers and department or region heads. As a general rule, a corporate card should be used for one-off, ad hoc purchases, rather than for the payment of ongoing contracts and services. There are clear consequences if cardholders misuse their cards or if there is unauthorised use."
She added the credit cards can be used for flight and hotel bookings if "out of normal business hours", but it is not encouraged.
SOURCE
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Cop in the dock after drug raid in Maryborough, Victoria
A MAN saw "stars I'd never seen before" after a Victorian policeman "choke slammed" him on a concrete floor during a drug raid, a court has heard.
It was also alleged police told Darren Joy to tell anyone who asked that his injured collarbone was a result of falling off a ladder.
Sen-Constable Grant Allan from Maryborough is charged with 10 offences including intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, and perverting the course of justice.
Mr Joy told a committal hearing at Bendigo Magistrates' Court yesterday police had come to his Maryborough home with a warrant early in the morning looking for drugs.
Constable Allan pushed him inside the house after telling him "I'm sick of you monkeys lying to us". Mr Joy, 46, said the policeman then gripped his throat. "He carried me from the kitchen to the lounge room and then choke slammed me," he said. "He just lost it. I was seeing stars that I'd never seen before."
Mr Joy denied he was a drug mule but admitted to smoking marijuana frequently.
Another policeman who was at the scene of the alleged assault, Sen-Constable Charles Heatherley, said he had witnessed a physical altercation between Mr Joy and Constable Allan, despite earlier claiming he hadn't seen anything. Constable Heatherley gave evidence that he had changed his original statement because it was filled with lies.
Constable Heatherley denied pointing the finger at his colleague to spare himself from charges. He said the experience of the drug search and OPI inquiry had put him on the brink of a breakdown.
SOURCE
A MAN saw "stars I'd never seen before" after a Victorian policeman "choke slammed" him on a concrete floor during a drug raid, a court has heard.
It was also alleged police told Darren Joy to tell anyone who asked that his injured collarbone was a result of falling off a ladder.
Sen-Constable Grant Allan from Maryborough is charged with 10 offences including intentionally causing serious injury, recklessly causing serious injury, and perverting the course of justice.
Mr Joy told a committal hearing at Bendigo Magistrates' Court yesterday police had come to his Maryborough home with a warrant early in the morning looking for drugs.
Constable Allan pushed him inside the house after telling him "I'm sick of you monkeys lying to us". Mr Joy, 46, said the policeman then gripped his throat. "He carried me from the kitchen to the lounge room and then choke slammed me," he said. "He just lost it. I was seeing stars that I'd never seen before."
Mr Joy denied he was a drug mule but admitted to smoking marijuana frequently.
Another policeman who was at the scene of the alleged assault, Sen-Constable Charles Heatherley, said he had witnessed a physical altercation between Mr Joy and Constable Allan, despite earlier claiming he hadn't seen anything. Constable Heatherley gave evidence that he had changed his original statement because it was filled with lies.
Constable Heatherley denied pointing the finger at his colleague to spare himself from charges. He said the experience of the drug search and OPI inquiry had put him on the brink of a breakdown.
SOURCE
Australian Crime Commission bungles revealed
A TOP national security agency has suffered a massive blow-out in breaches of its own security, exposing secret operations to outsiders in a trail of embarrassing Get Smart-style bungles.
Australian Crime Commission staff are increasingly compromising or risking investigations as classified intelligence documents are lost, sensitive equipment is misplaced or stolen, and buildings left exposed in often comical circumstances.
Breaches have risen six-fold over the past five years and include a stressed investigator with a full bladder hearing his car being broken into while urinating on a beach.
Secure cabinets have been left open, a package was sent to the wrong address and a sensitive video conference accidentally beamed into the wrong room.
In a "major security breach" in Melbourne last October, security minutes indicate the ACC was forced to suppress a person's information from the public, change their phone and re-register a vehicle after an investigator left intelligence papers on a car roof.
Left it on the bus
"I left carpark, inadvertently leaving the vehicle log book/folder on the roof tucked under the roof rack of the vehicle," the official explained. "An 'ACC HIGHLY PROTECTED' document has been placed within the vehicle log book/folder (instead of a secure briefcase)."
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has learned the ACC has recorded at least 48 internal security breaches over the past two years after only 24 cases in the previous three.
Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal secure cabinets are left open and staff share security log-ins with unauthorised colleagues, risking a "severe impact on security and integrity".
