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| NEWS > 09 February 2007 |
Other related articles:
Police need to mind language
Police officers' attitude and language ranks highly among complaints to the Police Complaints Authority in the past year.
According to the latest PCA annual report 1741 people made 2829 complaints about the police, most of which were accepted for investigation.
Complaints covered perjury to disgraceful conduct but the main areas of concern were neglect of duty, practice and procedure and the attitude and language of police.
Of the complaints, 96 were partially or fully sustained and 207 were settled after meetings between the police and the complainant.
... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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The Australian - Sydney,Austra
09 February 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Informer 'denied natural justi
THE way Victoria Police forced the key informer in the case against slain Melbourne gangland boss Mario Condello out of the state's witness protect program was a "blatant denial of natural justice", a court was told yesterday.
Lawyers for the witness, who can be identified only as 166, told the Victorian Supreme Court the informer had not been provided with the reasons the police used to justify their decision.
166 is challenging the decision to "terminate" him on the basis that the process was flawed, in the first such legal test of Victoria's witness protection laws, including the role of the state's Office of Police Integrity.
The court heard 166 was terminated because the risk to him had been downgraded to "low" and his behaviour was unacceptable.
166 was allegedly offered $300,000 by Condello to murder two underworld rivals in May 2004 at the height of Melbourne's gangland war.
He testified at Condello's committal hearing on conspiracy to murder charges, but the underworld boss was murdered in February last year outside his suburban Melbourne home on the eve of his trial.
166 and his partner were originally promised new identities, relocation overseas and financial compensation under a memorandum of understanding negotiated with Victoria Police. Only the new identities were provided.
166's barrister, Stephen O'Bryan SC, said the burden under the terms of the memorandum was on the witness. He said if the police were able to easily break the terms of the agreement, there was no point in having it.
At yesterday's hearing, judge Bill Gillard said it could be inferred from documents that "both sides were being obstructive" during the termination and appeal process.
Under witness protection legislation, someone being involuntarily terminated has the right to seek a review of the decision by the Chief Commissioner of Police and then appeal the final decision to the Director of the Office of Police Integrity. But the OPI director has only 72 hours to consider the appeal.
The Australian revealed last month that 166 and his partner's appeal had been turned down.
Justice Gillard said the 72-hour limit put the OPI director under "massive pressure". Paul Lacava SC, counsel for OPI director George Brouwer, said the OPI did not have time to assess all the evidence used by police to reach the decision to terminate 166.
The hearing continues today.
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