The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has welcomed Victoria Police’s commitment to improving their handling of complaints by Aboriginal people.
Commenting on the news, IBAC said the commitment followed its report Victoria Police handling of complaints made by Aboriginal people released in May, which examined the force’s handling of a sample of complaints made by Aboriginal people and its oversight of a number of serious incidents involving an Aboriginal person.
“IBAC welcomes Victoria Police’s recent commitment to adopting the report’s recommendations in full,” IBAC said.
“The report highlighted concerning patterns and deficiencies in Victoria Police’s handling of police complaints by Aboriginal people and identified 10 recommendations for improvement,” it said.
“These recommendations include the establishment of a dedicated process for handling complaints by Aboriginal people; addressing concerns regarding how police engage with Aboriginal children and young people in the context of arrests, interviews and management in police custody; and addressing serious and ongoing issues for managing conflicts of interest.”
IBAC said these recommendations were important because ensuring such complaints and serious incidents were investigated thoroughly and fairly was one way to help build Aboriginal people’s confidence and trust in Victoria Police.
Further information on the IBAC Report can be accessed in this PS News article.
