Police investigation open to bias, says Greens MP

A Greens MP has denounced the internal police investigation into recent King’s Cross shootings as a of interest and has demanded for a review by an independent body.

The incident involving teenagers and police on April 21 is being reviewed by the Police Integrity Commission and the NSW Ombudsman.

David Shoebridge has attacked the process as being potentially biased.

“Any organisation that is investigating itself has an inherent bias of self protection that applies to the Police as it would a union or local Council.”

“That is why independent eyes and independent view is essential.”

In the case of critical incidents, police should not be investigating other police.

“The key problem is it is discretionary,” he said.

A third party with no interest within the NSW Police Force should conduct the review, he said.

“The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) and the NSW Ombudsman can choose when to investigate and there is no compulsion on either body to undertake either a review or investigation of critical incidents.”

The Police Integrity Commissioner, Bruce James QC, said in a recent letter to Mr Shoebridge that the NSW Police Force was the only agency with the capacity and necessary powers to effectively respond to and investigate critical incidents within the state.

Mr Shoebridge cited the United Kingdom as having best-in-class practices since its model features compulsory referral to an independent statutory oversight body.

The NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour said it is very simplistic to say that police investigating their own is bad.

“I think our system is far superior. We probably have the strongest oversight system in Australia and one of the best oversight systems in the world,” he said.

“If you look at almost any organisation, whether its police or a public sector organisation, agencies should be able to investigate misconduct of their staff.

“The important thing is there are appropriate systems in place that are transparent, to ensure there is no bias or there is no misconduct in the course of the investigation.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about what the UK investigative authority does and exactly how it operates. No other organisation in Australia other than police would be sufficiently equipped or experienced to carry out investigations, Mr Barbour said.

Police are investigating police, but they are doing it under the scrutiny of my office and the PIC, he said.

Mr Shoebridge said he has received substantial community feedback.

Some have stood against questioning police but more respondents have supported the idea of third-party review in cases of critical incidents involving police.

“There is a sense of genuine frustration amongst many people,” he said. Mr Barbour has recently recommended to the Minister of Police and the Police Commissioner to make it mandatory for every critical incident, where there is a death or serious injury, to be subject of automatic notification to his office.

“We will monitor and identify quickly if there are any signs of police misconduct,” he said.

By Lynn Chinnock