TOP-SECRET Victoria Police files have been leaked to alleged crime bosses and killers, compromising federal and state drug trafficking investigations.

'Leaking like a sieve'

In one of the most serious security breaches in Australian law enforcement, the leaked information came from the state surveillance squad, which conducts physical and technical surveillance on crime targets.

Alleged drug baron John Higgs, a founder of the Black Uhlans outlaw motorcycle gang, received information from the leaked files, as did other members of his syndicate.

At least two other Melbourne men — one an alleged murderer and the other a suspected drug trafficker — also received their confidential surveillance records. One fled overseas after obtaining copies of the files.

The leak is the latest in a series of corruption scandals to entangle the Victoria Police since 2001 and will prompt new calls for a full inquiry into the links between organised crime and serving and former police.

The revelations will also put pressure on the State Government over its previous commitments to reform Victoria Police's information-handling processes after repeated police files scandals in recent years.

The Office of Police Integrity and the Victoria Police are investigating the latest leak and senior police yesterday briefed the surveillance squad about the investigations. The Australian Federal Police, the Australian Crime Commission and other agencies have been informed of the security breach.

OPI director Michael Strong said: "Information security within the Victoria Police has long been of concern to the OPI and has been addressed in several of our public reports."

Mr Strong said he was conducting "a comprehensive independent review" of police information security. "Any breach can have serious operational issues and even put lives at risk. Victoria Police needs to give the issue a high priority."

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said investigators were "vigorously pursuing" those responsible for the leaks and "that the vast majority of people in the (surveillance) unit are professional". She said Superintendent Paul Sheridan would review the unit's management and operations and that the force was implementing a range of information security reforms.

The latest leaks have compromised Victoria Police investigations, while related probes by the crime commission and the federal police are believed to have been affected.

Surveillance officers create files detailing the movements and associates of a criminal target. If a suspect obtains a file, he will see how long police have been watching him. This can compromise investigations or give criminals warning they could be charged.

Some of the information leaked related to the AFP's Operation Inca, which led to the arrest in August of Higgs and others over the world's largest ecstasy importation.

The Victoria Police surveillance squad monitored several of Inca's criminal targets during the operation's early stages.

Over the past two decades, Higgs' crime syndicate has repeatedly received leaked or stolen police files.

Suspected drug trafficker Mohammed Oueida fled overseas fearing he was to be arrested after he received surveillance files revealing he was under investigation. It is not known if has returned to Australia.

Higgs and Oueida were connected to an alleged crime syndicate — other members are also suspected of receiving leaked information — pursued by state and federal drug trafficking investigators. A Victoria Police operation named Agamas stalled in March because the syndicate pulled out of an alleged importation. It is unknown if this was related to leaked files.

Alleged murderer Bassam Tiba — who was wanted over a 2004 killing in Melbourne until his arrest last month — was also leaked information from the surveillance squad police files.

Federal police officers discovered Tiba had obtained information from surveillance files after they located and arrested him last month in the Solomon Islands.

The leaks suggest there are serious flaws with the Victoria Police's creation and handling of files on surveillance targets.

A former Victoria Police crime department officer familiar with the surveillance squad's operations said the handling of information had been ad hoc, unorganised and hard to audit.

He said the ineffective supervision and technology used to collate and store surveillance files was a result of poor resourcing by the State Government.

Last month, the outgoing Victorian Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security, Laurie Bebbington, described as "an ongoing concern" the force's failure to implement its central information security policy to govern the storage and handling of all sensitive information.

Ms Bebbington said the policy was "in a perpetual state of review, edit and partial completion" and there was no sign of when it would be finished.

In late 1996, Higgs and his associates were suspected of masterminding the theft of files from drug squad headquarters, including those detailing the identity of a policy informer. That theft remains unsolved.

In late 2003, close associates of Higgs were among a host of underworld figures who obtained stolen police files detailing the activities of corruption and gangland informer Terence Hodson, who was later murdered along with his wife.

The leaks are likely to further damage relationships between federal and state police.

The Age has known about the leaks for several months, but delayed publishing to avoid jeopardising the investigation.

(Webmaster: The question the thinking person has to ask is - "On the question of leaks, how does 'The Age' have such comprehensive information about Victoria Police Leaks and how did they acquire this information.   Perhaps investigating this Newspaper, particularly Andrie Petrie and her unhealthy association with Ehthical Standards would be a good place to start."

Source: The Age   02.12.2008

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On their watch

BY THE time you see them, it’s usually too late. For they are the ones who do the watching. They are the unseen followers,

the human bloodhounds whom police call "the dogs".

The only time suspected criminals should see a surveillance operative is in court, by which time "the dogs" will be barking: a surveillance offi cer will probably be confiding notes to a jury. Something like: 4.25pm: Target leaves cafe with unknown male. 4.27: Target enters black BMW, exchanges package. And so on. Cryptic but damning in a witness box.

Surveillance operatives keep diaries about people unlikely to keep their own. These diaries should only be aired in a courtroom. But, sometimes, strange things happen in police work.

Which is why, several months ago, uneasiness spread through Australian law enforcement. Victorian drug investigators locked down inquiries with even more rigour than usual. The Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police did the same. The word was out: someone working for the good guys was leaking. The dogs had a problem. Now, they were the ones being watched.

Yesterday, a group of suited, sombre-faced corruption investigators paid the surveillance squad offices a visit. (Webmaster - "How do they know this?  Ethical Standards Department tip perhaps?  Sombre Faced ?   The devil is truely in the detail.)  They were looking for evidence about files — the diaries kept by the dogs — that had somehow been leaked to the underworld, compromising federal and state investigations.