The most common breach involved staff taking up to a month to report lost security ID passes for ACC offices after losing them in taxis, drains, buses, pubs, airports or on the way to the optometrist, while some cards were not returned by visitors.
Staff found guilty
In one of 25 cases last year - after rising from only four breaches in 2007 - a video conference was beamed into a room at the ACC Canberra HQ, where an outsider was waiting to be interviewed by human resources. "The interviewee was left alone unmonitored," a minute states.
ACC chief executive John Lawler yesterday admitted the number of breaches was too high but said all cases were reported and investigated because of a positive culture of self-reporting and awareness.
"While the number of security breaches is higher than I would like, I would much prefer to know of security breaches," he said. "The ACC places great importance on the security of its premises, people and information."
Three staff have been found guilty of code of conduct breaches, including the investigator with the full bladder who suffered a 2 per cent pay cut and reprimand, but most cases result in little more than staff counselling, such as the car roof error.
In April 2010, a senior investigator in Sydney left 110MB of files relating to the ACC stored on a laptop he had handed in.
SOURCE
A TOP national security agency has suffered a massive blow-out in breaches of its own security, exposing secret operations to outsiders in a trail of embarrassing Get Smart-style bungles.
Australian Crime Commission staff are increasingly compromising or risking investigations as classified intelligence documents are lost, sensitive equipment is misplaced or stolen, and buildings left exposed in often comical circumstances.
Breaches have risen six-fold over the past five years and include a stressed investigator with a full bladder hearing his car being broken into while urinating on a beach.
Secure cabinets have been left open, a package was sent to the wrong address and a sensitive video conference accidentally beamed into the wrong room.
In a "major security breach" in Melbourne last October, security minutes indicate the ACC was forced to suppress a person's information from the public, change their phone and re-register a vehicle after an investigator left intelligence papers on a car roof.
Left it on the bus
"I left carpark, inadvertently leaving the vehicle log book/folder on the roof tucked under the roof rack of the vehicle," the official explained. "An 'ACC HIGHLY PROTECTED' document has been placed within the vehicle log book/folder (instead of a secure briefcase)."
An investigation by The Daily Telegraph has learned the ACC has recorded at least 48 internal security breaches over the past two years after only 24 cases in the previous three.
Documents obtained under freedom of information reveal secure cabinets are left open and staff share security log-ins with unauthorised colleagues, risking a "severe impact on security and integrity".
The most common breach involved staff taking up to a month to report lost security ID passes for ACC offices after losing them in taxis, drains, buses, pubs, airports or on the way to the optometrist, while some cards were not returned by visitors.
Staff found guilty
In one of 25 cases last year - after rising from only four breaches in 2007 - a video conference was beamed into a room at the ACC Canberra HQ, where an outsider was waiting to be interviewed by human resources. "The interviewee was left alone unmonitored," a minute states.
ACC chief executive John Lawler yesterday admitted the number of breaches was too high but said all cases were reported and investigated because of a positive culture of self-reporting and awareness.
"While the number of security breaches is higher than I would like, I would much prefer to know of security breaches," he said. "The ACC places great importance on the security of its premises, people and information."
Three staff have been found guilty of code of conduct breaches, including the investigator with the full bladder who suffered a 2 per cent pay cut and reprimand, but most cases result in little more than staff counselling, such as the car roof error.
In April 2010, a senior investigator in Sydney left 110MB of files relating to the ACC stored on a laptop he had handed in.
SOURCE
Monday, February 27, 2012
Police scams uncovered forcing two detectives to quit
TWO detectives have quit Victoria Police after admitting they lied to the Office of Police Integrity.
One of them was being investigated over allegedly illegally obtaining a television set recovered during a police raid. The other allegedly got the windows of his personal car tinted then claimed the work was done on a police vehicle.
Magistrate Kate Hawkins said last week that she hoped their cases would send a message to all police that engaging in even minor crimes could cost them their careers.
Leading Senior Constables Richard Sully and Robert Brown were both detectives at the Wonthaggi criminal investigations unit.
Sully, 42, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates' Court last week to misleading the OPI director in a private hearing. He was fined $4000 without conviction. Brown, 39, pleaded guilty to misleading the OPI director and was fined $2000 without conviction.
Both men resigned from Victoria Police shortly before their court appearance.
The OPI had evidence of them both lying as they contradicted evidence they gave under oath at private OPI hearings.
