THERE are 133 officers with criminal convictions serving in police ranks - guilty of bashings, fraud, illegal use of guns and numerous high-level drink-driving offences

- the NSW Police Force admits.

Among them are three senior constables and two detective sergeants who kept their jobs despite more than one court conviction.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that the officers have 166 offences between them following the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act.

And efforts by Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to clean out bad apples from the ranks have been frustrated by rulings in the Industrial Relations Commission which saw five sacked officers reinstated in the past year.

Serious traffic-related matters dominate the list, which does not name individuals, including 25 high-range and 47 mid-range drink-drive crimes, two cases of drink-driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and eight of negligent or culpable driving.

There are 10 assaults, including several occasioning actual bodily harm, three officers convicted of fraud or making false instrument and three of offensive conduct.

Two officers were convicted of unauthorised access to the police COPS computer system.

A police spokesman emphasised that none of the 133 officers had served jail terms and they made up less than 1 per cent of the force's 15,236 officers.

"The NSW Police Force is no different from every major employer in having staff who have been before the courts," he said.

But the high number of offences raised concerns among legal experts last night that Crown cases before the courts could be placed at risk should any of these officers be involved.

Barrister Stephen Odgers, while not wanting to comment on specifics, said that a police officer called as a witness could be cross-examined and challenged over their "credibility" should their criminal history be known.

The list of convictions, which police claimed at first did not exist (Webmaster: "sounds about right"), was released after an appeal to the Ombudsman.The list does not include the offences of civilians working in the force.

Opposition police spokesman Michael Gallacher said last night that the force had secretly lowered its standards under government pressure to meet election promises on officer numbers - a claim denied by police.

The 133 officers include a growing number in recent years who were initially sacked by the Police Commissioner but won their jobs back through appeals.

A NSW police spokesman said a hard line was taken by the NSW Police Force against those who break the law.

Source: Daily Telegraph  29.08.2008

Related Reading

Police Forces EXposed    700 Quit NSW Police Service in 2007

A SENIOR NSW Crime Commission investigator arrested in Sydney this week was once charged with destroying evidence and falsifying records, and was initially barred from joining the federal police, an Age investigation has found.

120 Millions Reasons to Commit Crime

Mark Standen, 51, was charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to import enough pseudoephedrine to manufacture $120 million of the drug methamphetamine, or ice. He also faces a charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

The arrest sent shockwaves through the NSW criminal justice community because of Standen's seniority and his three-decade career investigating narcotics and organised crime.

In 1982, Standen gave evidence before the Stewart Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking confirming that he and two colleagues from the Federal Narcotics Bureau had flushed down a toilet 18 foils of hashish.

The commission heard that the three agents had raided a Bondi house on May 7, 1979. The occupant, a man called Udy, admitted the drugs were his and later signed a statement confessing possession.

Standen told the royal commission he later destroyed the statement as part of efforts to obliterate all traces of the raid.

"I do not actually specifically remember the incident - I feel fairly certain I would have destroyed it by shredding," Standen recalled under oath.

He said he and his fellow officers decided to destroy the drugs and associated paperwork because the amount of drugs was less than 500 grams and charges could not be brought under federal customs laws. The case would have to have been handed to the NSW police.

The royal commission was told Standen had been charged under the Public Service Act, a financial penalty had been imposed and that he and a fellow officer were to be barred from joining the federal police when the AFP took over the Federal Narcotics Bureau from the Customs Department.

The royal commission later heard that the financial penalty and the charge against Standen and another officer were dropped.

"I found out to my amazement that that had occurred," the AFP's Detective Chief Superintendent Brian Bates told the commission.

He said the charges and fine were dropped after the Commissioner of the AFP, Sir Colin Wood, had determined Standen would not be accepted into the AFP. Chief Superintendent Bates said it was felt that being barred from the AFP was punishment enough.

But another senior AFP officer, Chief Superintendent John Reilly, gave a different reason: he told the commission that the charges against Standen weren't pursued because of indecision between two government departments.