The files outlined in detail what police knew about the associates and activities of at least one senior member of an organised crime syndicate.

In early to mid-2007, Victorian surveillance operatives had watched the syndicate’s members on behalf of several police agencies. It was busy work. The Australian Federal Police, as part of an operation code-named Inca, claimed in August this year that some members of the syndicate were helping plan the importation of the world’s largest shipment of ecstasy. It has now emerged that Operation Inca is one of the investigations potentially compromised by the leak.

Some police believe leaks are inevitable and it is best to identify them, deal with them and get back to business. But this leak follows repeated scandals involving serious information security breaches at the Victoria Police. A leak in 2004 might well have led to the murder of a prosecution witness and his wife. This latest leak also comes after repeated warnings, recommendations for better resourcing and reform of the force’s hundreds of data "repositories". And it comes after repeated promises by the Victorian Government that it has done enough to safeguard police files.

It is unclear whether this latest leak involves a rogue officer from the surveillance squad, or another law enforcement offi cial with access to its files, although at the very least, the squad’s information security is in question.

But the leak is about more than a problem with "the dogs". Victorians are again entitled to ask whether the force and Government’s handling of policing problems has fallen short.

LIKE most businessmen, John William Samuel Higgs knows the value of a good network. When he turned his hand to concert promotion in the early 1990s, his contact book listed those already plugged into the music industry. When he did his punting, friends in horseracing, including jockeys and bookies, often had the inside oil. With his alleged main business enterprise — drug trafficking — Higgs needed to call on other contacts; those in the underworld. In this area, Higgs was well connected, indeed.

More than two decades ago, Higgs was a founding member of the Black Uhlans, one of the most secretive outlaw motorcycle gangs in the country. Back then, he was a bearded and fearsome-looking man, the archetypal bikie. Last August, sitting in the Melbourne Magistrates Court after being charged by the federal police’s Operation Inca, Higgs looked less imposing: clean shaven, with square-rimmed glasses and a purple windcheater.

Arrested on the same day as Higgs were those who had allegedly organised the importation, men from the NSW Riverina town of Griffith, with ties to the Calabrian Mafi a in southern Italy.

During the investigation, Higgs’ contact with the so-called Griffith cell ended abruptly. This unsettled some police. Was Higgs aware he was being watched? If so, it would not have been the fi rst time. Indeed, Higgs and his associates have featured in almost every signifi cant Victoria Police leak in the past two decades.

As far back as 1989, police were investigating claims Higgs was dealing amphetamines from a Fawkner house. But according to intelligence reports, "Higgs left the address before the operation got under way."

Court documents reveal that Higgs bragged to a police informer in 1993 he had been tipped off about a major investigation. "Higgs said he was told by a person who was in the job (referring to a police officer) that 120 detectives were flying to Melbourne to form a taskforce targeting the five largest speed gangs in Melbourne. Higgs was told they would be here for four weeks."

Three years later, Higgs’ reach inside the Victorian police force became infamous.

Apart from the bustle of sales and the traditional cricket Test, the city was mostly quiet on Boxing Day 1996. For those unlucky enough to be rostered on at the Victoria Police St Kilda Road headquarters, there were just drunks and car crashes to contend with.

Still, some creatures were stirring.

It has been long suspected, but never proven, that on Boxing Day evening — or on a night soon after — a close associate of Higgs, drug trafficker David McCulloch, executed a plan to steal sensitive files from the St Kilda Road drug squad offices. The files detailed the work of a police informer, codenamed E2/92, who had been providing valuable information about drug trafficking. Higgs was one of several men E2/92 had snooped on.

Two police officers were thought to have helped plan the burglary, but nothing was ever proven. An investigation into the burglary, named Sentinel, later concluded: "There is little doubt that the proceeds of the burglary have eventually been received by John Higgs and that a significant sum of money was paid to individuals responsible for the offence."

Fearing for his life, E2/92 was forced into hiding after the burglary. He later died in suburban Melbourne of natural causes.

A different fate befell another police informer whose files, seven years later, were also stolen from the drug squad. It was AFL grand final weekend in 2003 when this batch of files went missing. They detailed the work of police informer Terence Hodson, who had agreed to testify against two allegedly corrupt drug squad detectives.

Shortly after they were stolen, the Hodson files began circulating among underworld fi gures. In May 2004, Hodson’s adult children arrived at their parents’ suburban Kew flat to find their father and mother lying face down with gunshot wounds

to the back of their heads. Terence Hodson still had a cigarette clasped in his hand.

With Hodson dead, so were corruption charges against one of the officers he was to testify against. That officer, Paul Dale, was later named in a report to State Parliament as the obvious suspect in the theft of the Hodson files, but he denies any wrongdoing and has not been charged.

In his January 2005 report on the theft, corruption expert Tony Fitzgerald, QC, said the system in place to manage the Hodson files was "grossly inadequate".

"Insufficient attention was paid to … the security of documents and information, which at the time were only part of a confusing array of instructions and policies," Fitzgerald wrote.

Two months after Fitzgerald’s report, the Office of Police Integrity tabled the findings of another inquiry. While its focus was on the chronic failings of the Law Enforcement Access Program, or LEAP, a general database used by police to do background checks, it also aired broad concerns about the force’s inability to adequately safeguard information and impose a central policy on security protection.

In mid-2005, the State Government responded to the growing concern by promising to overhaul the LEAP system and appoint a new watchdog, the Victorian Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security. When he announced the changes, a stern premier Steve Bracks said: "Time’s up. We need a better system."