Brown was accused of obtaining a television set that had been recovered during a police raid on the home of a known burglar.
He then allegedly told an insurance company the television was damaged when it was actually working, and he then purchased it a reduced price.
Sully was being investigated over the window tinting he allegedly got for his personal car. Charges were laid over the window tinting and television allegations, but were later withdrawn.
Magistrate Kate Hawkins said their cases should send a message to all police that they must not compromise their integrity and must act with honesty at all times.
In sentencing Sully and Brown, Ms Hawkins said every police officer must be above reproach and must tell the truth at all times, whatever cost.
SOURCE
TWO detectives have quit Victoria Police after admitting they lied to the Office of Police Integrity.
One of them was being investigated over allegedly illegally obtaining a television set recovered during a police raid. The other allegedly got the windows of his personal car tinted then claimed the work was done on a police vehicle.
Magistrate Kate Hawkins said last week that she hoped their cases would send a message to all police that engaging in even minor crimes could cost them their careers.
Leading Senior Constables Richard Sully and Robert Brown were both detectives at the Wonthaggi criminal investigations unit.
Sully, 42, pleaded guilty in Melbourne Magistrates' Court last week to misleading the OPI director in a private hearing. He was fined $4000 without conviction. Brown, 39, pleaded guilty to misleading the OPI director and was fined $2000 without conviction.
Both men resigned from Victoria Police shortly before their court appearance.
The OPI had evidence of them both lying as they contradicted evidence they gave under oath at private OPI hearings.
Brown was accused of obtaining a television set that had been recovered during a police raid on the home of a known burglar.
He then allegedly told an insurance company the television was damaged when it was actually working, and he then purchased it a reduced price.
Sully was being investigated over the window tinting he allegedly got for his personal car. Charges were laid over the window tinting and television allegations, but were later withdrawn.
Magistrate Kate Hawkins said their cases should send a message to all police that they must not compromise their integrity and must act with honesty at all times.
In sentencing Sully and Brown, Ms Hawkins said every police officer must be above reproach and must tell the truth at all times, whatever cost.
SOURCE
Friday, February 24, 2012
Victoria police sure have got their priorities right
Man claims he was fined $200 for emptying water bottle
A MAN claiming he was fined more than $200 for pouring half a bottle of water on the street says he will fight the penalty.
Truckie Michael Hagen, from Berwick, says he had no idea he was doing anything wrong when he emptied the bottle while pulling up at a Melbourne CBD intersection on Wednesday afternoon.
But moments later Mr Hagen was pulled over and handed an infringement notice for littering.
"I still to this day don't know if what I did was breaking the law. "I didn't even know what I was doing was wrong. It didn't even enter my mind actually," Mr Hagen said.
He said he stopped at the Clarendon St intersection when he poured the bottle's warm contents from the driver's side of the car onto the bitumen before driving off.
He was then pulled over near Crown Casino for what he thought he was a routine check. "I thought they were going to give me a breathalyser or a general check, but they gave me an infringement notice for littering," Mr Hagen said.
"They said: 'You poured a liquid substance out of the window.' I said: 'It's water.' They said: 'How do we know it's water? It could be anything'."
He said it was over-the-top policing and he planned to fight the fine in court. "I was a little bit animated. I wasn't very happy, especially when they gave me a ticket. I wasn't impressed. "They should be paying attention to people jaywalking across the road, that's my concern," Mr Hagen said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were tracking details of the offence yesterday and wouldn't comment.
SOURCE
Man claims he was fined $200 for emptying water bottle
A MAN claiming he was fined more than $200 for pouring half a bottle of water on the street says he will fight the penalty.
Truckie Michael Hagen, from Berwick, says he had no idea he was doing anything wrong when he emptied the bottle while pulling up at a Melbourne CBD intersection on Wednesday afternoon.
But moments later Mr Hagen was pulled over and handed an infringement notice for littering.
"I still to this day don't know if what I did was breaking the law. "I didn't even know what I was doing was wrong. It didn't even enter my mind actually," Mr Hagen said.
He said he stopped at the Clarendon St intersection when he poured the bottle's warm contents from the driver's side of the car onto the bitumen before driving off.
He was then pulled over near Crown Casino for what he thought he was a routine check. "I thought they were going to give me a breathalyser or a general check, but they gave me an infringement notice for littering," Mr Hagen said.
"They said: 'You poured a liquid substance out of the window.' I said: 'It's water.' They said: 'How do we know it's water? It could be anything'."
