|
|
|
| NEWS > 20 September 2007 |
Other related articles:
Former police officer gets six
A former Sydney police officer who was found to be in contempt of the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) may be allowed to serve his sentence in home detention.
The Supreme Court has found that Christopher John Walker was knowingly untruthful when he told the Commission that he was unable to recollect an extortion attempt he was allegedly involved in.
The 57-year-old was found to be in contempt of the PIC. Today he has been given a six month sentence.
Justice Robert McDougall said Walker's decision to return to the PIC to answer questions about the incident, a... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
20 September 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
|
Detective quits over corruptio
A SENIOR detective from one of Victoria Police's most sensitive units has resigned after allegations that he leaked details of a corruption inquiry.
The sergeant worked in the police human source management unit, which safeguards against the mismanagement or corrupt use of informers. He is believed to have tipped off an associate about the probe by the Office of Police Integrity.
The revelation comes after The Age reported last week that two taskforces are investigating evidence allegedly linking corrupt police to underworld killings, and as political pressure mounts on Premier John Brumby to join NSW, Queensland and Western Australia by setting up an independent anti-corruption watchdog in Victoria.
It is believed the former detective learnt of the OPI's interest in the force's handling of informers after it requested information from a colleague.
He is then alleged to have warned an associate of the OPI's activities, a move a source close to the detective said was driven by poor judgement and "blind loyalty", not corrupt intent.
His resignation is likely to embarrass Victoria Police, which implemented major reforms in 2001 aimed at integrity-proofing officers' use of informers.
A senior police source also criticised the OPI for the way it approached the human source unit for information, saying the watchdog had clumsily flagged its interest in the area.
A Victoria Police spokesman yesterday confirmed the detective had resigned, but would not comment further. The OPI declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu told Parliament yesterday that earlier revelations in The Age showed that Victoria needed an independent, broad-based commission to "tackle the blight of corruption". Unlike interstate bodies, the OPI cannot investigate organised crime or corruption in the public sector unless it involves police.
Mr Baillieu said the call for a broad-based, permanent commission came not just from the Liberal Party but also the Nationals, Greens, the DLP, Victoria's major newspapers and "almost every expert commentator".
"You have to ask yourself: what does this Government have to hide?" he said.
Nationals leader Peter Ryan warned that public confidence in the integrity of the police force could be undermined by the Government's refusal to set up an anti-corruption watchdog.
"The Government's inaction has led to a situation where good, honest, serving police officers are increasingly having a slur placed upon their name by those within the police force who conduct themselves in a disgraceful manner," he said
As Mr Brumby continued to resist calls for a permanent anti-corruption commission or a royal commission, Police Minister Bob Cameron was under fresh scrutiny over a phone call from his office to the office of Chief Commission Christine Nixon over an internal police investigation.
The investigation involved alleged misuse of the force's internal email system by a police union delegate, Detective Sergeant Peter Lalor, who is now suspended.
The Age revealed in May that Mr Cameron's office called Ms Nixon's office after police union secretary Paul Mullett had complained that the email investigation was a politically motivated attack on the union.
The investigation stalled after Mr Mullett's intervention.
Mr Cameron yesterday released a briefing note, dated May 21 and approved by Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland, which said the call from the minister's office to Ms Nixon's office was "entirely appropriate".
But Mr Baillieu last night said there were still questions about whether there had been political interference in the investigation. "You can act appropriately and still have an influence," he said.
Ms Nixon last week confirmed that two taskforces are probing alleged links between police corruption and underworld murders.
Sergeant Lalor is under separate investigation by one taskforce over allegations that he gave a hitman the address of male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott, shot dead in June 2003.
|
| |
 EiP Comments:
|
|---|
|
| |
* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
 |
Ethics in Policing, based in the UK, provide information and advice about the following:
Policing Research | Police News articles | Police Corruption | International Policing | Police Web Sites | Police Forum | Policing Ethics | Police Journals | Police Publications |
|
| |
|