By mid-2005, police were also closer to knowing how many in the criminal underworld had seen the Hodson files. Some were familiar names. Higgs’ close associate, McCulloch, had been given a copy. So too had Higgs’ brother-in-law, David McLennan. It was a sure bet that Higgs had also been on the receiving end of the leak.

There has been no suggestion that Higgs, McCulloch or McLennan have any link to the Hodson murders, or that the E2/92 file burglary and the Hodson fi le theft are connected. But, in 2005, Higgs was a common thread appearing to join the two security breaches, given he was a recipient of the leaked information both times. Now it appears he has gathered yet more confidential files.

An investigation by the Victoria Police and the state’s police watchdog, the Offi ce of Police Integrity, is examining how fi les created by the surveillance squad ended up in the hands of Higgs and his criminal associates.

The leak could have jeopardised investigations by Victoria Police, the Australian Crime Commission and federal police. For instance, one of the men who received the files, suspected criminal Mohammad Oueida, fled overseas fearing arrest.

Five weeks ago, the watchdog, which the State Government said in 2005 would help fix the force’s leaks, tabled its annual report. Outgoing commissioner Laurie Bebbington said Victoria Police urgently needed to appoint an information technology security adviser and update its central information security policy, which she said was in "a perpetual state of review, edit and partial completion".

It is unclear if the problem with "the dogs" will provide enough impetus to see the necessary changes made to safeguard the force’s information holdings. This time around, though, it may be one leak too many.

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Police were warned on lax security

VICTORIA Police has ignored years of warnings about its lax policies on storing classified Commonwealth information.

Victoria's Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security found in October that the force was struggling to protect security classified information to required federal standards.

In March 2005, the Office of Police Integrity warned Victoria Police "as a matter of urgency" to upgrade its security systems and policies to comply with national requirements for storing classified information.

The then director of police integrity, George Brouwer, warned that federal law enforcement agencies might be reluctant to share classified information with Victoria Police because of its poor data security systems.

In her annual report, outgoing data commissioner Laurie Bebbington said the force urgently needed to appoint an information technology security adviser and update its central information security policy — which covers all police data — to meet Commonwealth standards.

She said the force's central information security policy was in a "perpetual state of review, edit and partial completion".

"The auditors could not find evidence to suggest that the policy would be completed to … standard expectations in the foreseeable future," Ms Bebbington said. The 2005 OPI report also called for a central information security policy to be completed.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said that the Commonwealth standards were "onerous" and taking "some time" to implement." But she said that the force was already mid-way through implementing a range of reforms.

Ms Bebbington also found:

¦ The security of law enforcement information transmitted by police in regional Victoria on the Statenet Mobile Radio Network was "unacceptably low".

¦ Police had yet to sign memorandums of understanding with private prison operators and information technology companies that can access confidential police databases.

¦ Thirty-seven confirmed police data security breaches in 2007-08, with a further 40 allegations being investigated. Some of the information disclosed went to criminals, private investigators and the media.

The security of confidential police data has been a huge problem for the State Government and force command in recent years.

In 2005, after repeated privacy breaches and leaks of confidential documents, the State Government spent $50 million to replace the LEAP computer system and appoint a data commissioner to oversee how police use information.

The changes came after two damning reports by the OPI into information security, including the report into the LEAP database.

The second report was into the theft and leaking of police files detailing the activities of a police corruption informer, Terence Hodson, murdered with his wife Christine in May 2004.

Source: The Age

December 2, 2008

VICTORIA is now searching for a new police Chief Commissioner to replace Christine Nixon who retires next March.

THE Office of Police Integrity grilled Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon in a private hearing over her free Qantas trip and demanded she issue yesterday's embarrassing apology that she should not have accepted the flight.

Ms Nixon was officially summoned to a confidential OPI session on Thursday, where director Michael Strong made it clear to her that she had breached the police internal code of conduct on accepting gifts.

She was told that unless she apologised and agreed to make a repayment there would be a protracted investigation into the free flights fiasco — a controversy that would cloud her last few months in office.

The Age can reveal that the OPI began its investigation after it received a complaint from Qantas, which had provided the trip for Ms Nixon and her husband, John Becquet, a former executive with the airline.

Ms Nixon and Mr Becquet were guests with VIPs and media on the first flight of the airline's new A380 super jumbo from Melbourne to Los Angeles on October 20.

Four days later, Ms Nixon denied her position had led her to receive the offer, saying she had taken the flight to accompany her husband. "At no stage was this travel undertaken by me as part of my role as Chief Commissioner, nor was I representing Victoria Police," she said.

But Qantas told the OPI the offer was made to Ms Nixon because of her position as Chief Commissioner.

Qantas contacted the OPI after it received a series of complaints from former executives asking why they had not been offered the same flight.

Days after she defended her trip, Ms Nixon volunteered to pay for the flight at the discounted rate appropriate for former executives and spouses — about $3000.

But she has now agreed to repay a greater figure that will be negotiated with the airline. The money will then be donated to charity. The OPI and Ms Nixon negotiated the settlement deal and the exact nature of her public statement early yesterday, before the statement was released.

Ms Nixon announced on November 5 she would retire in March next year and would not seek a third contract. The Age believes she made the decision before she was called before the OPI.

While the initial invitation for the flight was made verbally to Mr Becquet, it was formalised in a letter to Ms Nixon addressed to her as Chief Commissioner at the Victoria Police Centre.

The junket included free accommodation at the Sofitel in Beverly Hills and private tours of galleries and museums.

On her return, Ms Nixon publicly stated she had told Police Minister Bob Cameron before she left for the trip that she was taking leave to accompany her husband on the flight.

Yesterday, Ms Nixon expressed regret over her actions and admitted she had made a mistake. "I have come to understand that Qantas regarded me as a guest in my own right, and not merely as the partner of my husband," she said.

