NSW: Police and union to meet over complaints system

AAP General News (Australia)
08-16-2001
NSW: Police and union to meet over complaints system

SYDNEY, Aug 16 AAP - The police complaints system will come under the spotlight today
when the NSW Police Association meets with Commissioner Peter Ryan over the issue.

The union, whose representatives will sit down with Mr Ryan from 9am today, said the
system had become a joke, tying up hundreds of officers daily on minor issues and anonymous
complaints.

NSW Premier Bob Carr also joined mounting calls for the complaints system to be streamlined
to ensure officers were not buried in red tape.

Association president Ian Ball said police were so afraid of getting caught up in the
complaints system they sometimes paid little attention to minor offences.

His comments came as police confirmed one Sydney family, which has up to 112 criminal
convictions between seven of its members, had filed about 20 complaints against Redfern
officers over several years.

Mr Carr yesterday said he was extremely concerned police were being deliberately obstructed
in handling complaints from the rest of the community.

"I want a streamlined system of complaints that sees members of the public able to
have a complaint about lack of attention from police attended to but doesn't see police
tied down in handling deliberately obstructive complaints from criminal elements," he
said.

"I don't want to see police spending excessive time dealing with complaints from criminals.

"Maybe we've got to make a distinction between complaints from law-abiding members
of the public and complaints that come in from people with criminal records."

City East Region Commander Dick Adams also said it was obvious the complaints system
had to be fixed in the face of such abuse of the system.

The Police Association called for a streamlining of the system last week when it issued
a 43-page report on the progress of reform since the Wood royal commission into police
in 1997.

It said complaints alleging criminal or corrupt behaviour should be made by way of
statutory declaration and anonymous complaints should not be investigated by police.

However, NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour yesterday said he was opposed to any change to
current provisions which allow for anonymous complaints to be made against police.

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KEYWORD: COMPLAINTS DAYLEAD

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