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The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
12 February 2007

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Victoria Police Association

Police Association faces dirt

THE already poisonous relationship between Victoria's Police Association and senior police is likely to worsen after claims of wrongdoing by union officials.

Among the allegations, to be detailed on the ABC's Four Corners program tonight, are that the union hired private investigators to dig into the lives of anti-corruption police and that the association's legal fighting fund was used to help mates of those controlling it.

It is also alleged that the union is the fiefdom of old-school police headed by secretary Paul Mullett and that those trying to reform the union have been undermined through intimidation and dirty tricks.

Further, Office of Police Integrity assistant director Graham Ashton says the association, through its antipathy to corruption investigators, is an obstacle to rooting out police corruption.

"I'm sure they see their role as being fierce advocates for the police and that if any wrongdoing is alleged against any of their members that it's a slight on the entire force," he said.

"But when they attack every anti-corruption effort and every effort by the police to maintain ethical standards � in a public way, that really is an obstacle to progress in maintaining ethical standards."

Many of the allegations centre on the fate of Janet Mitchell, who became association president in 2004, running on a four-person ticket with respected homicide detective Ron Iddles.

She says she found an organisation in thrall to Mr Mullett and resistant to change. Relations between the two went downhill as executive members allied to Ms Mitchell quit, criticising Mr Mullett as they went.

Investigations by police, consultants and WorkSafe into bullying allegations against Mr Mullett worsened the dispute. Ms Mitchell was also the subject of a malicious, anonymous email campaign designed to damage her reputation.

Ms Mitchell went on stress leave, a result that angered Gavan Ryan, an experienced homicide detective and former association executive member.

"I've worked homicide for a long time and I've dealt with a lot of crooks, bad crooks. Most of them have more morals than the cowards that send out these malicious, defamatory emails against her," he said.

One of the things Ms Mitchell says concerned her most was the administration of the $14 million legal cost fund, set up to pay the legal fees of police charged with criminal offences while on duty.

She says the members deliberating on disbursing the funds were sometimes friends of applicants. Ms Mitchell says the legal cost fund committee was sometimes deliberately stacked to ensure that was the case.

A theme running through the allegations against Mr Mullett and the association is a supposed opposition to scrutiny.

A secret recording of police Ethical Standards division detectives meeting union officials in 2004 features detectives asking Mr Mullett if the association had paid private investigators to tail them. In the recording, Mr Mullett says he has no knowledge of such activities, but appears to fail to deny they took place. He does appear to admit that private investigators had approached crown witnesses against allegedly corrupt police.

Mr Mullett did not wish to comment before hearing the Four Corners allegations.

But he told another television show yesterday: "The only issue we want to raise is the collusion between the Chief Commissioner of police and a small group of former Police Association representatives who are trying to undermine the Police Association and destabilise us at a time when all we want to do is focus on major issues regarding policing."

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Article sourced from

The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A12 February 2007

Police Association faces dirt

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The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
12 February 2007