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INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION OPERATION GLOUCESTER – PUBLIC HEARING OPENING STATEMENT COUNSEL ASSISTING – MR JACK RUSH QC 4 FEBRUARY 2019
Alleged "serious misconduct" by Victoria Police in the taking of witness statements during an investigation into the 1998 murder of two police officers is the subject of public hearings by the state's anti-corruption body.
Officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller were shot dead while on duty in Moorabbin, in Melbourne's south-east, and two men — Jason Roberts and Bendali Debs — have been jailed over the killings.
In November last year, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) began an investigation into allegations that detectives involved in the murder tampered with a piece of evidence that led to Roberts' conviction.
Separately, the Victorian Government asked the Supreme Court in August to assess new claims of an alibi put forward by Roberts, who has always maintained his innocence and is serving a 35-year jail term.
TODAY
Crucial information was missing from key witness statements taken from police at the scene of the murders of officers Gary Silk and Rodney Miller in Melbourne's south-east, Victoria's corruption watchdog has heard.
Bandali Debs and Jason Roberts were convicted of murdering Sergeant Silk and Senior Constable Miller, but Roberts claimed he was not there on the night the men were shot dead on duty in a Moorabbin street.
IBAC heard there were substantial differences in two statements made by Senior Constable Glenn Pullin, including an original version that made no mention of Senior Constable Miller describing more than one gunman, and a second that suggested there were two.
In that version, Mr Pullin said he asked Senior Constable Miller as he lay dying, "were they in a car or on foot?" to which Mr Miller replied "they were on foot".
Former homicide squad detective Ron Iddles, who doubts the validity of Roberts' conviction, told the hearing he had concerns about the statement-taking process.
"When I look at the key statements, conversations which are crucial don't appear until two years later or thereabouts," he said.
Counsel assisting IBAC, Jack Rush QC, told the hearing the investigation had uncovered evidence indicating a "pattern of systemic behaviour by Victoria Police in statement-taking that is of such gravity that it has the potential to pervert the course of justice".
Some of the practices include:
"A number of witnesses have agreed that a potential reason for the practice is to use the description of the offender later in the investigation if it matches a suspect and not use it at all if it does not," he said.
Mr Rush told the hearing the handling of witness statements had significant implications for the proper administration of justice, although it was unclear if the practices were still adopted by police.
"The manner in which police themselves provide statements and evidence in major crime cases is of critical importance to the administration of justice," he said.
The IBAC hearing will focus on the alleged police misconduct, rather than examining the soundness of the convictions of Debs and Roberts.
Alleged "serious misconduct" by Victoria Police in the taking of witness statements during an investigation into the 1998 murder of two police officers is the subject of public hearings by the state's anti-corruption body.
Officers Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller were shot dead while on duty in Moorabbin, in Melbourne's south-east, and two men — Jason Roberts and Bendali Debs — have been jailed over the killings.
In November last year, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) began an investigation into allegations that detectives involved in the murder tampered with a piece of evidence that led to Roberts' conviction.
Separately, the Victorian Government asked the Supreme Court in August to assess new claims of an alibi put forward by Roberts, who has always maintained his innocence and is serving a 35-year jail term.
TODAY
Crucial information was missing from key witness statements taken from police at the scene of the murders of officers Gary Silk and Rodney Miller in Melbourne's south-east, Victoria's corruption watchdog has heard.
- There were substantial differences between two statements regarding the number of offenders
- Jack Rush QC said statement-taking by police had the potential to pervert the course of justice
- The hearing is focused on alleged police misconduct rather than the conviction
Bandali Debs and Jason Roberts were convicted of murdering Sergeant Silk and Senior Constable Miller, but Roberts claimed he was not there on the night the men were shot dead on duty in a Moorabbin street.
IBAC heard there were substantial differences in two statements made by Senior Constable Glenn Pullin, including an original version that made no mention of Senior Constable Miller describing more than one gunman, and a second that suggested there were two.
In that version, Mr Pullin said he asked Senior Constable Miller as he lay dying, "were they in a car or on foot?" to which Mr Miller replied "they were on foot".
Former homicide squad detective Ron Iddles, who doubts the validity of Roberts' conviction, told the hearing he had concerns about the statement-taking process.
"When I look at the key statements, conversations which are crucial don't appear until two years later or thereabouts," he said.
Counsel assisting IBAC, Jack Rush QC, told the hearing the investigation had uncovered evidence indicating a "pattern of systemic behaviour by Victoria Police in statement-taking that is of such gravity that it has the potential to pervert the course of justice".
Some of the practices include:
- Instructions being given to witnesses to remove or exclude information from their statements, including Senior Constable Miller's description of the offender or offenders
- Creating a new version of a statement that purports to be the original but includes additional information
- If a witness statement is deficient, a replacement rather than a supplementary statement is taken and the original destroyed
- Deliberately not recording a witness' description of an offender, instead noting it on a separate document
"A number of witnesses have agreed that a potential reason for the practice is to use the description of the offender later in the investigation if it matches a suspect and not use it at all if it does not," he said.
Mr Rush told the hearing the handling of witness statements had significant implications for the proper administration of justice, although it was unclear if the practices were still adopted by police.
"The manner in which police themselves provide statements and evidence in major crime cases is of critical importance to the administration of justice," he said.
The IBAC hearing will focus on the alleged police misconduct, rather than examining the soundness of the convictions of Debs and Roberts.
