NSW Police Under Scrutiny Amid ‘Boys’ Club’ Culture

After a series of reports detailed how a “boys’ club” within the NSW Police protected abusers and silenced victims, an independent review of the organisation will focus on serial sexual offenders within the NSW Police.

Multiple officers faced the Industrial Relations Commission for texting each other rape jokes and ranking the sexual appeal of their female colleagues. A sergeant was found guilty of sexual touching after grabbing a colleague’s breast under her shirt at a pub, arguing that the female colleague “consented” because they were engaged in friendly banter. Numerous other officers have even quit after their complaints about bullying and harassment were ignored.

The review was announced by Commissioner Karen Webb in October last year and is currently underway. It is headed by former Victorian equal opportunity and human rights commissioner Kristen Hilton.

“[Research shows] in organisations which have tended to be quite hierarchical and have had a large number of men in senior leadership positions, there have been historically high levels of sexual harassment,” Hilton told the Sydney Morning Herald. 

The Herald revealed that the review wouldn’t be pursuing individual allegations. The review will also use laws and regulations as guidelines for reporting and referring incidents. Those who wish for their reports to remain anonymous will have the guarantee that their confidentiality will be protected.

Hilton hopes about 15 per cent of the police’s 20,000-strong workforce will participate, with interviews scheduled for May and June. Internal policies and procedures will also be reviewed.

“Part of the impetus of this review is understanding the impacts the changes that have already been made have had and what needs to be done differently,” she said.

“[To] invite independent people in to look under the bonnet is quite courageous.”

The review will take place over 12 months and be open to both sworn officers and unsworn employees, as well as employees and officers who left the workforce within the past five years.

The review’s findings, recommendations and executive summary will be made public, with the first reports due at the end of the year.

Webb said the review has been a long-time goal.

This review comes after a previous report in 2020 and another review in 2019. The 2020 Law Enforcement Conduct Commission report found “entrenched culture of misbehaviour, including sexual harassment, led by senior officers and emulated by junior staff” at one police command. The 2019 review into the police promotions system, led by then-sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, outlined a “boys’ club” culture.

Webb said the review has been a goal of hers since her appointment. 

Brett Greentree, Head of People and Culture Assistant Commissioner, said that an independent review would allow officers to “truly see what people are saying and thinking.”

Deputy Commissioner and head of corporate services Dean Smith said it was time for a “stocktake” on culture.

“How do we reset to make sure that the NSW Police is a workforce that people want to come and work in?” he said.