Rachel spoke on the lack of transparency around police oversight in Victoria. She noted that more than 95% of IBAC complaints about Victoria Police are sent back to Victoria Police for investigation.
A systemic review of police oversight concluded in 2022, however the report is yet to be made public.
Wednesday the 27th of November, 2024
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
I rise to make a brief contribution on the motion in my own name before the chamber. It has been two long years since this government received the final report of the systemic review of police oversight. In those two years we have seen:
(1) IBAC’s most commonly received complaint being complaints against Victoria Police,
(2) More than 95 per cent of complaints made to IBAC about Victoria Police sent back to police for investigation,
(3) In the 2022–23 financial year almost 70 per cent of investigations by Victoria Police recommended no action and in only 0.34 per cent of those cases was termination recommended and
(4) IBAC commenced investigations for only 23 of the 4000 allegations and almost 2000 complaints made to them against Victoria Police in 2023.
Misconduct risks unmitigated through current investigation processes
Further work done by IBAC in their strategic assessment of Victoria Police 2022–23 acknowledged that key police misconduct risks include misuse of police powers and resources, predatory behaviour, relationships with criminal networks, racial profiling, sexual harassment, excessive use of force and police-perpetrated family violence.
In this context it can be no surprise that public satisfaction with police has fallen to a historic low and the calls for reform of police oversight are at an all-time high. As highlighted in the motion, these are issues that the government is well aware of. We already know that the Victoria Police complaints process needs to be improved to effectively manage conflicts of interest, we already know that there are concerns about the conduct in relation to Aboriginal children and young people and we already know that the independent investigation of police misconduct allegations is failing. We knew all of this before the systemic review of police oversight even began.
Systemic review final report never released
So why is it that two years later the final report has never been made public? One reason that has been suggested is that it is because the government is still considering reform options. It is deeply concerning to us that this would be the only justification for not publishing this report. We believe in integrity in government, and we believe in transparency. This report should be released so that we can all do our jobs as crossbenchers and hold the government accountable to the findings of the review. If we do not have the report available to us, how can we be assured that the government’s response to the review, if there is one, has listened to the advice on how we will ensure that those who so bravely shared their lived experiences are heard?
We want to be clear: we acknowledge that the work is already underway, and we do not expect the government to be able to solve systemic problems overnight. We appreciate that it does take time to ensure that we do get this right. However, not only do we need to keep Victorians safe, we also need to keep them informed. We ask them to engage and work with us – to share their stories in what is often a retraumatising experience. We owe it to them to share the findings of that consultation and not to make them wait in limbo for years and years on end. Those who were failed by this system are now being made to feel like they are being failed time and time again. That is why we have brought forward this motion today, requiring the tabling of the final report on the systemic review of police oversight.
Related:
> Firebombing attacks in Victoria – Rachel Payne
> Illicit Tobacco Market – Rachel Payne
> Family Violence Intervention Order Breaches – Rachel Payne
> Justice Legislation Amendment (Police and Others Matters) Bill 2023 – Rachel Payne
