A LACK of external oversight of police misconduct is felt even harder in smaller regional communities, a Bendigo community legal group believes.
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Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre has called for police misconduct complaints to be handled by an independent body, rather than Victoria Police itself.
Responding to the release of vision of a Melbourne disability pensioner being manhandled by police, LCCLC senior lawyer Lindy Harland said it was “very concerning” and reinforced the need for greater transparency in police misconduct investigations.
“We need an independent investigator to ensure impartiality, consistency and integrity,” she said.
“There is a reluctance for members of regional communities including Bendigo to make police complaints.
“The reasons for this include lack of impartiality, (that is) police investigating police, concern that complaints will not lead to any change, fear of not being believed as well as fear of being targeted which is of a greater concern in smaller, regional communities.”
In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into police oversight, LCCLC provided the story of a woman who made a complaint against police in a small town in the Loddon-Campaspe region.
She described being “roughly treated” by police and subjected to sexist and racist remarks, and comments about her father who also made a complaint about the police.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius responds to the CCTV footage.
When she complained, the matter ended up being investigated by the local police station and there was no finding of misconduct.
Complaints are handled by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission which refers the matters back to police.
Ms Harland said the process was a deterrent for people wanting to make a complaint, and meant it was likely that people would not bother.
“One of the difficulties for members of the community interacting with police, is having their stories believed and not dismissed for a lack of evidence,” she said.
“Often it is a member of the community’s word against the word of a single or even multiple police officers.
“Body worn camera footage may provide a solution to this issue and it’s something that LCCLC welcomes, providing the appropriate checks and balances are in place.”
In 2016, IBAC recommended an overhaul of the police complaints system.
A parliamentary inquiry into external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria is ongoing, and is expected to report in June. The state government then has six months to respond.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said Victoria Police was not supportive of “outsourcing” investigative powers, but would be making more submissions to the parliamentary inquiry.
He said regional areas faced extra challenges, particularly around independence of investigations.
“We’ve started the process, but we still need to better manage conflict of interest, address concerns about a lack of independence in our investigations, particularly in regional Victoria, so that complainants can have confidence in the integrity of an investigation and be satisfied that mates are not investigating mates,” Assistant Commissioner Cornelius said.