Victorians in regional communities are being encouraged to speak out against police misconduct in a new campaign launched by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC).
IBAC Commissioner, Robert Redlich said the You have the right to not remain silent campaign would raise awareness of the Commission’s police oversight role and empower members of the community to report suspected police misconduct or provide information anonymously.
“IBAC’s intelligence suggests there may be incidents of police misconduct that go unreported by the public, particularly in parts of regional Victoria,” Commissioner Redlich said.
He said IBAC took all complaints seriously and information provided by the public helped prevent and expose police misconduct.
“IBAC recognises how challenging it can be for someone to make a complaint about suspected police misconduct,” the Commissioner said.
“These challenges may arise for social, economic or cultural reasons or because it can be upsetting to speak out,” he said.
“IBAC manages complaints with care and sensitivity and treats a complaint as confidential when requested.”
Commissioner Redlich said some complaints led to important investigations that resulted in disciplinary action and criminal prosecutions.
“Reporting police misconduct can assist IBAC to address systemic police misconduct issues and improve the conduct of Victoria Police’s internal investigations,” he said.
In a statement, IBAC said all Victorians deserved to be treated fairly by police, no matter where they lived or what their circumstances were.
“You can report anything police do to deny your rights to us,” IBAC said.
“IBAC is not part of Victoria Police,” it said.
“We are Victoria’s independent body responsible for preventing and exposing police misconduct.”
IBAC said that all the information it received from the public helped it do its job effectively.
