26 September 2023

New Office to investigate police

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The Office of the Special Investigator was formally established this week with powers to examine the potential criminal conduct and disciplinary matters raised by the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants.

Announced by Attorney-General, Jaclyn Symes, former High Court judge Geoffrey Nettle (pictured) was appointed Special Investigator in June and has begun preliminary work reviewing the publicly available Commission records.

“The Special Investigator Bill 2021 will require the Special Investigator to consider whether there is sufficient evidence for criminal charges or disciplinary breaches in connection with Victoria Police’s use of former lawyer Nicola Gobbo as a human source,” Ms Symes said.

“If the Office of the Special Investigator uncovers sufficient evidence of criminal offending, a brief of evidence will be provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine whether charges should be laid,” she said.

“This is another important step in restoring the public’s confidence in our criminal justice system and to right the wrongs laid bare by the Royal Commission.”

Ms Symes said all Royal Commission recommendations directed to Government had been delivered within their respective three and six-month implementation timeframes and recommendations with 12-month timeframes were on track for delivery.

The Attorney-General said Justice Nettle had more than four decades of legal experience, sitting as both a trial and appellate judge in the Victorian Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, as well as serving as a Justice of the High Court of Australia for more than five years.

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