He said it was over-the-top policing and he planned to fight the fine in court. "I was a little bit animated. I wasn't very happy, especially when they gave me a ticket. I wasn't impressed. "They should be paying attention to people jaywalking across the road, that's my concern," Mr Hagen said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were tracking details of the offence yesterday and wouldn't comment.
SOURCE
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Victoria Police confess legal shortcut a threat to thousands of criminal cases
THREE-QUARTERS of Victoria Police officers have confessed to illegally preparing affidavits used to get search and other warrants.
An investigation by the force has identified almost 3000 pending criminal cases in Magistrates' courts which could be affected by the affidavit bungle and faulty affidavits will also be an issue in 299 upcoming Supreme and County Court cases.
Hundreds of convicted criminals are also likely to try to get their convictions overturned by arguing evidence obtained from dodgy affidavits was wrongly used against them.
"There are certainly cases we will be losing and there are others where we will lose some of the charges," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said yesterday.
The more than 9000 police who recently admitted failing to correctly swear affidavits were flushed out by Chief Commissioner Ken Lay's promise not to take disciplinary action against officers who confessed.
Mr Lay's amnesty, which was revealed in the Herald Sun in December last year, resulted in 75 per cent of the force signing disclosure forms admitting to incorrectly preparing affidavits.
A Victoria Police probe into the problem revealed the practice of officers failing to swear affidavits started at least 15 years ago and involves ranks right up to deputy commissioner.
The Herald Sun has also discovered:
POLICE will stop investigations and not lay charges in some cases as a result of faulty affidavits.
SOME of the forces most experienced detectives, including from the Purana gangland killing taskforce, the homicide squad, the Ethical Standards Department and the drug taskforce, have admitted flouting the law for years by not swearing affidavits.
THE embarrassing debacle has also infected the vast majority of suburban and country police stations.
Mr Cartwright stressed that not swearing an affidavit did not mean the contents of the affidavit were false as officers believed that by signing it they were attesting to its accuracy.
But he said he wasn't making excuses for so many in the force having incorrectly prepared affidavits for so long.
"It is deeply regrettable that we have actually had to go through this," Mr Cartwright said.
"We have 9000 members who say basically we got it wrong, or we are not sure we got it right. We shouldn't have got to that situation.
"Having said that, once we have discovered the problem we have worked really hard, and we continue to work hard, to fix it."
"What the challenge is now is to make sure that in future we don't have other similar problems and that we have fixed whatever it is that is the root of this problem."
Tony Mokbel and notorious underworld heavy Sean Sonnet have already seized on the police stuff-up to try to get off drug and conspiracy to commit murder charges.
The revelations in today's Herald Sun are expected to prompt hundreds of others to follow their lead as accused and convicted criminals discover there is every chance their cases involve unsworn affidavits.
Mr Cartwright said some long-serving members of high profile squads involved in major drug and organised crime cases had admitted to never having correctly sworn an affidavit.
"So you can imagine that every case that will have come out of those particular areas will be tested," he said.
Mr Cartwright said it was impossible to say how many prosecutions would be affected as the problem was being handled on a case by case basis as each accused or convicted person came before a court.
He said it will be up to the magistrate or judge in each case to decide whether or not to admit evidence obtained as a result of police using unsworn affidavits.
A judge in one current high-profile case, who can't be named for legal reasons, recently ruled evidence from search warrants was illegally obtained through improperly prepared affidavits.
But the judge used his discretionary power to still allow the evidence into the trial, saying doing so was more desirable than throwing it out.
"The probity value outweighed the prejudicial value is basically what he has found," Mr Cartwright said.
Police and prosecutors are hoping many more judges and magistrates come to the same conclusion as the thousands of cases affected by dodgy affidavits get to court in coming months.
SOURCE
THREE-QUARTERS of Victoria Police officers have confessed to illegally preparing affidavits used to get search and other warrants.
An investigation by the force has identified almost 3000 pending criminal cases in Magistrates' courts which could be affected by the affidavit bungle and faulty affidavits will also be an issue in 299 upcoming Supreme and County Court cases.
Hundreds of convicted criminals are also likely to try to get their convictions overturned by arguing evidence obtained from dodgy affidavits was wrongly used against them.
"There are certainly cases we will be losing and there are others where we will lose some of the charges," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright said yesterday.
