NEWS > 10 December 2007

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The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
10 December 2007

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Australia: Tapped calls put sp

SENIOR police may be forced to review discipline cases stretching back nine years following revelations of attempted backroom deals that may have compromised the internal justice system.

The cases under question are those heard by assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, who resigned last month while giving evidence at Office of Police Integrity public hearings.

At those hearings, damning taped telephone conversations between Mr Ashby and Police Association secretary Paul Mullett relating to a discipline hearing were aired.

In one of the calls, the men discuss the hearing, involving a policewoman whom Mr Mullett describes as "a big � supporter of mine".

Mr Ashby then promises to make inquiries with the senior officer assigned to hear the case and discusses tactics that could result in the woman avoiding the sack.

She was charged with the serious internal offence of disgraceful conduct after she became aggressive at a booze bus station in 2006 while her colleague was in the process of failing a blood alcohol test. In June this year, the policeman was sacked.

Ten days after the acting detective sergeant was dismissed, Mr Mullett approached Mr Ashby about the case against the policewoman.

Mr Ashby promised to approach the hearing officer. It is believed that while she could have been sacked, the policewoman was given a bond.

While there is no suggestion that the case discussed was compromised, it raises questions of the independence of the system.

Senior police who sit on discipline hearings are expected to follow strict procedures and disqualify themselves if there is a perceived conflict of interest. The police charged are allowed to be represented by a Police Association advocate.

Mr Ashby was Victoria's longest-serving assistant commissioner, appointed in 1998. Even if a review of cases heard by him found cause for concern, they could not be reheard on the grounds of double jeopardy.

An OPI investigation into the police internal discipline process found it was "a slow, broken, convoluted system".

"There appears to be a serious problem with the maintenance of accurate data regarding the management of the Victoria Police complaint files and discipline process," the OPI's report said.

The report recommended scrapping the system and replacing it with more efficient, transparent and just procedures.

A spokeswoman for Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe was reviewing issues raised in the OPI's public hearings, including the conduct of internal discipline hearings.

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Article sourced from

The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A10 December 2007

Australia: Tapped calls put sp

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The Age - Melbourne,Victoria,A
10 December 2007