"I should have given the offer more careful considering. I probably should have sought independent advice. At the time, I did not believe that my conduct contravened the Victoria Police Code of Conduct. As I now appreciate, my acceptance of the free travel was inadvisable. I accept that the free travel involved a gift of more than token value within the meaning of the code."

She admitted that her conduct had "not provided a good example for Victoria Police members to whom gifts and gratuities may be offered".

"I very much regret that this has occurred," she said. "I accept that there is an urgent need for Victoria Police police in this area to be clarified and, if necessary, strengthened. Victoria Police will work with the OPI and the State Services Authority to achieve this objective."

Qantas yesterday declined to comment. The Victoria Police is a major Qantas client.

Mr Strong said he was satisfied that Ms Nixon had publicly acknowledged that her acceptance of the free travel involved a gift "of more than token value" within the meaning of the force's Code of Conduct, which therefore contravened the guidelines.

"She has acknowledged a lack of judgment, for which she has given reasons," he said. "She has acknowledged that there is a need to clarify and, if necessary, strengthen policy in relation to gifts and gratuities offered to police members. OPI will work with Victoria Police to ensure that this occurs."

He said he was satisfied the complaint had been resolved in the public interest.

Police Association secretary designate Greg Davies said: "It's a sad day for the Victoria Police force when there's a cloud over the office of the chief commissioner.

"Clearly, the OPI has come up with evidence that has shown exactly what occurred and the chief commissioner has admitted what took place.

"This is the very reason the Police Association has continually called for a broad-based, anti-corruption commission."

When Ms Nixon resigned, Premier John Brumby said: "We couldn't have wanted for a better chief commissioner."

Police Minister Bob Cameron said yesterday the Brumby Government retained confidence in Ms Nixon.

Source: The Age 15.11.2008

Webmaster:  "The Police Union keeps calling for a broad based, anti-corruption commission but the call continues to fall of deaf ears."

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Penny drops too late to spare Nixon, Brumby humiliation

FINALLY, Christine Nixon gets it — she should never have taken up the Qantas offer of a free, luxury trip to Los Angeles.

The fact that the penny didn't drop earlier reveals a damning lack of judgement by the person Premier John Brumby described only last week as Victoria's best-ever chief commissioner.

That cap no longer fits.

Yes, she has many impressive achievements to point to, but Nixon finishes her eight-year term fingered by the Director of Police Integrity as having breached the Victoria Police code of conduct.

In her humiliating statement yesterday, Nixon conceded that by accepting Qantas' largesse, she had given a bad example to the force she leads.

This affair also reflects poorly on Brumby and his young Police Minister, Bob Cameron.

Brumby showed a lack of leadership. When Nixon's freebie was exposed, he backed her, rather than take the tough decision to make it clear that public office holders in Victoria are required to meet higher standards than this. Former Labor premier John Cain, former police commissioner Kel Glare and Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu all said Nixon had done the wrong thing. But not Brumby.

Cameron showed a lack of judgement. When Nixon told him of her plans, he wished her a happy holiday, rather than make the more difficult decision to advise her against accepting the gift.

But it is Nixon who emerges most tarnished.

She says that when Qantas first issued an oral invitation

to her and her husband on March 18, she believed "the offer was made because of my husband's past connection with the airline (he used to work for Qantas) and his interest in the A380".

But the alarm bells didn't seem to start ringing even when the offer was formalised in writing on September 17 in a letter addressed to Nixon as chief commissioner.

Only now does Nixon concede that the public office she holds influenced Qantas' decision to make the offer, "and also influenced aspects of the flight arrangements made thereafter".

In other words, only now does the chief commissioner see that she was a prize catch for a private company's promotional campaign.

After arriving in LA, she compounded her error of judgement by telling a reporter: "The plane was just magnificent."

On her return to Melbourne, she made things worse still by defiantly telling waiting reporters that she believed she had done nothing wrong. "I don't think I've compromised Victoria Police at all," she said. "I was very aware of what I was doing."

That was on October 23. It took until yesterday for Nixon to finally get it and fully recant. Too long. Way too long.

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Politics and the top cop 08.11.2008

BEING the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police sounds like a terrible job. In the aftermath of Christine Nixon's announcement to step down as Victoria's top cop, her political masters have been full of praise, but her colleagues in crime fighting have been less complimentary. The upper echelons of the police force seem to be drenched in personal animosity and rivalry.

Some of Nixon's critics really deserve to be ignored. In the wake of her resignation, the Victorian Police Association chose to emphasise that the most important thing the next chief commissioner should possess is a birth certificate from Victoria. Fair enough — unions are paid to look after their members first. But they could at least pretend not to have naked self-interest as their only focus.

Nevertheless, in March Nixon will leave Victoria Police with a mixed record at best. High-profile corruption scandals, the gangland killings, internal police reforms, her approach to domestic violence and community-based policing strategies have dominated the discussion about her successes or otherwise. The Government's effusive praise of Nixon, however, ignores the increasing problems of basic law and order that have developed under her stewardship.

Yes, in aggregate, crime has gone down in recent years. Since 2001, when Nixon was appointed Chief Commissioner, the total crime rate has dropped by nearly 25%.

But the word "crime" is so broad as to be almost useless. If we look closely at the official police statistics, the Nixon legacy is much less impressive. Since 2002, crimes against the person — that is, homicide, rape, sex offences, assault and abduction — have jumped from fewer than 36,000 to nearly 43,000 incidents a year.

Instead of tackling this dramatic increase in violent crime, Victoria Police has been focusing on aggressive "blitzes" against utterly banal offences like jaywalking — that ridiculous crime committed by nearly everybody every day.

