Admission ... there are 133 officers with criminal convictions reportedly serving in the New South Wales police ranks.
Police force admits convicted officers in ranks
Some guilty of serious offences
"Bad apples" protected
THERE are 133 officers with criminal convictions serving in the New South Wales police ranks - guilty of bashings, fraud, illegal use of guns and numerous high-level drink-driving offences - the state`s police force admits.
Among them are five officers - three senior constables and two detective sergeants - who kept their jobs despite more than one court conviction.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the officers have 166 offences between them following the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
And efforts by Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione to clean out bad apples from the ranks have been frustrated by rulings in the Industrial Relations Commission, which saw five sacked officers reinstated in the past year.
Serious traffic-related matters dominate the list, which does not name individuals, including 25 high-range and 47 mid-range drink-drive crimes, two cases of drink-driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and eight of negligent or culpable driving.
There are 10 assaults, including several occasioning actual bodily harm, three officers convicted of fraud or making false instrument and three of offensive conduct.
Two officers were convicted of unauthorised access to the police COPS computer system.
A police spokesman emphasised that none of the 133 officers had served jail terms and they made up less than 1 per cent of the force`s 15,236 officers.
"The NSW Police Force is no different from every major employer in having staff who have been before the courts," he said.
But the high number of offences raised concerns among legal experts last night that Crown cases before the courts could be placed at risk should any of these officers be involved.
Barrister Stephen Odgers, while not wanting to comment on specifics, said that a police officer called as a witness could be cross-examined and challenged over their "credibility" should their criminal history be known.
The list of convictions, which police claimed at first did not exist, was released after an appeal to the Ombudsman.
Opposition police spokesman Michael Gallacher said last night that the force had secretly lowered its standards under government pressure to meet election promises on officer numbers - a claim denied by police.
I know of a policeman who accessed the COPS system to dig up dirt on a family and got away with it. A few years later, he lost his job because he was found guilty of inviting two young girls for coffee and then taking them on a joy ride at high speed in the patrol car, with sirens on. He was on duty when this happended. If my memory servces me correctly, he then tried to erase the evidence that was recorded in the vehicle, he got caught. This hit the local papers and last thing I heard was that he had lost his job. Justifiably so. The public has a right to know about rogue cops, they are human beings like the rest of us but they are paid to ensure that the law is upheld, not break it.
Posted by: resistancia of nsw central coast 5:22am today
Look at the big picture. I'm sure they are doing a good job and a job most of us would'nt want.
Posted by: im 5:15am today
they should be sacked & there crimes made public so they can feel humiliated like they do to all of us
Posted by: glen swindells of mackay 5:05am today
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