More than 50 serving members of the NSW Police force are facing criminal charges for a host of offences including child rape, highlighting the bad behaviour that goes on behind badges across the state.
One officer who was suspended in February faces "historic" charges of aggravated indecent assault, an act of indecency, two counts of inciting an act of indecency, aggravated sexual intercourse without consent and three counts of s
exual intercourse with a child.
Another two have been charged with aggravated sexual assault. Others still stand accused of intimidation, harassment, breaching AVOs related to domestic violence, fraud, drugs, firearms, and drink driving offences.
While 32 police facing court have been suspended, 21 others accused of crimes remain on active duty. The statistics were revealed by Freedom of Information documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph.
Two years ago the Sydney Morning Herald published a similarly damning article based on a FOI material which showed not only was criminality rife within the NSW Police, but that criminals had been recruited to the force.
That story claimed police, some who were still serving at the time, had collectively racked up some 414 convictions before graduating from Goulburn.
A total of 437 police were reported to have committed 595 offences between them.
As was the case in 2014, the latest revelations have forced Commissioner Andrew Scipione to address what appears to be a chronic problem in the force.
Responding in an editorial piece published in concert with the Telegraph article, the Commissioner admitted he is "frustrated and bitterly disappointed" that officers have betrayed their oath and exploited their position.
Mr Scipione characterised the problem as a case of "a few bad apples", despite having dismissed 216 officers since taking the top job in 2007.
"No-one should be mistaken about my tolerance for actions that tarnish the good name of the 16,000-plus officers who risk their lives and dedicate themselves to serve the community," he wrote.
"Sadly, there’s not a Police Commissioner in the world who doesn’t have to take a stand on this issue."
In response to the reports, NSW Police stressed that it was not aware of the more serious allegations, particularly those regarding sexual assault.
In the case of the officer charged over "historic" child sex offences, allegedly committed in 2011, NSW Police said, "this crime had not been reported until after he was in the police.
"No screening could have picked that up as we did not have a reported crime at the time he was being considered for employment.
"More widely we now screen with DNA."
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2017
Source : http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/04/27/11/36/dozens-of-serving-nsw-cops-charged-with-serious-criminal-offences