Show me someone who has never jaywalked and I'll show you someone who has never left the house. Sure, the police should try to enforce every crime on their books, but they should also be a bit sensible about it.

The State Government could quadruple the number of police on the streets and still not successfully eliminate the scourge of jaywalking.

Can they really justify deploying Victoria Police's limited resources on Swanston Street at 8am on Monday mornings when there is a violence problem on King Street at 4am every night?

Criticising the police force's periodic jaywalking crackdowns might seem petty, but it actually raises some important questions about the rule of law in Victoria. Jaywalking is the sort of crime that most police would ignore, except for those times when there is a "blitz". Enforcing one of the State Government's most ridiculous social regulations does little more than annoy otherwise entirely law-abiding pedestrians.

Victorian police are proud that there has been an increase in the rate at which crimes are being solved. But much of this is because of cultural changes that have encouraged individuals to report cases of domestic violence and rape that have historically gone under-reported.

It is, of course, wonderful that Victoria's thugs are being identified and caught after they assault someone. But from the victim's perspective, it would be better not to be assaulted at all — no amount of detective work will encourage bruises to heal quicker.

The vast majority of Nixon's highly publicised drop in overall crime rates is found in the category of crime against property — you are certainly less likely to be burgled or have your bike stolen than you were five years ago. But again, Victoria Police cannot really take too much credit for the increased use of bike locks, or the prevalence of storefront security guards, or for the increased popularity of home alarm systems.

If we look even closer at the crime statistics, the true state of Victorian crime becomes more worrying. Over recent years, crimes against the person have increasingly been seen in public, rather than private, locations — on public transport, in open spaces, on streets and sidewalks; the sorts of places that require regular patrolling.

It is these crime patterns that form the basis of the recent panic about violence in the city — a rare occasion in politics when there actually is fire where there is smoke. The 2am lockout may have been inept, ill-considered and unpopular, but it was actually trying to tackle a

genuine problem: there just

aren't enough police on the streets to prevent crime.

Unfortunately, Nixon has chosen to emphasise that the violence in the city has been "booze-fuelled" — a description that tries to shift the blame for the sharp increase in urban violence off the police and on

to Melbourne's bars and pubs. No matter what fuels violence, it still needs to be dealt with by the police on the street. Liquor licence changes will never be a substitute for more cops.

But since 2002, patrol hours have decreased by nearly one-quarter. The numbers of sworn operational staff have declined as a percentage of the total police force. It seems that much of the State Government's increase in police resources has been absorbed by administrative staff and bureaucrats. No wonder the Police Association, when it is being more sensible, has argued that Victoria's police force is understaffed by at least 3000 officers.

With a rising rate of assaults and urban violence, Christine Nixon's biggest legacy may

simply be making law and order a political issue once again.

Chris Berg is a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs and editor of the IPA Review.

Source: The Age  08.11.2008

FORMER police media chief Stephen Linnell has pleaded guilty to perjury and will give evidence against Paul Mullett and Noel Ashby.

Former Police Media Director Stephen Linnell -

"Rats on his Mates"

Mr Linnell pleaded guilty to three counts of perjury and three counts of disclosing confidential information about a summons.

Mr Linnell's lawyer confirmed the plea during a brief appearance at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court this morning. Mr Linnell did not speak.

In July, former assistant commissioner Noel Ashby, police union boss Paul Mullett and Mr Linnell were charged following an inquiry by the Office of Police Integrity.

All three were in court for this morning's hearing, but Mr Ashby and Mr Mullett did not enter a plea.

Prosecutor Chris Ryan said Mr Linnell will give an undertaking to give evidence that could be used against Mr Mullett and Mr Ashby and had no prior convictions.

Despite some discussion about whether the issues involved in Linnell's case were too weighty to be dealt with summarily in the Magistrate's Court, a plea hearing was set for February 5.

Mr Mullett and Mr Ashby will face a committal hearing on May 11.

Charge sheets before presented to the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in July set out how the men were accused of perjuring themselves at OPI hearings into the leaking of information on the 2003 murder of male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott.

Sen-Sgt Mullett, 52, faces five charges, including an attempt to pervert the course of justice by trying to warn Peter Lalor that his phones may be tapped.

Lalor has since been identified as a suspect in murder taskforce Briars.

He is also accused of trying to get information from Mr Ashby about a separate internal police disciplinary investigation. Mr Ashby, 52, is accused of lying under oath when he denied speaking to Mr Linnell about Operation Briars, Mr Lalor, or the prospect of Sen-Sgt Mullett's phone being tapped; claimed the content of the operation was unknown to him until September last year; and denied speaking to Sen-Sgt Mullett about any OPI investigation.

Mr Linnell, 39, was also accused of lying to the OPI.

Mr Ashby faces 29 charges including perjury, misleading the OPI director and disclosure relating to breaches of OPI confidentiality obligations.

Sen-Sgt Mullett faces five counts including perjury, misleading the OPI director and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Source: Herald Sun  12.11.2008

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Media Chief Resigns - Leak Crisis Claims Another Scalp  Police Forces EXposed

THE police watchdog wants to speak to Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon over her luxury junket to Los Angeles with Qantas.

An Office of Police Integrity spokesman said the office's director Michael Strong would speak to Ms Nixon to seek further information about the circumstances of the trip.

Ms Nixon and her husband John Becquet this week flew to Los Angeles and back to Melbourne on Qantas's new A380 super jumbo, courtesy of Qantas.

Ms Nixon is unrepentant about the trip, saying she took leave from work and went to accompany her husband, a former Qantas executive.

