Arabic version: تحقيق برلماني يستمع إلى دعوات لإبلاغ مستقل عن سوء سلوك الشرطة
According to ABC News, a Tasmanian parliamentary inquiry has heard that a perceived “blue code of silence” and close relationships among officers are discouraging people from reporting sexual violence allegedly committed by police. The inquiry is examining the adequacy of Tasmania Police responses to allegations of officer misconduct.
Elise Whitmore, policy officer at community sexual assault support service Laurel House, said victim-survivors were concerned about police officers’ “interconnected relationships” within and outside work. She said their concerns included not being believed and possible retaliation by police in other parts of their lives. Laurel House advocacy manager Kaity Graham said responses must address power, relationships and conflicts of interest that can affect confidence in coming forward.
Bree Klerck, chief executive of the Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Alliance, said Tasmania’s small, deeply networked setting made it difficult for Tasmania Police to investigate serious allegations involving its own officers. Several inquiry members also raised the continuing effects of the case of former officer Paul Reynolds, who died by suicide in 2018 while under investigation for multiple child sexual abuse offences and was given a full police funeral with honour guard in Launceston.
Advocacy organisations recommended an independent reporting pathway outside the Tasmania Police chain of command. TFSVA policy and research officer Nicole Asquith said an independent body should guide and investigate alleged breaches of police conduct, police manuals and criminal law, potentially through a federal body. Laurel House also called for removal of the six-month period for reporting police misconduct.
In its submission, Tasmania Police said it supported effective and independent oversight of serious misconduct matters. It said public trust depended on systems that detect, report and properly investigate misconduct, deliver accountability and support organisational learning. The inquiry continues next week.
