Labor Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley must bolster the powers and capacity of the independent police watchdog after a brutal Four Corners investigation exposed gratuitous police violence, excessive use of force and maladministration in New South Wales.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission have been calling for reform to require the police to use body-worn video during the exercise of all police powers, as well as changes to their own powers to compel the police to provide them with the information and evidence they require to investigate police conduct. Now there are calls to bolster the LECC so that they can investigate more of the increasing complaints of police misconduct.
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice and solicitor Sue Higginson said:
“The degree of heinous violence we saw on Four Corners should be the trigger for urgent reform. I am escalating my calls to bolster the powers and capacity of the Police watchdog. The Police Commissioner must implement the watchdog’s recommendation and mandate the activation of body-worn video during the use of police powers,
“The revelations on Four Corners are unsurprising to me and I know they barely scratch the surface of a toxic and brutal culture that exists in the police force,
“Chemical weapons being used on a naked unwell woman, including her genitals, and being violently kicked and punched in the middle of a public road in broad daylight, intoxicated people being bashed, broken and hospitalised and then being charged with assault and resist arrest; women at home alone playing music in the evening, broken into and brutally assaulted; and victims of domestic violence being left for dead in the gutter,
“This is a culture of excessive force, unbridled power and cover up, enabling police to be violent with impunity. It is not lost on anyone right now that we still haven’t seen the Independent Culture Review of the NSW Police Force, led by Kristen Hilton, that I have been told is sitting on someone’s desk,
“People are rightly losing trust in the police. The NSW Police are the most complained about police agency with complaints growing each year. The default system is for the Police to investigate themselves and it’s not working. The LECC needs more investigators to investigate complaints, rather than simply referring them to the police to investigate themselves,
“Even in the few cases the LECC does investigate, Police are able to avoid scrutiny and accountability because the LECC does not have the powers they need. The LECC called for changes to their powers and it’s shocking that Premier Chris Minns and the Police Minister have not responded,
If the Premier does not commit immediately, I will bring a private members bill to the Parliament to introduce the three changes needed to ensure the LECC can investigate police misconduct and maladministration and oversee Police investigations of critical incidents,
“These changes are needed to stop the current practice of police not complying with the LECC and put an end to the “difficult” and “defensive” culture as described by the Chief Commissioner
“Just yesterday the Premier invoked the LECC when asked to defend police conduct, but their requests for urgent reform are sitting on his desk gathering dust,” Ms Higginson said.