30 July 2015 - ABC PM
Angela Lavoipierre, Mark Colvin
Transcript
Mark Colvin: New South Wales is currently considering a new model for overseeing the state's police force, and the police complaints process is under scrutiny.
Public surveys show high levels of trust in police officers, but that trust is much lower among people who've had reason to complain about them.
Even the assistant police commissioner Peter Gallagher agrees that the existing police complaints process needs to be changed.
Angela Lavoipierre reports.
Angela Lavoipierre: Three-quarters of those who responded to a 2011 survey were dissatisfied not just with the outcome of their complaint against NSW police, but with the process itself.
Alan Beckley is an adjunct research fellow at the University of Western Sydney and a former senior police officer in the UK.
Alan Beckley: The Kitemark for a good system is whether the public have trust and confidence in their police.
A recent briefing paper in New South Wales found there was only one survey about confidence in the police, and that was one that I was involved in myself. That found not only that there was low confidence, but also it's highlighted a lack of independence in investigation of complaints against police.
Angela Lavoipierre: NSW Nationals member Trevor Khan says there's a community perception that the complaints process is drawn out.
Trevor Khan: To me, a lot of it is a matter of perception and it's a matter of a loss of confidence arising from a failure to resolve matters quickly and efficiently.
Angela Lavoipierre: Assistant police commissioner Peter Gallagher is the commander of the Professional Standards Command.
While he agrees low levels of confidence in police is a worrying notion, he says there's more to it than that.
Peter Gallagher: Oh it'd certainly concern me. It's a bit at odds though with some of the surveys that I've read.
Upwards of 89, 90 per cent in some of the surveys I've read, that the people who have come into contact with the police are actually satisfied with the actions of the police.
Angela Lavoipierre: Police in New South Wales have the unconditional power to choose not to investigate a complaint without giving a reason.
Solicitor David Porter from the Redfern Legal Centre says the complaints process is not user friendly.
David Porter: There is no advocate, except when a lawyer puts their hand up and says I'm going to learn about the Police Act, I'm going to make this formal complaint for somebody, I'm going to articulate the issues, I'm going to try and clearly define what the complaint is about, what misconduct has occurred. Unless somebody's willing to do that, it's very, very hard.
Angela Lavoipierre: He says in the rare case that a complaint is sustained, only the police commissioner has the power to punish officers.
David Porter: Those oversight bodies are effectively toothless.
One thing that we would recommend is that in the most extreme, the most serious cases of misconduct, that the oversight body should have access to the same power to dismiss an officer as the commissioner has.
That power is subject to review. It wouldn't be an unfettered power by the oversight body but what it would mean is that the most serious cases, that it is not solely within the commissioner's hands.
Angela Lavoipierre: Assistant commissioner Peter Gallagher admits the complaints process is not perfect and could do with some changes.
Peter Gallagher: In relation, for example, say we declined to investigate a matter or found a matter not sustained, and the argument that on occasion we should give better particulars as to why we've done that, I'd totally agree.
Angela Lavoipierre: Mr Gallagher says the nature of police misconduct has changed dramatically since the Wood Royal Commission, which was the last serious review of police oversight, nearly 20 years ago.
Peter Gallagher: Bribery, fixing court cases, all those sorts of things that, you know, the royal commission looked at some time ago, we don't see so much of that anymore.
Angela Lavoipierre: Greens member David Shoebridge agrees the nature of modern misconduct has changed, and says the real problems are largely ignored.
David Shoebridge: Entrenched issues, those issues we've been talking about here about the misuse of police powers, excessive force, that kind of entrenched corruption doesn't really have anyone leading the charge on it and I think that's what's missing.
Angela Lavoipierre: The current review of the NSW police oversight system is expected to recommend a new model in a month's time.
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Listen to the interview on the ABC website.