The police manual warns of the dangers of accepting free gifts and directs police not to endorse or recommend services or products.

The OPI spokesman today said Mr Strong would speak to Ms Nixon but a formal interview was not planned.

"He's going to be seeking further information about the circumstances of the flight by the chief commissioner to Los Angeles, obviously seeking for her to spell out the circumstances of that trip,'' the spokesman said.

"It's not a formal interview, no.''

This was likely to happen within the next week, he said.

It was too early to comment on any issues about the trip, he said.

As the Premier and the Police Minister yesterday strongly backed her, the Chief Commissioner declared "I believe what I've done is reasonable and fair.

"I don't owe Qantas anything," she said.

"I understand it's been said it's a very expensive holiday.

"Qantas owns the plane, and Qantas obviously owns part of the hotel as well, so I don't think it was very expensive in that way."

Ms Nixon praised the Qantas jet after joining its inaugural flight.

"We've been asked to be part of an amazing event - the plane was just magnificent," Ms Nixon said.

She and her husband returned to Melbourne yesterday.

They had free accommodation at the Sofitel in Beverly Hills and had private tours of galleries and museums during the all-expenses paid trip.

Ms Nixon told Police Minister Bob Cameron before she left that she was taking leave to accompany her husband.

The minister said yesterday: "She's doing a great job and has the full support of the Government."

A spokeswoman for Premier John Brumby said Ms Nixon was entitled to take leave, and her leave arrangements were a matter for her.

While Ms Nixon retains the backing of the Government, Labor sources told the Herald Sun some people expected her to stand down before her second four-year contract expired next April.

Government sources said if she wanted to stay she would be given a new contract.

Ms Nixon said yesterday she would be happy to discuss the trip with the OPI.

A spokeswoman said: "The Chief Commissioner has been very transparent about this issue, particularly as a number of journalists were also on the flight and she was aware of this prior to taking part."

As she touched down in Melbourne yesterday morning, Ms Nixon said: "I was very aware of what I was doing.

"I had thought about whether or not I should accept this trip, and I understand that some people think it's inappropriate.

"I think it is reasonable that I accompanied my husband, went there for about 20 hours, and have come back on Thursday morning.

"I understand people's concerns but I believe what I've done is reasonable and fair. I don't think I've compromised Victoria Police at all."

Ms Nixon said she had wanted to take the trip because it was a significant occasion for her husband.

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said yesterday he would not have taken the trip. "I understand she sought approval from the minister . . . so to that extent you can't argue she's done something wrong.

"But it's not something I would have done," he said.

Former premier John Cain said Ms Nixon should not have taken the trip.

"I've always had a strict view on this, and that view hasn't changed," he said.

"I don't think public office holders should put themselves in a position where they can be compromised. Public office holders are different."

Governor Sir Brian Murray was forced from office during Mr Cain's term in office after accepting free overseas travel from Continental Airlines.

At the time, senior and junior police were taking trips in a fares racket organised by the airline's Melbourne manager.

POLICE have been linked to the running of an illegal brothel, and corrupt dealings with street prostitutes and drug dealers, in a report tabled yesterday in State Parliament.

The report by former judge David Jones, who oversees Victoria's police watchdog, does not name the police station involved but The Age has confirmed that those under investigation formerly worked, or work, in the St Kilda area.

The revelations have sparked fresh calls to introduce safe houses for prostitutes, where they can work in a regulated environment without being charged.

The Jones report into the Office of Police Integrity also reveals it is investigating allegations that Victoria Police and interstate officers have formed "improper relationships with prisoners", including granting them favours.

In relation to the sex worker inquiry, sources have told The Age that the OPI and Victoria Police internal investigators have for 18 months been investigating:

■A small number of police who have had sex free with street prostitutes, including transvestites, at a hotel and other locations around Melbourne.

■A long-serving officer who was involved in plans to run a brothel with a notorious criminal figure who is also involved in the nightclub industry.

■One former officer and one serving officer who are believed to have had long-term sexual relationships with street prostitutes.

Victoria Police and OPI officers raided a Footscray premises earlier this year in an attempt to corroborate information that a street prostitute had sex with a now-former policeman and that the officer was involved in other improper activities.

Corruption investigators have also examined claims that a street sex worker was raped by a policeman using a baton and that an officer had travelled to a Sydney hotel where he met a transvestite and engaged in illegal drug use.

The report tabled yesterday by Mr Jones — a former County Court judge who oversees the OPI in his role as the Special Investigations Monitor — listed the allegations as "the theft of goods and controlled drugs from known sex workers, assaults of sex workers and criminal or improper associations with drug dealers, drug users and sex workers".

Mr Jones said the alleged corruption being probed by the OPI might also include "the ownership and management of an unlicensed brothel".

Among the small number of police under investigation, one has resigned and another has been transferred to a different region.

Force command has implemented major changes at the St Kilda police station and neighbouring stations after identifying concerns 18 months ago.

Lawyers and street sex workers who spoke to The Age said the changes had made a difference and the conduct of local police had improved over the past year. But they said the allegations highlighted the need to introduce safe houses for sex workers.

St Kilda Legal Service senior lawyer Vanda Hamilton, who has defended many sex workers, said: "Without safe houses or decriminalisation, police can say to street sex workers, 'We are not going to charge you if you do this for us.'

"It also means the sex workers must rely on police to protect them against assaults, leading to a potentially unhealthy symbiotic relationship. But if they are allowed to work in a safety zone, things are much more transparent and it lessens those risks."

In 2002, the Bracks government shelved plans to introduce tolerance zones and "safe houses" for St Kilda's sex workers, fearing a political backlash.

The Jones report said the OPI inquiry "is also considering whether the policies, procedures or practices of Victoria Police in the area of 'sex workers' were adequate to prevent or inhibit such activity by officers".

The report on the OPI's work is part of Mr Jones' function to ensure the watchdog operates properly. Elsewhere in the report, Mr Jones raised his limited ability to investigate complaints about the OPI because of a State Government decision to limit his jurisdiction.

The OPI declined to comment.

Source:  The Age  31.10.08

POLICE should install video cameras in police cars and throughout stations to deter officers from bashing suspects, the Office Of Police Integrity has recommended.

In a report tabled in Parliament yesterday into the now defunct armed offenders squad, OPI director Michael Strong said video surveillance would deter police from assaulting suspects and would protect them from false allegations of assault.

The investigation into the armed offenders squad found that the unit behaved as a force within a force, believing "that bashing a crook was a community service".

It found the squad deliberately branded itself as a separate unit within the police force that lived and worked by its own rules.

"Squad members became renowned for wearing black suits, white shirts, dark sunglasses and a team-issue black tie." The report said it was part of the image of "an unyielding clique or band, united together, separate and apart from the broader Victoria Police organisation. The outfits imitate the costumes worn by a network of violent criminals in the film Reservoir Dogs."

The OPI found the squad was poorly supervised, refused to alter its illegal behaviour and resisted any attempts at reform. It also found members were prepared to lie to cover-up assaults.

"The absence of a stable leadership and lack of diligent supervisors gave squad members free reign to use whatever police methods they liked.

"Throughout the OPI investigation into the armed offenders squad, police regularly invoked the code of silence in an attempt to frustrate the investigation," the report found.

"The investigation exposed the flagrant disregard by some members of the squad for suspects' rights."

In February 2006, the OPI began an investigation into allegations that suspects were being mistreated by detectives from the armed offenders squad. Three months later, an OPI secret camera hidden in one of the squad's interview rooms captured a suspect being bashed.

Three members of the squad, Robert Dabb, Mark Butterfield and Matthew Franc, were called to OPI hearings and denied involvement. They later resigned and earlier this year pleaded guilty to assaulting the suspect and attempting to mislead the OPI. They were sentenced to intensive corrections orders that involve community service work.

The OPI said the case exposed "the alarming willingness of some police to lie on oath or turn a blind eye to protect themselves or their colleagues".

The armed offenders squad was disbanded in 2006 and replaced with the armed crime taskforce. Figures published in the OPI report show that since the change, the solution rate has jumped from 47% to 80% and the complaint rate has dropped.

Mr Strong was critical of the Police Association's vigorous defence of the squad and its opposition to Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon's decision to disband the unit.

Police Association secretary Greg Davies rejected the criticism, saying the union believed the OPI had ignored due process during the investigation.

He said the association opposed "criminal conduct by any member of the police force".

Mr Davies said the association had been calling for cameras to be installed in all police cars for the past five years.

Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said all crime department interview rooms were fitted with new video cameras to monitor questioning. The state's 160 divisional vans, all 24-hour police stations and new 16-hour ones had also been fitted with cameras.

He said police would examine the recommendation of fitting the 2200-vehicle fleet with video cameras. "We think it has merit but we will look at it in the context of costs."

Police Minister Bob Cameron said the report exposed an unhealthy culture that had now been broken.

But Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said he doubted the force was rid of the problems, and it would be wrong to assume that the culture was confined to police.

Source: Herald Sun 31.10.08

THE Office of Police Integrity has been urged to investigate what role senior police played in Collingwood's rejection of disgraced AFL champion Ben Cousins.

The Police Association has demanded Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon publicly provide answers or face an inquiry.

The Herald Sun yesterday revealed Ms Nixon secretly discussed the recruitment of the troubled Cousins with the Magpies.

The club later decided not to draft him, and St Kilda now appears the most likely club to pick him up.

Cousins has a well-publicised battle with drug addiction.

He has also had several run-ins with police in recent years.

Police Association secretary Greg Davies said if a senior constable had spoken to a football club about a potential recruit, questions would rightly be asked.

"They'd be all over it. The OPI would be making noises," he said.

Sen-Sgt Davies said the OPI had the power to initiate its own investigation, and should do so in this case.

"We shouldn't have to ask them. They should just do it.

"There's either an acceptable explanation or a thorough investigation is needed by the OPI.

"I don't understand why she'd have anything to do with (the Cousins issue).

"In the end, nothing good can come from any police officer getting involved -- unofficially -- with anything to do with Ben Cousins," Sen-Sgt Davies said.

The OPI declined to comment last night, while Collingwood and Victoria Police also maintained their silence.

Cousins' manager, Ricky Nixon, said he wanted to know what was said when the Chief Commissioner and the Magpies spoke in the period before the club decided not to recruit his client.

Mr Nixon said he did not plan to make his grievances official but made his anger clear earlier in the day.

"I'm concerned that the Police Commissioner won't come out and say what she said," he said.

"It leaves it open to innuendo and rumour and speculation. Every radio station has been rife with all that sort of talk and garbage."

Mr Nixon criticised the Magpies for using a private investigator this year to examine Cousins' personal life.

He understood any club doing "due diligence", but considered Collingwood's tactics had been over the top.

The manager said: "I tell you what, if they want 110 per cent of what Ben has been through and where he's at, they only have to come to my office.

"We're not going to skirt the issue, we're going to make it very plain Jane and black and white, and be honest about what's going on, not sending private investigators over to Perth to talk to every Tom, Dick and Harry in a cafe about where they've seen Ben Cousins or what he's doing."

A St Kilda spokesman said nothing had changed in its approach to Cousins.

"We're interested but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge before that goes anywhere," he said.

