Whistling "Dixie " !

Incredible as it may sound, the investigation into serious misconduct at the top echelon of the New South Wales police force has been shelved and the culprits allowed to fade away whistling "Dixie " !
In a face saving gesture the incompetent Police Integrity Commission will be replaced by a new body - the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission  ( LECC ) and the Ombudsman's overlapping ability to investigate police abolished.

Well over a decade ago false documents were signed off by a judge and this allowed the phones, homes and offices of over a hundred serving New South Wales police officers to be bugged.  This intrusion led to failed marriages, false accusations of misconduct over trivialities - and suicides.  It was clearly a ploy to damage competitors in the race to become the next police commissioner.

Millions of dollars and over a decade of court time was spent on a pointless investigation that was programmed not to reach a conclusion.  It is simply laughable that our prime investigative body was unable to follow a clear trail or ask the right questions that would bring a conclusion.   In the murky world of politics and police powers the prospect of justice being served was too awful to contemplate - because of the risk of schism shaking the established order.     We are now told to be satisfied that the investigators have concluded that "nobody did anything wrong " !

What a laugh !  When someone raises false documents they leave a trail and that should result in a quick sheeting home of the blame and remedial action.   The one body with the power to dispense justice to ordinary citizens needs to be squeaky clean and to keep it that way it is overseen by what is often termed "Internal Affairs " but sometimes various other terms.   It seems that the politics of policing in New South Wales consists of power groups capable of intimidating all forms of oversight - and that is really frightening !

The greatest dodge in the world is to simply discontinue one form of control and recreate it in a new form.  Tart it up.  Slap on a new coat of paint and give it a promising new name - and then go back to business as usual !

This Law Enforcement Conduct Commission ( LECC ) will have within it two divisions with power over "Integrity "and "Oversight " and it will be headed by a Commissioner who is either a serving or a retired judge.   The nitty gritty is just what terms of power it will be given, and that is yet to be disclosed.   Having power is one thing.  Being politically able to use that power without hindrance is another - and this shameful investigation that has just ended in a whimper is not an encouraging portend of things to come.

We live in troubled times.  It seems that there is a very real prospect of a world religious war washing up on our shores and common crime is always present.  The police force stands between us and mayhem and keeps us safe at great personal risk.   The men and women who put their lives on the line every time they report for duty have a right to expect integrity from those who command their actions. What we have witnessed in this fiasco is not encouraging !