|
|
|
| NEWS > 01 May 2007 |
Other related articles:
Reid defends police in terror
Defence Secretary John Reid has denied Conservative claims that the police had been "politicised" in the run-up to a terror vote.
He said the calls were a "smokescreen" to cover Tory embarrassment at blocking a 90-day detention period for terror suspects - they backed 28 days instead.
The Tories want an inquiry into alleged lobbying of MPs by chief constables.
The home secretary has admitted writing to Acpo, requesting senior officers be available to provide advice for MPs.
But Charles Clarke, in a letter to The Telegraph on Saturday, denied Conservati... Read more
|
 Article sourced from
|
|
The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
01 May 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
|
|
Challenge to police union lega
SIX former Victoria Police Association board members are calling for an explanation of the union's decision to retrospectively fund the corruption case of its former vice-president.
A letter from the former board members, leaked to The Age, questions the union's current board and secretary, Paul Mullett, about the recent scrapping of a 2004 decision to deny former detective sergeant Glenn Saunders access to union funds.
In January, the association overturned the decision, giving Mr Saunders and three former detectives access to more than $100,000.
Mr Saunders resigned in late 2005 after his acquittal on drug trafficking charges and while the force was preparing to sack him. The board initially denied him funding after deciding that evidence gathered by corruption investigators showed he had not acted in good faith while a serving detective.
The letter suggests there were no valid reasons for overturning that decision and that the union acted outside its own rules.
It says the union must provide any new information it relied on to overturn the earlier decision.
The six signatories are senior homicide detectives Ron Iddles and Gavan Ryan, former union president Janet Mitchell and detectives Debbie Robertson, Peter Kos and Terry Hay.
The letter comes after criticism of the union's role in the corruption debate from several senior police and the Office of Police Integrity. In February, OPI director George Brouwer said the union should decide whether to act for honest officers or "throw all its weight and effort behind protecting or supporting people who have serious question marks about them".
Mr Mullett said the union was seeking legal advice in relation to the letter but said the new board made its decision in good faith.
The letter rejects the reasons provided by Mr Saunders to warrant his retrospective funding.
Mr Saunders argued that the former board's decision was tainted by factionalism and the breakdown of his personal relationship with Ms Mitchell.
But the letter says Ms Mitchell did not participate in or influence the funding decision and that the "facts conclusively show that each of us acted in good faith" when Mr Saunders' application was rejected.
Ms Mitchell last month threatened legal action against current executive members who she claims defamed her by publishing a letter by Mr Saunders in The Police Association Journal.
The former executive members say in their letter that when he was charged, Mr Saunders "was known to have close personal relationships" with union officials, including Mr Mullett and current president Brian Rix.
It says that to avoid a conflict of interest during the 2004 application, legal advice was sought and some board members temporarily stood down.
Mr Saunders was acquitted of drug trafficking charges in 2005. It had been alleged he was part of a plan to steal marijuana worth $100,000 from a criminal at the St Kilda Marina in 1999. He was cleared of bribery offences during a separate trial.
|
| |
 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 |
|
| |
|
