Networked Knowledge - Media Report

[This edited version of the report has been prepared by Dr Robert N Moles and Bibi Sangha]

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On 10 October 2007 Yahoo7 News reported “'Bad apple' cops rule from the outside”.  

It said that corrupt former officers are controlling syndicates in Victoria's police, relying on a gossip-based strategy to undermine reforms, the state's chief corruption fighter says. In an annual report of the Office of Police Integrity (OPI), director George Brouwer described how corruption was operating with links to organised crime. Although a very small minority of police were corrupt, they had adopted a deliberate strategy to undermine efforts to make Victoria Police more professional and accountable, the report said. "Using extensive contacts that are embedded throughout Victoria Police, they rely on the power of gossip and innuendo to undermine the current Victoria Police leadership's reform agenda," the report said.

Corrupt officers work in small groups and most syndicates had joined forces with criminals and organised crime figures. "These groups appear to be organised hierarchically, with those at the top of the group often connected by long-standing relationships, some of which are intergenerational," the report said. "Sometimes the most influential member of a group is a former police officer who continues to connect with, and exert influence over, current serving members."

Many of these former police resigned while under investigation for corruption, Mr Brouwer said. Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said he was not surprised by the report's finding that "only small cells" were operating. "We have a very effective Ethical Standards Department and one of their focuses is to ensure we eradicate those ongoing associations," Mr Walshe said. Victorian Police Association Secretary Paul Mullett dismissed the report as "lacking substance" and said Mr Brouwer had made rash generalisations aimed at justifying his own job. Senior Sergeant Mullett said the OPI's $16.5 million budget should instead be used for the force's Ethical Standards Department. "There's certainly no endemic or systemic corruption in the Victoria police force - he refers to it as sporadic only," Snr Sgt Mullett said. "We have the occasional bad apple, but we must remember that 99 per cent of police officers every day go to work, they do a difficult and hard job on behalf of the community."

According to the report, nine police and 11 civilians had been charged since July 2006. In the same period, six police under investigation had resigned. The OPI was awaiting advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on five briefs of evidence. The report also revealed Mr Brouwer planned to recommend a "complete overhaul" of the police discipline system later this year. He also expressed concern that some police take the law into their own hands and others were failing to register their informants so they can secretly reward them, or potentially "greenlight" their criminal activities.

Mr Brouwer said Victorian police were risking their integrity by failing to test officers for recreational drugs. He gave an example of an officer who was arrested with 11 other people last October for allegedly using and dealing in ecstasy, cocaine and ice, while working out of hours in the adult entertainment industry. "The case serves as a telling reminder that the integrity and ethical conduct of police cannot be restricted to the hours a person is rostered on for duty," the report said. The association and police command have agreed to introduce voluntary, but not random, drug testing. Police Minister Bob Cameron said the report gave a clear indication of how corrupt police operate. "We have exposed the problem and we are responding to it," Mr Cameron said. The report said a disproportionately high number of complaints about police came from indigenous people and a pilot program had been established to improve relations. The annual report was tabled on Wednesday in the Victorian parliament.

Source: 10 October 2007 Yahoo7 News “'Bad apple' cops rule from the outside”.

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