Bruce in West Oz
New member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
Herald Sun
Melbourne
Victoria (Australia)
Police cads
By PETER MICKELBUROUGH
12 May 00
DETECTIVES face criminal charges after a raid on St Kilda police station unearthed a cache of guns, drugs and cash.
Senior police said there was no legal reason for the items to be hidden in the ceiling of offices used by the 23 members of the St Kilda criminal investigation unit and the Embona taskforce.
Police sources also revealed yesterday there had been physical clashes between some St Kilda detectives.
The Herald Sun was told one was allegedly assaulted by a senior member after confronting him about his actions about six months ago.
So far only two policemen have been interviewed over the raid and no one has been charged or suspended.
Guns and other items are being DNA tested and forensically examined and will be checked against evidence from recent crimes.
The cache was uncovered as part of an unrelated internal police investigation into lazy officers, codenamed Operation Cad.
Assistant Commissioner Graeme McDonald said yesterday he was embarrassed and saddened by the surprise discovery.
The haul included:
• a shotgun, a revolver, a pistol and an air pistol.
• several bags of traffickable amounts of suspected heroin, tablets and marijuana seeds.
• credit cards, stereo equipment, number plates and two imitation pistols.
• illegal knives and a non-police issue steel baton.
• about $200 in cash.
Several bottles of whisky were found and there was beer and wine in the fridge. (This bit sounds normal to me
Mr McDonald would not speculate on the possibility the cache had been used by corrupt police for criminal activities.
"The fact that these items have been found would indicate that, yes, some people have not abided by the rules," he said. "Was it someone not prepared to put it through the property book or is it an indication of
something far more sinister?"
"I'm not ruling that out but I can't speculate," he said.
The Ethical Standards Department's concern about work practices at the CIU and Embona taskforce -- set up to investigate armed robberies on soft targets -- was heightened by an anonymous letter from a detective.
After discovering a small quantity of marijuana seeds under a desk drawer in their initial search of the taskforce office, investigators noticed panelling in the false ceiling of the office had been disturbed.
A stash of guns and other items was found in the crawl space above the false ceiling, sparking a wider search of the office and a shared locker room during which other items were found.
"Information provided to me would indicate that they (the guns) probably haven't been there for an extensive period," Mr McDonald said.
Although internal investigators were armed with a ladder and torches, the discovery of guns and drugs had come as a total surprise.
"It is embarrassing and I feel sad," Mr McDonald said. The majority of police were
diligent and trustworthy, he said. Those at St Kilda not connected with the raid would be devastated.
The raid had started as a visit to seize station records and police work diaries to determine why a handful of detectives had not been "contributing as well as perhaps they should have been" as part of Operation Cad.
Mr McDonald said the corporate management review department of the force would continue to look at work practices at the station.
Sources said yesterday the latest trouble at the St Kilda station went back more than a year.
Mr McDonald said there was an unusually high level of sick leave at the CIU and some question as to whether it was all legitimate.
"There was some indication that there was perhaps a morale problem there which could have contributed to what is really an excessive number of members being on sick leave at any one time in a relatively small unit," he said.
Five of the 16 members of St Kilda CIU are on leave.
According to one source, a detective who claimed to have been assaulted after confronting another officer at the station late last year spent several months on fully paid stress leave while the matter was investigated by ESD.
He said the officer also was warned by ESD investigators to expect home visits from his attacker's mates.
It is believed the officer accused of the assault accepted a voluntary demotion to uniform duties but is now on sick leave.[/quote]
B
[This message has been edited by Bruce in West Oz (edited May 12, 2000).]
Herald Sun
Melbourne
Victoria (Australia)
Police cads
By PETER MICKELBUROUGH
12 May 00
DETECTIVES face criminal charges after a raid on St Kilda police station unearthed a cache of guns, drugs and cash.
Senior police said there was no legal reason for the items to be hidden in the ceiling of offices used by the 23 members of the St Kilda criminal investigation unit and the Embona taskforce.
Police sources also revealed yesterday there had been physical clashes between some St Kilda detectives.
The Herald Sun was told one was allegedly assaulted by a senior member after confronting him about his actions about six months ago.
So far only two policemen have been interviewed over the raid and no one has been charged or suspended.
Guns and other items are being DNA tested and forensically examined and will be checked against evidence from recent crimes.
The cache was uncovered as part of an unrelated internal police investigation into lazy officers, codenamed Operation Cad.
Assistant Commissioner Graeme McDonald said yesterday he was embarrassed and saddened by the surprise discovery.
The haul included:
• a shotgun, a revolver, a pistol and an air pistol.
• several bags of traffickable amounts of suspected heroin, tablets and marijuana seeds.
• credit cards, stereo equipment, number plates and two imitation pistols.
• illegal knives and a non-police issue steel baton.
• about $200 in cash.
Several bottles of whisky were found and there was beer and wine in the fridge. (This bit sounds normal to me
Mr McDonald would not speculate on the possibility the cache had been used by corrupt police for criminal activities.
"The fact that these items have been found would indicate that, yes, some people have not abided by the rules," he said. "Was it someone not prepared to put it through the property book or is it an indication of
something far more sinister?"
"I'm not ruling that out but I can't speculate," he said.
The Ethical Standards Department's concern about work practices at the CIU and Embona taskforce -- set up to investigate armed robberies on soft targets -- was heightened by an anonymous letter from a detective.
After discovering a small quantity of marijuana seeds under a desk drawer in their initial search of the taskforce office, investigators noticed panelling in the false ceiling of the office had been disturbed.
A stash of guns and other items was found in the crawl space above the false ceiling, sparking a wider search of the office and a shared locker room during which other items were found.
"Information provided to me would indicate that they (the guns) probably haven't been there for an extensive period," Mr McDonald said.
Although internal investigators were armed with a ladder and torches, the discovery of guns and drugs had come as a total surprise.
"It is embarrassing and I feel sad," Mr McDonald said. The majority of police were
diligent and trustworthy, he said. Those at St Kilda not connected with the raid would be devastated.
The raid had started as a visit to seize station records and police work diaries to determine why a handful of detectives had not been "contributing as well as perhaps they should have been" as part of Operation Cad.
Mr McDonald said the corporate management review department of the force would continue to look at work practices at the station.
Sources said yesterday the latest trouble at the St Kilda station went back more than a year.
Mr McDonald said there was an unusually high level of sick leave at the CIU and some question as to whether it was all legitimate.
"There was some indication that there was perhaps a morale problem there which could have contributed to what is really an excessive number of members being on sick leave at any one time in a relatively small unit," he said.
Five of the 16 members of St Kilda CIU are on leave.
According to one source, a detective who claimed to have been assaulted after confronting another officer at the station late last year spent several months on fully paid stress leave while the matter was investigated by ESD.
He said the officer also was warned by ESD investigators to expect home visits from his attacker's mates.
It is believed the officer accused of the assault accepted a voluntary demotion to uniform duties but is now on sick leave.[/quote]
B
[This message has been edited by Bruce in West Oz (edited May 12, 2000).]