The more than 9000 police who recently admitted failing to correctly swear affidavits were flushed out by Chief Commissioner Ken Lay's promise not to take disciplinary action against officers who confessed.
Mr Lay's amnesty, which was revealed in the Herald Sun in December last year, resulted in 75 per cent of the force signing disclosure forms admitting to incorrectly preparing affidavits.
A Victoria Police probe into the problem revealed the practice of officers failing to swear affidavits started at least 15 years ago and involves ranks right up to deputy commissioner.
The Herald Sun has also discovered:
POLICE will stop investigations and not lay charges in some cases as a result of faulty affidavits.
SOME of the forces most experienced detectives, including from the Purana gangland killing taskforce, the homicide squad, the Ethical Standards Department and the drug taskforce, have admitted flouting the law for years by not swearing affidavits.
THE embarrassing debacle has also infected the vast majority of suburban and country police stations.
Mr Cartwright stressed that not swearing an affidavit did not mean the contents of the affidavit were false as officers believed that by signing it they were attesting to its accuracy.
But he said he wasn't making excuses for so many in the force having incorrectly prepared affidavits for so long.
"It is deeply regrettable that we have actually had to go through this," Mr Cartwright said.
"We have 9000 members who say basically we got it wrong, or we are not sure we got it right. We shouldn't have got to that situation.
"Having said that, once we have discovered the problem we have worked really hard, and we continue to work hard, to fix it."
"What the challenge is now is to make sure that in future we don't have other similar problems and that we have fixed whatever it is that is the root of this problem."
Tony Mokbel and notorious underworld heavy Sean Sonnet have already seized on the police stuff-up to try to get off drug and conspiracy to commit murder charges.
The revelations in today's Herald Sun are expected to prompt hundreds of others to follow their lead as accused and convicted criminals discover there is every chance their cases involve unsworn affidavits.
Mr Cartwright said some long-serving members of high profile squads involved in major drug and organised crime cases had admitted to never having correctly sworn an affidavit.
"So you can imagine that every case that will have come out of those particular areas will be tested," he said.
Mr Cartwright said it was impossible to say how many prosecutions would be affected as the problem was being handled on a case by case basis as each accused or convicted person came before a court.
He said it will be up to the magistrate or judge in each case to decide whether or not to admit evidence obtained as a result of police using unsworn affidavits.
A judge in one current high-profile case, who can't be named for legal reasons, recently ruled evidence from search warrants was illegally obtained through improperly prepared affidavits.
But the judge used his discretionary power to still allow the evidence into the trial, saying doing so was more desirable than throwing it out.
"The probity value outweighed the prejudicial value is basically what he has found," Mr Cartwright said.
Police and prosecutors are hoping many more judges and magistrates come to the same conclusion as the thousands of cases affected by dodgy affidavits get to court in coming months.
SOURCE
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Thug Qld. Cop loses appeal against finding that he used excessive force in arrest of boy, 15
A FORMER police officer has lost an appeal against a finding he used unauthorised and unjustified excessive force in the arrest of a 15-year-old boy almost five years ago.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed an appeal by former police sergeant Damien Chapman to overturn a tribunal finding that he used excessive force while arresting the teen at Clontarf, north of Brisbane, on May 18, 2007.
Chapman was initially cleared after an internal Queensland Police Service investigation by then QPS deputy commissioner Kathy Rynders. [Dear Kathy again]
However, that resulted in the matter being referred to QCAT by Queensland's criminal watchdog the Crime and Misconduct Commission. The CMC asked QCAT to review commissioner Rynders' findings and last November the tribunal overturned her decision and found that Chapman had used excessive force.
The 15-year-old, who was not responsible for the offence for which he was arrested, suffered a severely ruptured spleen, which doctors found was the result of blunt force to the area underneath his ribs.
At the original QCAT hearing, Chapman's defence argued the medical report was too inconclusive to say without doubt how the injury occurred. QCAT members James Thomas and Susan Booth disagreed, saying they were satisfied Chapman struck the boy without "authorisation, justification or excuse by law".
They were also critical of the internal police investigation, which they likened to "a relic of earlier armed service orderly room procedure".
QCAT president Alan Wilson, in a just-published 10-page decision, rejected Chapman's appeal, saying it "must be dismissed".
Justice Wilson, presiding in the tribunal's appeals jurisdiction, said the original finding was proper in all of the circumstances.
He said Chapman's appeal had focused on "numerous questions of law", but mainly argued the tribunal's decision was "contrary to, and against, the weight of evidence". "None of (Chapman's) grounds of appeal are made out," he said.
