Royal Commission Into the New South Wales Police Service Final Report
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ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE NEW SOUTH WALES POLICE SERVICE FINAL REPORT VOLUME I: CORRUPTION Commissioner: The Hon Justice JRT Wood May 1997 ISBN 0 7313 0916 2 (set) 0 7313 0915 4 (Volume I) 0 7313 0914 6 (Volume II) 0 7313 0913 8 (Volume III) © The Government of the State of New South Wales 1997. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO THE NSW POLICE SERVICE 15th May 1997 The Hon RJ Carr MP Premier of New South Wales Governor Macquarie Tower 1 Farrar Place SYDNEY NSW 2000 My Dear Premier Pursuant to Letters Patent issued to me by the Government of the State of New South Wales, I now have the honour to present to you the Final Report of my inquiry into the New South Wales Police Service, in relation to all terms save those contained in paragraphs (d), (d1) to (d3) and (g) to (j) inclusive of the consolidated terms of reference (the Paedophile terms). Yours sincerely The Hon Justice JRT Wood Royal Commissioner GPO Box 3880 SYDNEY NSW 2001 Phone (02) 9321 6700 · Freecall 1 800 657 079· Fax (02) 9321 6799 Please address all correspondence to the Executive Director TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I: CORRUPTION EXPLANATORY NOTES vi ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT vii GLOSSARY xi CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION 1 A. THE SCOPE OF THE INQUIRY 1 B. THE FIRST INTERIM REPORT - FEBRUARY 1996 2 C. INQUIRIES SINCE THE FIRST INTERIM REPORT 3 D. THE SECOND INTERIM REPORT - NOVEMBER 1996 3 E. SERVICE REFORM DURING THE ROYAL COMMISSION 5 Legislation 5 Control over Reform Process 5 Integrity Issues 6 Employment Issues 7 Structural Issues 8 Surveillance Branch 9 Special Branch 9 Continuing the Reform Process 9 F. INQUIRY INTO THE PAEDOPHILE SEGMENT OF THE TERMS OF REFERENCE 9 G. REFORM DURING THE PAEDOPHILE SEGMENT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION 10 H. INCIDENTAL REFORMS DURING THE ROYAL COMMISSION 11 Liquor Licensing 12 Gaming and Racing 12 Commercial and Private Inquiry Agents 12 Prostitution 13 Drugs - Needle Exchanges and Shooting Galleries 13 Tow Truck Contracting 14 I. COMPLETION OF INQUIRIES BY THE ROYAL COMMISSION 14 J. HAND OVER TO THE POLICE INTEGRITY COMMISSION 16 i K. TELEPHONE INTERCEPTION CAPACITY 17 L. FINAL REPORT 18 CHAPTER 2 20 POLICING AND CORRUPTION 20 A. CORRUPTION DEFINED 20 B. POLICING AND CORRUPTION 21 Individual Police Deviance 21 The Nature of the Job 22 Police Culture 25 Politics and Policing 26 Corrupt Relations with Politicians 26 The Political Agenda 27 Process Corruption 28 The Policing Environment 31 Regulation or Control 31 Service Openness 31 Ability to Change 31 Support of Officers and Integrity 32 Maintenance of Staff Morale 32 Risk Minimisation 33 Composition of the Service 33 Higher Education 34 Conditions of Service 35 C. THE CONSEQUENCES OF CORRUPTION 36 D. CONCLUSION 37 CHAPTER 3 40 A SELECTIVE HISTORY OF THE NSW POLICE SERVICE 40 PRIOR TO THE ROYAL COMMISSION 40 A. SOME MILESTONES 41 1788 to 1861 41 1862 to 1959 42 1960 to 1979 47 1980 to 1995 53 B. OVERSIGHT OF THE SERVICE 62 External Agencies 62 The Judicial Process 64 C. CONCLUSION 65 CHAPTER 4 67 ii NSW POLICE SERVICE - CORRUPTION FOUND BY THE 67 ROYAL COMMISSION 67 A. ROYAL COMMISSION INQUIRIES 67 1. Process Corruption 68 Scrumdowns 69 Verbals 69 Waterloo Raid 70 Operation Bing 70 Operation Post 71 Operation Kiwi 72 The Sugar Reef Restaurant Incident 73 Kareela Cat Burglar 74 North West Region Drug Squad 75 2. Gratuities and Improper Associations 76 3. Substance Abuse 78 Alcohol Abuse 79 Drug Abuse 81 4. Fraudulent Practices 81 5. Assaults and Abuses of Power 84 Operation Cornish 84 Kings Cross Assault 84 The West End Hotel Incident 86 Narrabri Incident 86 Marrickville Incident 87 Other Incidents 87 6. Prosecutions - Compromise or Favourable Treatment 87 Operation North 88 Shooting at Louis Bayeh’s home 88 Assault at Eros Theatre 89 Assistance from Intermediaries and Others 89 Criminal Informants 90 North West Region 91 7. Theft and Extortion 92 Kings Cross Detectives 92 Operation King 92 Operation Tin 93 Shakedowns at Kings Cross 93 Operation Pickup 93 Arrest of Northern Territory Safe Breaker 94 Menai Search 94 Attitude to Monies Found During Searches 95 North West Region 95 Central Coast Detectives 96 8. Protection of the Drug Trade 96 Kings Cross 96 North West Region 99 9. Protection of Clubs and Vice Operators 99 10. Protection of Gaming and Betting Interests 100 Arrangements with Gaming Operators 102 Galea 102 Haddad 103 AY 104 iii Les Jones 104 EC 104 Elimination of Competition 104 Other Gaming Interests 105 Association between Police and Gaming Operators in the North West Region 105 Theft 106 Process Corruption 106 Inappropriate Associations 106 11. Drug Trafficking 107 12. Interference with Internal Investigations and the Code of Silence 108 Operational Police at Kings Cross 109 Cornish 109 Auburn Illustration 110 Operation TransAm 110 Attitude of Supervisors and Commanders 111 Flow-On Effect 112 A New Approach? 