Standen told the royal commission he had never been punished in any way.

"When we became part of the federal police in 1979, I was not offered a position in the police field but I was offered a position in the intelligence side … I never actually started in the intelligence area. Before that was due to happen, the decision was changed," he said.

The testimony given before the royal commission was enough to raise questions in Federal Parliament.

Labor senator Nick Bolkus asked the Minister for Administrative Services, Senator Tony Messner, "Did Mr Bates say nothing was done about the charges because the two men were to be denied entry to the federal police … and did Mr Bates also say that despite this … they were still transferred to that force? … Was the Government aware of this rather unorthodox series of events?"

Senator Messner declined to answer, saying the matters were still under investigation by the Stewart Royal Commission.

When Standen was arrested this week, his Crime Commission colleagues voiced disbelief. But claims have emerged since that Standen's alleged gambling problem was well known when he left the AFP in 1996.

The NSW Government yesterday announced the state's Police Integrity Commission would oversee the Crime Commission in the wake of the Standen charges.

NSW Police Minister David Campbell said the Police Integrity Commission, which has the powers of a royal commission, would oversee all activities of the Crime Commission, effective immediately.

He said the public would expect that past cases involving Standen were "now properly scrutinised".

Mr Campbell yesterday also revealed the Independent Commission Against Corruption was first made aware of allegations against Standen in September last year.

Source: The Age  06.06.2008

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) is investigating two cases of misconduct involving police and random breath tests.

It is alleged that in December last year, P-plater Adam Clunes recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.20 after being stopped by Orange police.

Today, Adam Clunes admitted he had at least six drinks before driving.

The policewoman who took the breath test knew he was the son of long-serving officer Colin Clunes, who had recently been her supervisor.

She called Mr Clunes and told him his son was in custody.

The inquiry has been played a DVD taken at the breath test room at the police station.

It shows Adam Clunes and another policeman leaning over the machine.

The witness said that a policeman breathed into the machine for him and told him where the camera was so they could keep their backs turned to it.

Adam Clunes said the officer told him his dad did not know what happened and to this day, he has not told him the truth.

The PIC has also been investigating another incident in which a drunk corrective services officer was allowed to drive home drunk from Moree Police Station after officers received a call from his boss.

It is alleged David John Webb got out of a drink-driving charge because his boss, John Weavers, was friends with the station inspector Jeffrey Budd.

Senior Constable Phillip Smith has already admitted he did a breath test in Mr Webb's place to record a blood-alcohol reading of zero.

Source:  ABC online

Too many officers are quitting the NSW police force, leaving morale at an all-time low, the state opposition says.

21.85 per cent of the NSW Police Service Resigned in 2007

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher said the NSW police website showed 103 police officers had left the force in February - the largest exodus since July 2007.

"It was bad enough when 711 officers left in 11 months last year - but now we have more than 100 in a single month," he told reporters.

"Within their own organisation, within the NSW Police Force, morale is rock bottom."

Policing property theft had been made more difficult because of the exodus, Mr Gallacher said.

"When you have got in excess of 700 to 800 police a year walking out the door, it really does make it very, very difficult for those who remain to provide that necessary thin blue line to get in the face of criminals," he said.

"I think it's going to be very difficult for the NSW Police Force to provide a level of security that people are expecting in parking areas ... throughout NSW when you've got cops walking out the door, never to return."

Police Minister David Campbell said figures showed the NSW government continued to give police the numbers and powers to "drive down crime".

It was a shame the opposition did not support the police force, Mr Campbell said.

"The biggest critics of the NSW Police Force ... is the NSW opposition," he told reporters.

Source: The Age  15.04.2008

Related Reading

700 Quit NSW Police Serive in 2007       Police Forces EXposed

New figures show the number of speeding fines issued by roadside police officers has dropped significantly, while cameras are catching more drivers than ever before.

The New South Wales Government statistics show police issued 202,000 speeding tickets last year - 44 per cent down on the figure for 2003-2004.

