Police Chief Challenged On Force Jobs
The Age
Tuesday July 11, 2006
VICTORIA'S police union is fighting Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon as she tries to find new jobs within the police force for anti-corruption investigators.
A Supreme Court case, funded by the powerful Police Association, begins today challenging Ms Nixon's ability to "reintegrate" former members of the anti-corruption Ceja taskforce by directly planting them in new jobs, bypassing the usual application process.Ceja was set up in 2001 to investigate allegations of corruption in the former drug squad. In late 2004, Ms Nixon moved to deal with concerns about a stigma attached to internal investigators and difficulties they face finding new jobs in the police force.Ms Nixon's secret policy, "Reintegration and case management for Ceja taskforce personnel", allowed her to redeploy detectives to unadvertised job vacancies using her powers under police regulation 21. In June last year, a Ceja investigator, Detective Sergeant Bill Patten, was transferred by then acting chief commissioner Peter Nancarrow to a job as the senior officer at the Gisborne Crime Investigation Unit. That transfer is now the subject of a Supreme Court challenge by Detective Sergeant Shane O'Connell and Sergeant Ryan Irwin, who both wanted the job. Their case is funded by the Police Association, but Mr Patten, who also applied for Police Association support, was turned down because the union does not want to fund "member against member".Police Association sources say the challenge to Mr Patten's transfer is not aimed at corruption investigators but at ensuring Regulation 21 transfers are used to support qualified officers. Sergeants O'Connell and Irwin argue they were unfairly denied an opportunity to try for the Gisborne job, and then were prevented from challenging this before the Police Appeals Board.Affidavits prepared on their behalf say their challenge is based on ensuring use of Regulation 21 is fair and in the best interests of the police force.But other documents obtained by The Age back up Ms Nixon's fears that corruption investigators face hurdles returning to mainstream policing.An internal complaint leaked to The Age details bullying allegations made by Mr Patten against a senior officer who "possessed prejudicial and an 'anti-Ceja Task Force' mentality" that Mr Patten claims is prevalent across sections of the force.The allegation describes "continued inappropriate and invalid criticisms, belittling and humiliating comments, general gossip, spreading of malicious rumours and breach of confidentiality" by the senior officer. Mr Patten's complaint said that during a 15-minute tirade at a police station, the officer was "totally overborne with emotion to the point that I was not able to maintain a rational conversation with him"."This prolonged verbal attack . . . was by far the most belittling, insulting, humiliating and demeaning experience I have ever been subjected to in my policing career."Just a month after this incident, in July last year, the unsuccessful appeals against Mr Patten's Gisborne appointment were lodged with the Police Appeals Board.According to the bullying complaint, evidence in those appeals suggested that the senior officer involved "has divulged specific and strictly confidential personal information he had gathered about me" to the officers mounting the challenge.
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