Qld police misconduct exposed

A damning report from the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission (CMC) has revealed widespread misconduct by Queensland police in recent years

The report, titled Dangerous Liaisons, was made public by CMC chairperson Robert Needham on July 22. It implicated 25 police, ranging from constables to an inspector, in allegations of unethical practices and official misconduct.

The claims refer to the use and management of police informants.

The report says informants were given benefits, including unsupervised leave from prison, money and phone calls, in return for evidence and confessions.

Needham reportedly "decided to make the report public because he did not have faith in the police service to accurately inform officers of the findings", said the July 23 Courier Mail.

Queensland Council for Civil Liberties vice-president Terry O'Gorman told the Courier Mail the CMC report's criticisms were harsher than any of its past investigations into the Queensland Police Service.

However, he also questioned the "light-handed treatment of those at the top" of the police service responsible for setting up and running a discredited "informant fund".

"Corruption is not an issue in the Queensland Police Service," Queensland Police Union general president Ian Leavers said on July 22.

O'Gorman replied that the union's response was similar to the report that led to the Fitzgerald Inquiry, which exposed huge police corruption under the Joh Bjelke-Petersen regime in the 1980s.

From GLW issue 804