Chapman resigned in the wake of the QCAT ruling. Justice Wilson said during a follow-up hearing the tribunal found it would have ordered he be dismissed had he not already resigned.
SOURCE
A FORMER police officer has lost an appeal against a finding he used unauthorised and unjustified excessive force in the arrest of a 15-year-old boy almost five years ago.
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal has dismissed an appeal by former police sergeant Damien Chapman to overturn a tribunal finding that he used excessive force while arresting the teen at Clontarf, north of Brisbane, on May 18, 2007.
Chapman was initially cleared after an internal Queensland Police Service investigation by then QPS deputy commissioner Kathy Rynders. [Dear Kathy again]
However, that resulted in the matter being referred to QCAT by Queensland's criminal watchdog the Crime and Misconduct Commission. The CMC asked QCAT to review commissioner Rynders' findings and last November the tribunal overturned her decision and found that Chapman had used excessive force.
The 15-year-old, who was not responsible for the offence for which he was arrested, suffered a severely ruptured spleen, which doctors found was the result of blunt force to the area underneath his ribs.
At the original QCAT hearing, Chapman's defence argued the medical report was too inconclusive to say without doubt how the injury occurred. QCAT members James Thomas and Susan Booth disagreed, saying they were satisfied Chapman struck the boy without "authorisation, justification or excuse by law".
They were also critical of the internal police investigation, which they likened to "a relic of earlier armed service orderly room procedure".
QCAT president Alan Wilson, in a just-published 10-page decision, rejected Chapman's appeal, saying it "must be dismissed".
Justice Wilson, presiding in the tribunal's appeals jurisdiction, said the original finding was proper in all of the circumstances.
He said Chapman's appeal had focused on "numerous questions of law", but mainly argued the tribunal's decision was "contrary to, and against, the weight of evidence". "None of (Chapman's) grounds of appeal are made out," he said.
Chapman resigned in the wake of the QCAT ruling. Justice Wilson said during a follow-up hearing the tribunal found it would have ordered he be dismissed had he not already resigned.
SOURCE
Monday, February 20, 2012
More barefaced lies from the Qld. police
It would become them a lot better if they stopped lying and came clean but they know they are a protected class so have nothing to lose
But they must be rattled now that a newspaper has obtained a copy of the totally dishonest official charge sheet. There is obviously a decent police insider who is disgusted with them
POLICE will describe the shocking bashing of a young man in the basement of a Gold Coast police station as "a brief struggle".
CCTV footage showing officers manhandling, kneeing and punching 21-year-old chef Noa Begic at Surfers Paradise police station has gone viral since it was obtained by The Courier-Mail last week.
One of the officers involved already has been pulled from frontline duties while a joint Ethical Standards Command and Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation is under way. Police are also investigating how The Courier-Mail obtained the video.
The newspaper has obtained a copy of the official charge sheet, with the arresting officers painting a different picture of what happened in the early hours of January 29.
The police statement reports Mr Begic landed face-first on the basement floor because he slipped out of the hands of officers and fell over.
"The defendant planted his feet ... and pushed towards police in a rapid movement which caused police to lose hold of the defendant," the statement reads. "The defendant then fell to the ground."
According to police, Mr Begic then stood up and continued resisting so violently he again fell, dragging officers down with him, despite their repeated instructions to "stop resisting". "After a brief struggle the defendant was secured in a prisoner transport van," the statement continued.
There is no mention of the flurry of punches that followed once Mr Begic was placed in the back of the wagon. The court brief lists the CCTV footage as evidence to support a charge of obstructing police. Police also will call upon footage from Gold Coast City Council cameras in the area where the arrest took place.
It will be alleged Mr Begic was at the corner of Cavill Ave and Orchid Ave about 3.10am with a group of friends when he was approached by police for swearing loudly in reference to two other officers.
The police statement alleges Mr Begic refused to answer questions and laughed loudly at police "on two occasions". He was arrested on a charge of public nuisance relating to his indecent language and escorted to a nearby police car where his "abusive, indecent language and aggressive behaviour" escalated as he demanded to know why he had been arrested.
Mr Begic, who is considering a civil lawsuit against police, will face court in April charged with public nuisance and obstructing police.
