Pubdate: Thu, 13 Dec 2001
Source: Age, The (Australia)
Copyright: 2001 The Age Company Ltd
Contact:  http://www.theage.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5

DRUG SQUAD REVIEW DUE TOMORROW

MELBOURNE, A report into alleged corruption in Victoria's police drug squad 
will be handed down tomorrow, Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said today.

The report will detail the results of a review into the squad ordered by 
police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon.

Mr Haermeyer said he did not want to pre-empt the results of the review. 
"Obviously, there have been concerns about the drug squad, which is why the 
chief commissioner ordered the review, and what flows out of that will be 
revealed tomorrow," he told reporters.

Ms Nixon ordered the review after Police Ombudsman Barry Perry raised 
concerns about a number of incidents within the squad, including alleged 
theft of drugs and documents.

The move also followed the charging of a senior drug squad detective over 
an alleged $3 million ecstasy haul, and separate charges against a former 
drug squad officer for trafficking.

Mr Haermeyer said the review was an internal matter for the Victoria 
Police, but the government was concerned that police crime squads 
maintained the highest level of integrity.

He said Victoria Police encountered problems from time to time due to the 
large size of the force.

"The Victoria Police is a large organisation of over 10,000 officers, and 
within that you do have some problems sometimes," he said.

"Some of them go to issues of officers doing the wrong thing, some of them 
are simply organisational issues."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom