14 October 2011

One bad apple found in ACT Policing

| johnboy
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The Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity has released a report from last year on a very dodgy police constable.

This investigation primarily concerns suggestions that an ACT Policing constable, an appointee of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), had improperly disposed of illicit drugs (tablets which he had received in the course of his duties in October 2007), apparently by flushing them down a police station toilet. The information raised the possibility that the constable had not disposed of the tablets, but had kept them for his own use, or to sell or give them to another person.

Giving evidence to a hearing convened by the Integrity Commissioner, the constable admitted to disposing of the tablets in an unapproved way. The investigation established that no other AFP employee witnessed the claimed disposal of the drugs, but discovered no evidence that the constable had kept the tablets.

The constable made other admissions, relating to retaining property improperly, misusing police vehicles and accepting gratuities from licensed premises.

The AFP dismissed the constable, taking into account evidence which the Integrity Commissioner provided to the AFP Commissioner during the course of this investigation.

The Canberra Times reports on this case and another policeman having a relationship with a brothel owner.

[Photo by epSos.de CC BY]

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Lookout Smithers9:38 am 26 Oct 11

Young inexperienced copper made error of judgement? You make mistakes in life and hopefully learn from them. This is hardly something to be fed to the hang em high mob over. Nothing in this story at all.

How do you think this dumb fukc got caught? It was his honest colleagues who dobbed him in.

The ACLEI then spent a year trying to find endemic corruption and only found this tool. You know why? Because in ACTP it doesn’t exist.

Every inquiry and witch hunt has found the same thing.

creative_canberran9:47 pm 25 Oct 11

farnarkler said :

This dumb f*ck just managed to get himself caught. Makes you wonder how many of them are smart enough to not get themselves caught.

I would suggest that there’s probably heaps more who aren’t smart enough not to get caught, but the culture or fellow “degenerates” cover for them.
Recalling past examples of police corruption, it tends to be small teams/units where they all come to an understanding, or there’s involvement at seniors levels.

I’m not suggesting that’s the case with the AFP, only that in these kinds of institutions, the culture can often keep things under wraps.

farnarkler said :

According to the AFP annual report, there are a little over 6,000 police officers. Of course, in a group of that size, you’re going to find all sorts of degenerates, just like in any other group of approximately 6,000. This dumb f*ck just managed to get himself caught. Makes you wonder how many of them are smart enough to not get themselves caught.

I would be considering the intellectual ability of the investigators, not the ability to get caught…bit like Police v Public 🙂

According to the AFP annual report, there are a little over 6,000 police officers. Of course, in a group of that size, you’re going to find all sorts of degenerates, just like in any other group of approximately 6,000. This dumb f*ck just managed to get himself caught. Makes you wonder how many of them are smart enough to not get themselves caught.

Ozi said :

Tooks said :

If you know nothing about the law, why bother throwing out stupid hypotheticals? If you flushed drugs down your work dunny, then obviously there is no proof they were illicit drugs, therefore no charges.

Get a clue.

Don’t let facts get in the way of a good knee-jerk rant, Tooks. Pfft. Talk about going against everything RiotACT stands for.

And Ex-Feds, is there a possible link between your jaded attitude and username? Hmm?

I think anything with Feds in the text is jaded 🙂

At least he was dismissed, in Queensland you get a promotion for this.

There are two particular lines in this that make me laugh. My favourite is #35 from the findings of this little side-show.

“The unlawful retention of property by the constable may give rise to a criminal offence”

” 35. Having regard to the constable’s admissions and the conduct engaged in, I do not find that the constable engaged in corrupt conduct. Any evidence that he had retained the drugs may have led to a different conclusion.”

So let me get this right … just in case I end up in a courtroom:

1. The unlawful retention of property (say a Ferrari) is not a criminal offence, but MAY GIVE RISE TO ONE.

2. AFP Officers cannot be engaging in corrupt conduct unless there is EVIDENCE that they are drug dealers/suppliers.

This stuff is laughable.

Tooks said :

If you know nothing about the law, why bother throwing out stupid hypotheticals? If you flushed drugs down your work dunny, then obviously there is no proof they were illicit drugs, therefore no charges.

Get a clue.

Don’t let facts get in the way of a good knee-jerk rant, Tooks. Pfft. Talk about going against everything RiotACT stands for.

And Ex-Feds, is there a possible link between your jaded attitude and username? Hmm?

johnboy said :

openness, transparency, highly over rated when fighting corruption…?

Corruption, openess, transparecy… the AFP…..hahahaha thats funny.

Sif this is an isolated case.

breda said :

Gosh, if I flushed drugs down the dunny at work, do you think ACT Policing would give me a discreet, no charges laid, internal investigation too?

Thought not.

If you know nothing about the law, why bother throwing out stupid hypotheticals? If you flushed drugs down your work dunny, then obviously there is no proof they were illicit drugs, therefore no charges.

Get a clue.

Special G said :

Probably just a couple of ibuprofen.

Your arguments might be right, however its all behaviour that needs to be resolved quickly while he’s a constable. What if he constitutes laptops as minor value, should he be allowed to keep it? What happens when he gets in court, and they find he’s been receiving free drinks from businesses who have done shady things? What happens when hes out delivering his drunken mates home, and police urgently need the vehicle for real business?

People do sneaky things at work, but you have to consider that some things might threaten your career and are best avoided.

Interesting that the substance flushed down the toilet were ‘illicit drugs’ – did anyone test these suspected drugs. Probably just a couple of ibuprofen.

Blue lght taxi – Police take intoxicated persons into custody all the time and drive them places.

If you are walking along the street and find a $5 note. Do you pick it up? Do you hand it in to the Police and register it properly then collect it 3-4 months later? or do you think woo hoo ‘find a penny pick it up and all day long you’ll have good luck’? are you possibly going to be able to find the owner o the $5 note?

Gosh, if I flushed drugs down the dunny at work, do you think ACT Policing would give me a discreet, no charges laid, internal investigation too?

Thought not.

devils_advocate said :

p1 said :

Tooks said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

I’d be pretty interested if it was someone I knew…

One of the reasons why the name should be released is, so his previous cases/investigations/arrests can be examined and any allegations of impropriety reassessed in light of these findings.

His name being made public wouldn’t achieve this. It can be achieved just as well by performing a proper internal investigation, which appears to have occurred in this case.

I am a tad puzzled how these “blue-light taxi” offenses could have been committed – I understood police work in pairs when in police-car. Surely police-car kms are logged and signed off on so there is another issue. I would be suspicious that a colleague(s) turned a blind eye. In this day and age with low cost and accurate GPS location monitoring – surely the location of all police-cars is knowable in realtime. I think the Commissioner’s finding – “….ruled out corrupt conduct.” – sounds like a bad joke.

devils_advocate3:13 pm 14 Oct 11

p1 said :

Tooks said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

I’d be pretty interested if it was someone I knew…

One of the reasons why the name should be released is, so his previous cases/investigations/arrests can be examined and any allegations of impropriety reassessed in light of these findings.

http://www.aclei.gov.au/www/aclei/rwpattach.nsf/VAP/(8AB0BDE05570AAD0EF9C283AA8F533E3)~ACLEI+Investigation+Report+01-2011.pdf/$file/ACLEI+Investigation+Report+01-2011.pdf

The constable made other admissions, namely that he had:
(a) retained for himself some property (of minor value) that he had found
while on duty, despite that he knew of his obligation to register and
deposit the property;

When the constable took for himself the property he had found, he profited by
keeping it. The property should have been properly processed so it could
have been returned to its rightful owner (if one could be identified) or handled
in accordance with AFP requirements. The unlawful retention of property by
the constable may give rise to a criminal offence

For the purposes of investigating this corruption issue(*), I decided that it would
be beneficial to hold hearings, in private, under the LEIC Act
——————————————————————————————————————————————–

(*) free drinks, blue light taxi, druggie girlfriend running a brothel etc..No wonder they wanted it in camera..

buzz819 said :

Obviously they are breaches of the Public Service code of conduct and against the AFP’s operating procedures, if they had of found something criminal don’t you think he would have been charged criminally?

Not necessarily. There are many forms of action that can be taken, and I suspect that cops charging other cops is probably reserved for bigger ticket items. Although this person clearly did some things wrong, the individual things themselves didn’t seem to me to be big ticket items. One would think that when dealing with this type of issue the people running the show would have, and use, some discretion. I guess what I was interested in was whether these things WERE actually criminal offences.

buzz819 said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Why do you need a name? It doesn’t change the outcome, how many media releases are there around that don’t release people’s names?

Your right, I dont *need* to know the officers name. But what is the incentive for other police not to be corrupt if they dont get publicly named if/when caught.

He used tax payers time, money and property to dispose of illegal substances (which he did not correctly record) after taking an oath to uphold and enforce the law.

The AFP are not above the law and officers should be held accountable in a transparent and equal manner to the rest of us.

No one had a problem releasing e.g. Mully Williams name all over the papers and news and he helped kill 3 people. *stir stir*

Assuming he actually disposed of the drugs and didn’t give them to his known to be drug using girlfriend.

I don’t think he will last too long in the force.

>The constable admitted to using police vehicles to provide ”blue light taxi” lifts for friends, retaining property found while on duty and accepting free drinks from licensed premises.

Probably the last straw right there.

johnboy said :

openness, transparency, highly over rated when fighting corruption…?

The said “The Commissioner said the constable’s actions involved breaches of discipline but ruled out corrupt conduct.”

So that means they have to name every person who commits “breaches of discipline?”

I’m all for transparency and openness for the betterment of the community etc. This hearing has found that he breached guidelines in relation operating procedures and department policies but did not conduct himself in corrupt behavior.

If he had of broken the law his name would have been printed, probably from the plane that was towing the sign around yesterday.

Classified said :

Tooks said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

No to be facetious, but doesn’t “retaining property improperly, misusing police vehicles and accepting gratuities from licensed premises” consitute crime? Or is it that these things are in contravention of whichever code of conduct Police are required to adhere to. If these things ARE actually crimes (I’m guessing they aren’t), why wouldn’t the person involved be charged?

Obviously they are breaches of the Public Service code of conduct and against the AFP’s operating procedures, if they had of found something criminal don’t you think he would have been charged criminally?

eyeLikeCarrots12:03 pm 14 Oct 11

johnboy said :

openness, transparency, highly over rated when fighting corruption…?

The ACT commission must be working with the Victorian Police Integrity Commision.

Tooks said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

I’d be pretty interested if it was someone I knew…

Tooks said :

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

No to be facetious, but doesn’t “retaining property improperly, misusing police vehicles and accepting gratuities from licensed premises” consitute crime? Or is it that these things are in contravention of whichever code of conduct Police are required to adhere to. If these things ARE actually crimes (I’m guessing they aren’t), why wouldn’t the person involved be charged?

openness, transparency, highly over rated when fighting corruption…?

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Was he convicted of a crime? Why do you need his name?

john87_no1 said :

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

Why do you need a name? It doesn’t change the outcome, how many media releases are there around that don’t release people’s names?

Why dont they release his name? I assume they would if a member of the public was caught doing something similar.

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