SOURCE
It would become them a lot better if they stopped lying and came clean but they know they are a protected class so have nothing to lose
But they must be rattled now that a newspaper has obtained a copy of the totally dishonest official charge sheet. There is obviously a decent police insider who is disgusted with them
POLICE will describe the shocking bashing of a young man in the basement of a Gold Coast police station as "a brief struggle".
CCTV footage showing officers manhandling, kneeing and punching 21-year-old chef Noa Begic at Surfers Paradise police station has gone viral since it was obtained by The Courier-Mail last week.
One of the officers involved already has been pulled from frontline duties while a joint Ethical Standards Command and Crime and Misconduct Commission investigation is under way. Police are also investigating how The Courier-Mail obtained the video.
The newspaper has obtained a copy of the official charge sheet, with the arresting officers painting a different picture of what happened in the early hours of January 29.
The police statement reports Mr Begic landed face-first on the basement floor because he slipped out of the hands of officers and fell over.
"The defendant planted his feet ... and pushed towards police in a rapid movement which caused police to lose hold of the defendant," the statement reads. "The defendant then fell to the ground."
According to police, Mr Begic then stood up and continued resisting so violently he again fell, dragging officers down with him, despite their repeated instructions to "stop resisting". "After a brief struggle the defendant was secured in a prisoner transport van," the statement continued.
There is no mention of the flurry of punches that followed once Mr Begic was placed in the back of the wagon. The court brief lists the CCTV footage as evidence to support a charge of obstructing police. Police also will call upon footage from Gold Coast City Council cameras in the area where the arrest took place.
It will be alleged Mr Begic was at the corner of Cavill Ave and Orchid Ave about 3.10am with a group of friends when he was approached by police for swearing loudly in reference to two other officers.
The police statement alleges Mr Begic refused to answer questions and laughed loudly at police "on two occasions". He was arrested on a charge of public nuisance relating to his indecent language and escorted to a nearby police car where his "abusive, indecent language and aggressive behaviour" escalated as he demanded to know why he had been arrested.
Mr Begic, who is considering a civil lawsuit against police, will face court in April charged with public nuisance and obstructing police.
SOURCE
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Qld. cops to investigate their own toothless watchdog
QUEENSLAND police have been told to investigate the state's corruption body for failing to interview a decorated former homicide detective named in the Dangerous Liaisons report.
Dangerous Liaisons - released in July 2009 by the Crime and Misconduct Commission - detailed various allegations against 25 police officers.
Former homicide detective Darren Hall said the CMC did not interview him during its five-year investigation. No charges were laid against any of the 25 officers.
Yesterday, the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, which oversees the CMC, informed Mr Hall the matter had been referred back to police. "The committee has resolved to ask the police service to investigate your complaints and provide a report on the matters to the committee," a letter addressed to Mr Hall said. "The committee will be in further contact with you once it has received and considered the report from the Queensland Police Service."
Mr Hall said he only wanted justice to be served properly after the report ruined his career. "I suppose hopefully it will mean it will be investigated," he told The Courier-Mail. "And that they will be brought to justice for what they haven't done during those five years - which is interview me and give me a chance to defend myself."
The order for police to investigate the CMC provides another twist to their rocky relationship which was heavily damaged during the investigation into the 2004 death of Mulrunji on Palm Island.
The latest development follows a push from Independent MP Rob Messenger for an inquiry. "This matter casts serious doubt over the integrity of the CMC both past and present," Mr Messenger said. "I have grave doubts that the Queensland police force is up to the task of investigating it and I believe the only solution is for an independent inquiry and I'd hope and demand that (LNP leader) Campbell Newman will support me with my call - and I won't waste my breath with (Anna) Bligh or Labor."
Lawyer Greg Williams, who has supported Mr Hall in his fight, said he believed it was a "world first" for a police force to investigate its own corruption body.
"Even the CMC is not immune to scrutiny - and they shouldn't be," he said. "I believe they have failed miserably by not giving Darren an opportunity to respond to allegations made in their report."
SOURCE
QUEENSLAND police have been told to investigate the state's corruption body for failing to interview a decorated former homicide detective named in the Dangerous Liaisons report.
Dangerous Liaisons - released in July 2009 by the Crime and Misconduct Commission - detailed various allegations against 25 police officers.
Former homicide detective Darren Hall said the CMC did not interview him during its five-year investigation. No charges were laid against any of the 25 officers.
