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| NEWS > 24 November 2008 |
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Stephen Lawrence police corrup
An inquiry into claims of police corruption in the first investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence should be complete by the summer, a watchdog said today.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has interviewed former detective turned whistleblower Neil Putnam several times about allegations made in a BBC documentary, a spokeswoman said.
But the organisation has not yet made a final decision on whether it will seek to interview the man alleged by the programme to have acted corruptly in the original 1993 investigation.
It is examining wheth... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Melbourne Herald Sun - Austral
24 November 2008
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Victoria Police
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Office of Police Integrity see
THE police corruption watchdog had identified an unhealthy relationship between some officers and sex workers.
A new Office of Police Integrity report claims street prostitutes have complained about officers demanding free sex.
The prostitutes also allege some Victoria Police officers force them to pay bribes to avoid being charged.
In a report to be published today on police and the street sex industry, the OPI claims a particular suburban station has had a long-running problem.
The report, which has been seen by the Herald Sun, says Victoria Police is conducting a major project to try to fix the station's corruption issues.
"The proposal for this project cites issues of cyclical corruption, sporadic and entrenched, facilitated by an environment with high concentrations of prostitution and drug activity," the report said.
The manager of the OPI's corruption prevention and education unit, Heidi Ravenscroft, said street prostitutes had made many disturbing allegations about their involvement with police.
"The main complaints are that police intimidate them, don't respond to them when they have been assaulted, and expect some kind of payment for turning a blind eye, for example, sex," Ms Ravenscroft said.
Her OPI report said Victoria Police recognised there was a problem and its Ethical Standards Department's 2008-09 action plan had made tackling it an active priority.
ESD chief Luke Cornelius confirmed yesterday he was aware some officers were involved in illegal and unethical behaviour involving sex workers.
But he denied it was a major problem, saying the 40 complaints made about this misconduct since 2000 amounted to less than 1 per cent of the total complaints against police during that period.
Assistant Commissioner Cornelius said police management had already instigated substantial changes at the corruption-prone station highlighted in the OPI report.
He identified it as St Kilda police station, and said problems there were largely a failure in leadership, which led to ineffective management.
Mr Cornelius said there were a number of corruption and ethical issues at the St Kilda station and Victoria Police had established a Professional Development Council last year to fix them. The OPI report said that as of April 2007 the station had the highest number of complaints in the region, two members on suspension and "a number of station supervisors actively fostering an environment producing a paucity of ethical health".
Mr Cornelius said the prostitution issue was just a small part of the overall problem at the St Kilda police station.
"Interaction with sex workers was just one of a very broad number of potential ethical risks," he said.
The OPI report praised Victoria Police for its co-operation in relation to problems with officers and the sex industry.
It recommended Victoria Police introduce a range of measures to reduce the level of corruption associated with prostitution.
These include better training for all officers about the risks, and appointing police liaison officers in regions with a street prostitution problem.
Ms Ravenscroft identified those regions as St Kilda, Richmond, Footscray and the CBD.
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