112 13. Other Circumstances Suggestive of Corruption 113 Operation Azure/Revival 113 B. OTHER INQUIRIES 115 The ICAC 116 The Milloo Inquiry 116 Other ICAC Inquiries 117 The Ombudsman 117 The Ombudsman’s Relationship with the Police Service 119 Separations and Prosecutions Since May 1994 120 Royal Commission Survey 124 Personal Encounters with Corruption 124 Typical Attitudes towards Corruption 125 Factors Affecting the Reporting and Control of Corruption 125 Level of Corruption within the NSW Police Service 126 Attitudes to Reporting Corruption 126 Views of Commanders 127 Complaints Concerning Assaults and Larceny 128 C. CONCLUSION 130 CHAPTER 5 132 CORRUPTION - SOME CASE STUDIES 132 A CITY PATROL - KINGS CROSS 132 The Churchill Affair 133 ‘The Laugh’ and Trevor Haken 135 JTF6 138 Management of Intelligence 140 Planning and Co-ordination of Policing 141 Risk Minimisation 142 A REGIONAL CRIME SQUAD - NORTH WEST REGION 142 A SUBURBAN PATROL - MARRICKVILLE DETECTIVES 147 iv AN ELITE TASK FORCE - THE JTF 149 CHAPTER 6 153 ENTRENCHED AND SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION : 153 WHY IT EMERGED AND WAS NOT EXPOSED 153 A. THE REASONS FOR THE EMERGENCE OF CORRUPTION WITHIN THE SERVICE 153 The CIB Tradition and the Elitism of Detectives 153 The Code of Silence 155 Protection of the Reputation of the Service 156 Other Structural Factors 157 Service Training and Development 158 Factors Outside the Control of the Service 159 B. THE REASONS CORRUPTION WENT UNEXPOSED 160 Command Accountability and Effective Supervision 160 Risk Management 161 Internal Investigations 161 External Factors 164 C. CONCLUSION 164 v EXPLANATORY NOTES The amalgamation of the New South Wales Police Force (operations) and the New South Wales Police Department (policy and administrative support) into a single entity known as the New South Wales Police Service, commenced in June 1987. This was formalised by the Police Service Act 1990 (NSW) which came into effect on 1 July 1990. Throughout this Report, the organisation is generally referred to as ‘the Service’ or ‘the Police Service’. All legislation referred to is NSW legislation unless otherwise indicated. The Commission was assisted by a number of consultants who prepared research papers on matters of relevance, in particular Dr Janet Chan, Dr David Dixon, Mr Mark Finnane and Mr Chris Cunneen. The employee associations for sworn officers of the NSW Police Service are the Police Association of New South Wales, for non-commissioned officers, and the Commissioned Police Officers’ Association for commissioned officers. Throughout this Report they will be referred to as ‘the Associations’ or ‘the Police Associations’. A reference to ‘the Police Association’ (singular) is a reference to the Police Association of New South Wales. vi ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT Abbreviations are for NSW organisations unless otherwise stated. ABCI Australian Bureau of Criminal Intelligence ACLO Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer AFP Australian Federal Police AIC Australian Institute of Criminology ALRC Australian Law Reform Commission ASIO Australian Security Intelligence Organisation BCI Bureau of Criminal Intelligence CAN Court Attendance Notice CAPS Career Advancement Planning System CARE Centre for Applied Research and Education CAU Customer Assistance Unit (UK) CCPC Commission to Combat Police Corruption (New York) CCRB Civilian Complaint Review Board (New York) CIB Criminal Investigation Bureau CIU Crime Intelligence Unit CIS Complaints Information System CJC Criminal Justice Commission (Queensland) COPS Computer Operated Policing System CPEA Child Protection Enforcement Agency CPOA Commissioned Police Officers’ Association of NSW CPS Crown Prosecution Service (UK) DEA Drug Enforcement Agency DEET Department of Employment, Education and Training (Commonwealth) DLEB Drug Law Enforcement Bureau DPP Director of Public Prosecutions DPP (Cth) Director of Public Prosecutions (Commonwealth) EEO Equal Employment Opportunity ERISP Electronically recorded interview between a suspect and police FCAN Field Court Attendance Notice FEA Fraud Enforcement Agency FTO Field Training Officer GREAT Government and Related Employees Appeal Tribunal vii HECS Higher Education Contribution Scheme HOD Hurt on Duty HRAC Human Resources Advisory Committee HRM Human Resources Management HSC Higher School Certificate IA Internal Affairs Branch or Office, NSW Police Service ICAC Independent Commission Against Corruption IPETAC Interim Police Education and Training Advisory Council IPSU Internal Police Security Unit IR Act Industrial Relations Act 1996 IT Information Technology LD listening device LRO Legal Representation Office JTF Commonwealth-NSW Joint Task Force on Drug Trafficking MACPA Ministerial Advisory