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| NEWS > 13 July 2007 |
Other related articles:
ARMY BID TO CLEAN UP POLICE
UK TROOPS launched a massive drive in Iraq yesterday to purge the British-controlled south of police corruption.
One thousand Brits and 2300 Iraqi forces launched the campaign, dubbed Operation Sinbad, in Basra.
The operation may run until February as commanders prepare to hand the country's second city back to the Iraqis.
Unseating the militias who have infiltrated the police is being seen as a good move towards winning Iraqi hearts and minds.
Eight to 10-man Royal Military Police "transition teams" are being put in city police stations for 30 days ... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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The Australian - Sydney,Austra
13 July 2007
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To view it in its entirity click this link.
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More bite for police watchdog
THE Howard Government's new federal police watchdog is likely to get extra funding and staff following damning claims that it cannot afford to properly investigate corruption.
Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said yesterday that he would consider boosting the budget of the new watchdog - known as the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity - following comments made to The Australian by acting ACLEI head John McMillan.
Professor McMillan, who is also commonwealth Ombudsman, said the six-month-old watchdog was a toothless tiger that did not have the resources needed to carry out its role of rooting out corruption in the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission.
He said ACLEI could not afford to conduct the basic telephone taps and covert surveillance needed to detect corrupt AFP or ACC officers.
The ACLEI has a budget of only $2 million compared with budgets for state-based police anti-corruption watchdogs of between $19 million and $34 million a year.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ruddock said that Professor McMillan had not previously discussed budget concerns with the minister. "But if (he) has views, we'd be keen to hear them, and if there is a need in future for more resources we would consider that in a budget context," the spokeswoman said yesterday.
This contrasts with comments made on Wednesday by Justice Minister David Johnston, who said that ACLEI's $2 million budget was "an adequate amount of money for the agency to prevent, detect and investigate corruption in the ACC and AFP".
Labor's homeland security spokesman Arch Bevis said yesterday that the party would consider strengthening ACLEI and expanding its role to include other government agencies such as Customs.
"We intend to give teeth to this tiger," Mr Bevis said. "There can be no cloud of uncertainty hanging in the public's mind when it comes to the probity of Australia's law enforcement bodies, particularly those charged with the fundamental task of national security."
Mr Bevis said Professor McMillan's comments were at odds with Mr Ruddock's claim when setting up ACLEI that the Government was putting in place "a regime of rigorous external examination" to ensure public confidence in law enforcement.
"We cannot afford another Howard Government smoke-and-mirrors exercise where they pretend to be concerned but actually fail to do what is necessary," Mr Bevis said.
ACLEI's inability to scrutinise the AFP and the ACC comes at a time when both agencies have received dramatic increases in powers and resources to combat terrorism and organised crime.
The AFP's anti-terror powers have triggered controversy this week over the continued detention without charge of Indian-born Gold Coast doctor Mohamed Haneef. Professor McMillan said ACLEI had only five staff available for investigations, and it needed a tenfold increase to be properly effective.
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