Cousins, the 2005 Brownlow medallist, was deregistered in 2008 for bringing the game into disrepute.

He can return to the sport only if cleared by the AFL Commission next month.

Source: Herald Sun

POLICE are angry they will be made to provide a VIP escort for a motorcycle gang set to swamp Melbourne's CBD this weekend.

More than 200 members of the Bandidos bikie gang will descend on the city this afternoon in a bold show of defiance.

Police have been told to "facilitate" the bikies as they ride in convoy from Geelong to the CBD.

The Bandidos will be given a police escort and traffic will be stopped so they can enjoy an uninterrupted run.

Once in town, they are expected to hit pubs and strip clubs during their annual national run.

"It really is a party," said one Bandidos member.

Bikies from interstate and overseas are expected to join the run up the Princes Highway.

The order from police command has outraged police already livid over what they say is a soft approach to bikie gangs.

Officers will be drawn from regions already struggling to contain crime to monitor the gang from tonight until Monday.

Police will devote 395 individual shifts to the operation, including traffic management units, general duties officers and brawler vans.

"This operation will be sucking up a lot of manpower at peak trouble times," one officer said.

Sen-Sgt Greg Davies, of the Police Association, said city police were already struggling to cope with drunken violence.

"Clearly, we do not have the current frontline capacity to prevent Melburnians being injured on an average weekend in the CBD," Sen-Sgt Davies said.

"We just hope our members will be deployed in sufficient numbers to protect themselves and the community at large.

"We've got to be confident the force has used all of its intelligence gathering and has planned for this. If there have been any slip-ups along the way then this has the potential to make Attila the Hun's foray into Europe look like an end-of-season footy trip."

A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said force command had contingencies in place for the run.

"Victoria Police has a number of strategies in place to minimise traffic disruption and will continue to seek to provide a safe and orderly environment for the Victorian community," she said.

But rank-and-file police are angry over the soft treatment.

"They should be getting treated like they used to get treated, with crime squads reading them the riot act," one officer said.

"I don't think a group of men who purport to be outlaws should be treated like this. Why should police assist them?"

Another officer had a different opinion.
"If you meet these people half-way you're going to stop trouble," he said.

The Police Association said gang members should be ordered off their bikes and subjected to criminal and roadworthy checks . . . "a style of policing that says, `We have a reasonable belief that you're carrying drugs or firearms'," Sen-Sgt Davies said.

Victims groups are also furious about the Bandidos pouring into Melbourne.

"They're just thumbing their nose at the law, and victims and Victorians deserve better," Crime Victims Support Association president Noel McNamara said.

"What are they going to do next? Put them in an Anzac parade?"

A Bandidos member said the event had been moved from its traditional home in Queensland to Victoria.

"We normally have it in Queensland and we haven't done it here before," he said.

"We've got to do it somewhere, and there are really good freeways down here."

He vowed there would be no trouble during their three nights at a Southbank hotel.

"We're not that stupid. We've had that much police attention," he said.

The event follows the shooting of a man believed to be a Bandidos nominee outside the gang's Sunshine clubhouse on Monday.

The Bandidos' gathering in Melbourne comes as police push for control orders to limit bikies' movements and financial dealings.

Victoria has resisted moves to follow South Australia in extending police more powers. "You'd have to assume they (the Bandidos) are leaving other states which have more powers," a senior police source said.

Source: Herald Sun 10.10.2008

BENT Victorian police are regularly trading information with criminals for personal gain.

The Office of Police Integrity has found that corrupt police with intimate criminal connections are endangering lives and undermining the work of honest investigators.

Fellow officers are turning a blind eye to corrupt behaviour as part of a culture of corruption among some officers.

The OPI has identified small cells in the force where corruption is rife, and has vowed to crack down on improper criminal associations.

Trading information is a core problem.

The OPI has also attacked police command for failing to update its LEAP information system, which was widely used in the past by police to distribute confidential information on Victorians.

Police Integrity director Michael Strong also raised questions about human rights breaches in the force and suggested the OPI would focus greater attention on maladministration, including theft and complaints of assault.

Mr Strong attacked the Police Association for defending members of the Armed Offenders Squad and warned that while the number of corrupt police was "small in number" they were "culturally influential".

Information sharing was central to corrupt behaviour. "It appears that some corrupt cell members are adept at exploiting this habitualised information sharing," his annual report noted.

"Some people appear to have little, if any, understanding of, or concern for, the potential damage to ongoing investigations this type of information sharing can have.

"In extreme cases lives can be -- and have been -- put in jeopardy."

The OPI attacked the code of silence among old-school police but noted that the old guard was being rooted out of the force.

The OPI also revealed:

MISCONDUCT in public office was a recurring theme in investigations.

SERIOUS problems were emerging with the number of unsworn police in the force holding down senior positions but lacking the same accountability as sworn police.

THERE should be a review of the way informants are handled by police.

TWO police bought into a city hotel run by a convicted cocaine dealer.

A MENTALLY ill woman was detained and later kicked by a policeman but no action was taken against the offending officer.

THE LEAP system would not begin until late next year.

The OPI criticised the failure of police to install the new LEAP equipment. "Victoria Police do not seem to have acted with the urgency recommended," it says.

The report pointed to further investigations of improper criminal associations and a review of police rules covering the sex industry.

Police Minister Bob Cameron said the report was evidence the OPI was working.

Opposition police spokesman Andrew McIntosh said the report was further evidence of the need for an independent commission against corruption.

Police Association secretary designate Greg Davies said the OPI was a waste of taxpayers' money and the annual report was "premature" and inaccurate.

Source: Herald Sun 10.10.2008