NSW Police Officers Continue to Engage in Misconduct with Impunity
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A New South Wales police sergeant on a long drive with two junior officers in November 2023, refused to allow the car to stop when one of his colleagues needed to use the bathroom. Rather, the senior officer suggested the man urinate in a bottle, and when he did, the sergeant filmed him in the act and immediately uploaded the footage onto a WhatsApp chat that included five other police officers.
The ABC reported the incident on Tuesday, 29 January 2025 after another senior officer learnt of the incident and turned whistleblower, as he complained to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (the LECC) last year, alleging the sergeant had engaged in bullying and serious misconduct.
The former senior officer chose to lodge the complaint with the law enforcement oversight body, because he understood that the culture within NSW police would lead to any complaint being made by the junior officers being ignored.
The whistleblower told the national broadcaster he was outraged to learn that the LECC had handed the matter back to the NSW police only to have it then deem it “unprofessional” but not a “criminal” matter and the sergeant’s only reprimand then consisting of a written warning and a “disciplinary transfer” to another area command.
Indeed, if a civilian conducts themselves in a similar manner, they’re liable to prosecution. Section 91P of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) makes it an offence to record an intimate image without consent, while section 91Q makes it illegal to distribute an intimate image without consent. Both of these offences carry a maximum penalty of 3 years imprisonment.
NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson is too appalled about the outcome of this internal police investigation, as she considers a mere transfer in response to a senior officer having filmed a junior officer’s genitals and then sharing it with others online, much graver conduct than the reprimand reflects, and she also takes aim at the inability of the state’s sole law enforcement oversight body.
Investigating their own
“A senior officer has violated a junior officer’s privacy and right to be safe at work, and all that’s happened is a warning and a transfer,” said Higginson, in a 28 January statement. “The air of secrecy and impunity around the NSW police is reminiscent of the handling of charges of abuse against the Catholic Church.”
“The LECC is supposed to be the tough cop on the beat when it comes to police misconduct in NSW, but we have seen repeatedly that it is not fit to deal with the deep and systemic cultural issues within the police that are failing police and the community. The system as it stands is that police investigate police and it’s a broken system,” the NSW Greens justice spokesperson continued.
According to Higginson, either the state law enforcement watchdog needs more power, or a new oversight body is warranted. She then outlined that the LECC’s annual report for 2023-24 explains that there had been a 21 percent increase on the number of complaints lodged against police over that 12 month period, which further corresponds to a 50 percent increase over the three years prior.
The LECC commenced operations in July 2017, following a report recommending that NSW police oversight be streamlined, as it was previously being conducted by three different bodies. Higginson explains that since she’s been raising issue with the watchdog’s limited reach due to its lack of adequate funding, the Minns government has shown disinterest in improving police oversight.
“I speak with cops and former cops regularly who say the system is broken and that it is well known that if you complain about bad behaviour or systems, you may end up the target of a complaint,” the Greens member underscored.
The old boys in blue club
In response to further reports exposing the culture of the NSW Police Force, which has long been known as a racist, misogynistic and homophobic ‘old boys’ club’, NSW police commissioner Karen Webb appointed former Victorian equal opportunity commissioner Kristen Hilton last October, to conduct a review of the values and habits on display within the state law enforcement body.
This development came after the ABC ran a report last September that featured former NSW senior sergeant Mel Cooper, who confirmed that the force’s culture continues to be a “toxic” “boys’ club”, and she recalled how a group of male colleagues had provocatively handcuffed her to the leg of a desk at a police station in 1994, when she was a 19-year-old new recruit.
The national broadcaster further spoke to more than a dozen currently serving and former NSW police officers who confirmed such bullying and misconduct continues to be the norm, with management paying little heed to officers who report any trauma or deterioration in mental health as a result of working on the beat.
A dwindling force
A memo written by NSW police assistant commissioner Brett McFadden that was subsequently leaked to NSW independent MLC Rod Roberts, explained that there were 4,000 vacant NSW police positions due to a shortage in new recruits, as well as uptick in officers leaving the force. McFadden added that these were exceptional circumstances and that recruitment drives are currently failing.
The memo emerged in October last year, which was the same month when it came to light that officers from seven western Sydney area commands were refusing to perform duties that weren’t part of the job description when signing up for the force. These duties included bail compliance checks and attending religious events.
“The culture of cover-up in the NSW police cannot be resolved by another review that will only ever be considered by the police themselves,” Higginson made certain on Tuesday.
“I have been calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the culture of the NSW police to fix these issues, but the government has turned this proposal away every time. In any other workplace, if you filmed someone’s genitals and sent it to colleagues you would be fired and on criminal charges,” the NSW Greens MLC said in conclusion.
“Why are the NSW police treated differently?”