Righting a Wrong !

Seventeen years is a long time to wait for an enquiry to deliver a finding.   That is the time it has taken for an Obudsman's investigation into "Operation Prospect " to be published, and just days away from release legal action has been taken to prevent that happening.

"Prospect "was a serious matter of malfeasance that occured at the very top of the New South Wales police force and it has complicated political ramifications.  The coming retirement of the police Commissioner had senior police jockying to be first in line for the top job and somehow Internal Affairs launched a curious investigation in the hope of uncovering corruption.

Forgeries and false documents were put before a judge to justify the bugging of the homes and offices of over a hundred serving police officers and this extended to their mobile phones.  This operation was relentless and a corrupt officer was turned into an informer equipped with a recording "wire "to attend functions in the hope of trapping fellow officers into incriminating confessions.  It became a witch hunt that ruined careers, caused mental breakdowns - and in some cases led to suicide.

Clearly, setting up Prospect involved a host of illegalities.  It should have been an open and shut matter of tracking who presented forged documents to that judge, but somehow the right questions were not asked.  A public enquiry and the Ombudsman's enquiry ran side by side - for years and years - without coming to a definitive conclusion.

There were many victims who suffered loss from Operation Prospect but it seems that the main target was Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldos.   He was well liked and supported by rank and file police but perhaps his "politics " were not acceptable to the ruling hierarchy.  These enquiries into the bugging scandal completely failed to identify the culprit and so the Commissioner was persuaded to extend his term in office.   This removed the pressing decision of making a choice on who would replace him.

Eventually, Nick Kaldos was told he would not be the next police commissioner - and he retired from the force.  Many of his colleagues described him as "the best police commissioner we never had ". Those involved in the scandal heaved a sigh of relief and hope that the matter would now quietly terminate.   The public enquiry fizzled out inconclusively and the Ombudsman retired without delivering a finding.

Eventually, a replacement Ombudsman completed work in progress and it is this report that is nearing release.   Nick Kaldos is concerned that his grievances raised at the enquiry were ignored and that the emerging report fails to adequately address any of the truths.   The enquiries were fundamentally flawed from the beginning.   It is likely that once the report is released it will be claimed that the mater is now closed  - and a very serious law breach at the very top of the police force will go unpunished.

It also leaves the matter of the next police commissioner in limbo.   The present commissioner will retire next year and a big question mark hangs over that replacement decision.  It seems that Nick Kaldos has stepped in to prevent a whitewash - and keep this affront to justice in the media spotlight.