Fines issued through speed cameras are on the increase, rising to 620,000 last year.

The Traffic Services Commander, Superintendent John Hartley, says the figures are misleading.

He says although there have been fewer speeding fines issued by roadside police, the number of overall infringement notices has risen.

"The number of infringements issued by police generally over the same period has increased from 480,000 to 540,000 last year," he said.

"So we have more tickets being issued, a huge increase in breath tests and the fact is, our road toll's the lowest it's been in 50 years."

But Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher says that is not the point.

"Drivers are not getting the message at all and what it also shows is that the highway patrol is not out there," he said.

"They're being taken off to do other jobs...

"The highway patrol are the best most effective way to actually get the message across by being out there on the streets, so despite what police say, I think the figures speak for themselves. It's such a substantial drop."

Superintendent Hartley denies the highway patrol is losing officers.

Source: ABC Online

Related Reading

Deputy Commissioner Admits Police Numbers Cut     Police Forces EXposed

Webmaster: "At least Victoria Police reluctantly admit a cut in traffic police numbers."

The New South Wales Auditor-General has handed down a critical report into the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), saying there needs to be an overhaul of how it is run to make it more accountable.

In a report tabled in Parliament, Peter Achterstraat has recommended the appointment of a senior, professional manager who would report directly to the DPP, Nicholas Cowdery QC, and introduce better management and accountability systems.

Treasurer Michael Costa commissioned the report after the DPP complained planned budget cuts would have an impact on prosecutions.

But Mr Achterstraat says the DPP's office needs to be more accountable about the way it spends its budget.

"The office of the DPP advise us that there's much more work to be done in relation to each case and that's why it's more expensive," he said.

"We had no evidence to either support or rebut that claim."

Mr Achterstraat says in the past five years, the DPP office's case and trial load has fallen by 30 per cent while at the same time its budget has increased by 40 per cent.

"The office of the DPP has the independence to make prosecutorial decisions without fear or favour," he said.

"This is a cornerstone of our justice system, however this independence does not remove the obligation for the office to manage its public resources appropriately."

Attorney-General John Hatzistergos supports the idea of an executive director and says the position will be created right away.

"Additional resources will be committed by the Government to fund that position," he said.

"It will be recruited in the normal way through the office of Premier and Cabinet."

He says it will not impact on the office's independence.

"The independence of the DPP is statutorily protected," he said.

But Greens MP Lee Rhiannon does not agree.

"Clearly if such a position controls the purse strings that will impact on how justice is delivered in NSW," she said.

In the report, Mr Cowdery agreed with most of the recommendations and said many of them are already being implemented.

Source: ABC Online   27.03.2008

Related Reading

Report 'critical' of DPP's Office

The New South Wales Attorney-General John Hatzistergos says he is not averse to the idea of an executive director to oversee the running of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Treasurer Michael Costa commissioned an auditor-general's report after Nicholas Cowdery QC complained he might have to hand over the prosecution of minor cases to police to meet planned budget cuts.

The report, due to be handed down later this morning, is expected to be critical of the management of the office.

Mr Hatzistergos says the office has to be more accountable about its spending.

"The DPP has had a substantial increase in funding. Over 40 per cent in the last five years," he said.

"It also has had a 10 per cent increase in staff and it spends nearly $100 million of taxpayers money.

"It's important to ensure that those resources, together of course with the important responsibilities of the office of the DPP has, are adequately and appropriately discharged."

He says the concept of an executive director is not a new one.

"It's something that exists in other jurisdictions in DPP offices," he said.

"The office of the DPP in NSW does have a corporate manager, but it's not the status that exists in other jurisdictions."

Source: ABC Online 26.03.2008

Almost 80 elite detective positions remain vacant but Assistant Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas says there is no problem with recruitment.

"The numbers that are vacant at the moment have been reasonably consistent for some time and they're just the process of natural attrition," he said.

"I have to say across the state, criminal investigator numbers have actually gone up in the last couple of years and we have a very good process in place for recruitment, retention and training."

