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| NEWS > 15 July 2007 |
Other related articles:
Detectives on trial for fake d
A SYDNEY court has committed two former National Crime Authority (NCA) officers to stand trial over fake drugs busts.
Former NSW Police detective Samuel John Foster, 41, and James Anthony McCabe, 36, formally of Victoria Police, allegedly faked arrests to steal money and drugs.
They were investigated by the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) in 2004 for corruption during their time as officers for the NCA, now the Australian Crime Commission.
Following the PIC probe, the pair were charged with offences including armed robbery, drug trafficking, corruption, and attem... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Moonee Valley Community News -
15 July 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Australia: ethical health chec
IT was not in the public interest to release a report into the workplace culture at Flemington station, Victoria Police told a tribunal last week.
Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre is fighting for the public release of the 'Doney Report' through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The tribunal heard the report's author, Whittlesea's Inspector Mark Doney, was asked to do an ''ethical health check'' of the station after 10 complaints were lodged with the Office of Police Integrity between March-April 2006.
The complaints were lodged by the legal centre on behalf of clients from Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali and Sudanese backgrounds, the tribunal heard.
A separate investigation into these complaints is being undertaken by Acting Inspector Craig Rhodes of Broadmeadows police.
Inspector Nigel Howard of Moonee Valley police told the tribunal the Doney Report was an internal review intended for ''senior management's eyes only''.
He said it could destabilise relations with the African community if the findings were made public.
This was despite police telling Community News, in an article tendered as evidence, that the report reflected well on Flemington station.
Inspector Howard said it was his understanding that officers were interviewed on the basis of confidentiality.
Counsel for the legal centre, Melinda Richards, asked the witness on what he based his understanding.
Inspector Howard replied it was based on discussions with Assistant Commissioner Ken Lay and Divisional Superintendent Brett Guerin.
He said if the report got out, members would be asking, ''for want of a better word, 'who's the rat'?
''People are then seen as rats and it's a culture ingrained in the Victoria Police force.''
He argued partial release of the report, omitting the ranks of officers interviewed, could be used ''mischievously'' by the media.
''Journalists take [free licence] and will report certain excerpts and a lot of times comments will be taken out of context.''
He admitted the press was ''probably my greatest concern''.
He said the amount of probing by the local press consumed much of his time in providing answers so as to avoid misrepresentation.
''Dealing with our local media is nearly a full-time job,'' Inspector Howard told the tribunal. ''These documents can be leaked to the press and that will put us back in terms of all the good work we've achieved.''
A Community News article of May 29, headed 'Critical report outdated', was tendered to the tribunal as exhibit A.
Ms Richards said this story, about another report that was ''highly critical'' of police, had not destablised the community.
She read a quote from Superintendent Guerin: ''An internal inquiry which looked into the workplace culture of the Flemington police station concluded that overall it was a workplace without harassment, bullying or racism''.
In obvious reference to Inspector Howard's earlier testimony, VCAT deputy president Michael Macnamara quipped: ''Taking it out of context, he says''.
Ms Richards also argued Superintendent Guerin had partially revealed the report's contents in Community News' front page article, 'Report battle', dated June 12.
Mr Macnamara said Inspector Howard's testimony was third hand and getting it was at times akin to ''extracting a tooth''.
He asked why Inspector Doney had not been called as a witness. ''The Doney Report without Inspector Doney is a bit like Hamlet without the prince, isn't it?''
Police counsel Rachael Ellyard replied: ''He isn't available to give evidence, is my instruction''.
Mr Macnamara also asked why Commissioner Lay or Superintendent Guerin had not been asked to testify.
Ms Ellyard said Superintendent Guerin had gone or was about to go on holiday.
Testifying for the legal centre, principal solicitor Tamar Hopkins said a report into the culture of a police station impacted on the community and was therefore appropriate for release.
''The number of complaints indicated that there was a systemic issue at the station.
''What's missing, however, is a level of accountability. A lot of my clients are asking me what's happened, where are the results of my complaint.''
The tribunal is yet to hand down its decision.
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