Oversight of criminality within the police force goes by many names. Devotees of the many television crime shows refer to is as " Internal Affairs " but here in New South Wales the integrity within the force is maintained by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission ( LECC ) and that critical organization is about to have the funds available pruned back by six million dollars.
That " Do more with less " maxim is being applied in all government categories and this cutback to their $22.3 million budget will probably increase the flow of illegal drugs on city streets. This watchdog of police morality admits that the main manufacturer of illegal drugs in New South Wales are bikie crime gangs and that is not possible without the leak of inside information about investigative tactics coming from within the police force.
The problem is that the manufacture of methamphetamine is a gold mine for the organized criminal gangs that the bikie movement has become, and with that sort of money at their disposal handing a wad of money to a compliant cop for inside information is simply part of the cost of doing business.
Our police are well paid but the average police family has the same problems as the rest of the community. They struggle to pay mortgage repayments brought on by the price escalation of houses and their work brings them into close contact with criminals. The criminals see those payments as " insurance money " to ensure that drug supply remains ahead of the best efforts of the cops.
A spokesperson for the LECC stated that these bikie gangs are very sophisticated criminals, who have become paranoid since the 1995 Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. It is simply impossible that they can become the largest manufacturers of methamphetamine without some degree of inside information.
Obviously, the job of the LECC must be to closely examine the lifestyle of individual police because that sort of money usually shows in spending that is inconsistent with salary. Perhaps that police family is in the habit of tasking unusually expensive holidays. Perhaps the family car has suddenly become elevated into the very expensive luxury category. It would be as very unusual cop who could simply stack cash away unused without the slightest change in living style becoming apparent.
Getting caught divulging sensitive police information brings instant dismissal and probably a term of imprisonment. The only way this information flow will cease is if LECC has both the funds and the ability to prove that spending habits exceed the salary bracket of the officer involved and that can only be achieved if the investigative budget is adequate.
Knowing that we have a criminal infiltration within the police force, this is not the time to cut back their investigative budget !
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