But the NSW Opposition is calling for action to reduce detective vacancy rates.

The Opposition's acting police spokesman Greg Smith says there is a need to find out why detectives are leaving the force.

"Police have to make it more attractive for officers to stay and to build a career there because otherwise distant fields are often greener and they'll go out there and they'll get some police training," he said.

"Then they can get a job with a big private company doing security work or doing fraud investigation, matters of that sort on much better pay, much better conditions."

Source: ABC Online

THE New South Wales Police Minister has rejected the Opposition's claims the state's police force is losing too many of its experienced officers.

21.85 per cent of the NSW Police Service resigned in 2007

Cause for Concern? - Not according to the Minister.... 

The Opposition says more than 700 police quit last year and many experienced police were replaced by less experienced recruits from the academy.

But Police Minister David Campbell says numbers are increasing and crime is down across the state. ("Crime is down" - Webmaster, read Need for this Site)

"The number has gone up," he said. "As of today, there are more than 15,300 police.

"When you've got 15,300 people employed in an organisation, of course people will retire. They'll resign and go and do other jobs or they'll leave for they're own purposes."

Mr Campbell says the turnover rates for police are less than in other areas of the public service.

"There is a continuous process of renewal of the workforce and that's as it should be," he said.

"Older, more experienced police will pass on their experience to new recruits. That's the way it's always been.

"Everybody can see that that's an appropriate way for it to operate, except it seems for the NSW Opposition."

Source:  ABC Online 

Additional Related Reading: 

Government Urged to Probe Why Police Leaving

The New South Wales Opposition says the State Government needs to examine why large numbers of police are leaving the force, including a number in the Illawarra on the south coast.

The Opposition's spokesman for police, Greg Pearce, says the Illawarra lost 27 officers last year.

Mr Pearce says most those were senior staff with decades of experience.

He says the State Government needs to look at addressing why police officers are leaving.

"The Government needs to look at why experienced police continue to leave the police force in droves and it's a particular problem in the Illawarra where we're losing senior officers at an incredible rate, which means we are not going to see the service that people expect from the police service," he said.

The NSW Minister for Police and Minister for the Illawarra, David Campbell, says the large number of police leaving the force in the Illawarra is the result of retirement and changes in careers.

Mr Campbell says the 27 officers will be replaced in the same way as any other large organisation.

"What does occur is that in any large organisation, staff leave for a number of reasons, but in terms of the NSW police force, those officers are replaced as we work to maintain an authorised strength of 15,206 officers across the state," he said.

Source: ABC News. 

THE latest crime victim survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows the number of people assaulted in New South Wales in the past year has jumped by 50,000.

The 2007 results show in the 12 months leading up to April this year, 240,000 people were assaulted or threatened with assault, compared to 190,000 the year before.

Dr Don Weatherburn from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics says he is surprised by the increase, because it is not reflected in police figures.

"It's the biggest increase I've seen in the victims survey since 1990 when we started doing these surveys and the big puzzle is it's not reflected in police figures," he said.

"Over the same period the police figures don't show any increase but the victims survey which don't rely in any way on the police recording of crime certainly show a big increase."

Source:  ABC

THERE are fresh calls for an independent inquiry into the behaviour of police during the APEC protests, after officers who chose not to display name tags were cleared by an internal investigation of any wrongdoing.

Police said they were concerned that pins on their badges could be used as weapons.

Greens MP Sylvia Hale says the public can have no confidence in the inquiry's finding that the officers had safety concerns.

"There is a necessity for a full independent inquiry," she said.

Dale Mills from Human Rights Monitors supports the call. He says he personally took photos of more than 200 officers without their badges at the protests.

"If they don't refer it to an objective person then we have to consider whether or not we're going to release all of the photos and make them publicly available," he said.

New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell says he is encouraged by the report.

"There's that sense of continuous improvement," he said.

In future all officers rostered for protests will be issued with cloth name tags.

Source:  ABC Online