Yesterday, the Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee, which oversees the CMC, informed Mr Hall the matter had been referred back to police. "The committee has resolved to ask the police service to investigate your complaints and provide a report on the matters to the committee," a letter addressed to Mr Hall said. "The committee will be in further contact with you once it has received and considered the report from the Queensland Police Service."
Mr Hall said he only wanted justice to be served properly after the report ruined his career. "I suppose hopefully it will mean it will be investigated," he told The Courier-Mail. "And that they will be brought to justice for what they haven't done during those five years - which is interview me and give me a chance to defend myself."
The order for police to investigate the CMC provides another twist to their rocky relationship which was heavily damaged during the investigation into the 2004 death of Mulrunji on Palm Island.
The latest development follows a push from Independent MP Rob Messenger for an inquiry. "This matter casts serious doubt over the integrity of the CMC both past and present," Mr Messenger said. "I have grave doubts that the Queensland police force is up to the task of investigating it and I believe the only solution is for an independent inquiry and I'd hope and demand that (LNP leader) Campbell Newman will support me with my call - and I won't waste my breath with (Anna) Bligh or Labor."
Lawyer Greg Williams, who has supported Mr Hall in his fight, said he believed it was a "world first" for a police force to investigate its own corruption body.
"Even the CMC is not immune to scrutiny - and they shouldn't be," he said. "I believe they have failed miserably by not giving Darren an opportunity to respond to allegations made in their report."
SOURCE
Top defender for bashing defendant
ALLEGED police bashing victim Noa Begic will be represented by the lawyer who defended wrongly accused terror suspect Mohamed Haneef.
The 21-year-old chef is facing minor charges of public nuisance and obstructing police over his arrest in the early hours of January 29 in Surfers Paradise.
But he is also considering launching a civil action against the police officers who allegedly left him bashed and bloodied in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station - an incident made public when The Courier-Mail revealed the CCTV footage.
Peter Russo, who helped Dr Haneef beat terror charges, met Mr Begic yesterday and confirmed he would represent him in court, but was reluctant to comment further. "It's very early days," he said.
Mr Begic also has another white knight in his corner - a former model who took on the police and won after five years of harassment and intimidation.
Renee Eaves leapt to Mr Begic's defence and said she would use her experience to help the young dad if he took on the police service in court. She arranged for him to meet Mr Russo, one of Queensland's highest-profile lawyers.
"Police can use what they call 'reasonable force', but how much force is needed when someone is handcuffed and locked in the back of a wagon?" she asked. "I would say none."
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson has stood by his comment that officers can be justified in punching aggressive offenders, but insisted his words were not in support of those involved in the bashing.
He asked Queenslanders not to lose faith in their police service after footage emerged of a handcuffed man being bashed by officers.
The incident is now subject to a joint investigation by Queensland police and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.
One officer has been removed from operational duties.
"Nothing I said on Wednesday in any way suggested I was supporting the officer who is the subject of the investigation," Mr Atkinson said.
SOURCE
ALLEGED police bashing victim Noa Begic will be represented by the lawyer who defended wrongly accused terror suspect Mohamed Haneef.
The 21-year-old chef is facing minor charges of public nuisance and obstructing police over his arrest in the early hours of January 29 in Surfers Paradise.
But he is also considering launching a civil action against the police officers who allegedly left him bashed and bloodied in the basement of the Surfers Paradise police station - an incident made public when The Courier-Mail revealed the CCTV footage.
Peter Russo, who helped Dr Haneef beat terror charges, met Mr Begic yesterday and confirmed he would represent him in court, but was reluctant to comment further. "It's very early days," he said.
Mr Begic also has another white knight in his corner - a former model who took on the police and won after five years of harassment and intimidation.
Renee Eaves leapt to Mr Begic's defence and said she would use her experience to help the young dad if he took on the police service in court. She arranged for him to meet Mr Russo, one of Queensland's highest-profile lawyers.
"Police can use what they call 'reasonable force', but how much force is needed when someone is handcuffed and locked in the back of a wagon?" she asked. "I would say none."
Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson has stood by his comment that officers can be justified in punching aggressive offenders, but insisted his words were not in support of those involved in the bashing.
He asked Queenslanders not to lose faith in their police service after footage emerged of a handcuffed man being bashed by officers.
The incident is now subject to a joint investigation by Queensland police and the Crime and Misconduct Commission.
One officer has been removed from operational duties.
"Nothing I said on Wednesday in any way suggested I was supporting the officer who is the subject of the investigation," Mr Atkinson said.
SOURCE
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