| IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT THE POLICE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SAY WHAT HAPPENED AND TO BE LISTENED TO ... Origins of the Police Complaints Authority The office of the Police Complaints Authority was
established by an Act of the South Australian Parliament in 1985. Prior to its establishment, there was no external
agency to exercise any degree of oversight over the South Australian police. All complaints were investigated internally, and
the police force made its own assessment of the substance of any particular complaint, and
its own reply to complainants. Unlike the situation in some other States, there was no
widespread public anxiety about the SA police prior to the establishment of the office. In fact, at that stage the SA police enjoyed a
very high approval rating as, indeed, they still do.
It does not appear that there was any particular level of public, as distinct from
individual, concerns that led the government to establish the present system. South Australia was the last of the Australian states to
adopt a system of civilian oversight of its police. The
impetus had tended to come from a growing consensus that such oversight was desirable,
expressed in a report of the Australian Law Reform Commission, and in the measures taken
in other states. Perceptions of police by the public in other States in Australia where
there was increasing concern about police behaviour may have been a factor behind the
introduction of civilian oversight in South Australia. A review committee (The Grieve Committee) was established to
examine comparable systems interstate and make recommendations to the Government. The Bill
that was introduced on their recommendations was substantially modified in a variety of
ways, some modifications tending to enhance the protection offered to police, but others
tending to extend the scope and authority of the Police Complaints Authority. In its final form the Bill received all party
support, and became the Police (Complaints and Disciplinary Proceedings) Act, 1985. The
Commissioner of Police, the SA Police Association and the SA Council for Civil Liberties
all welcomed the Act, and expressed their acceptance of its provisions. The system established by the Act is a complex one: it
deliberately followed the model of "External Monitoring of Internal
Investigation", rather than creating an independent investigative agency, as some had
wished. The Act recognised and defined the
functions of the Internal Investigation Branch of the police force as the agency charged
with the function of the primary investigation of complaints, subject to the oversight of
the Police Complaints Authority. It is the
expectation of the Act that the majority of investigations will be conducted by the
Branch, and this has been the practice since the Act was introduced. There are exceptions: the Police Complaints Authority can,
and usually does, conduct the primary investigation of complaints about the most senior
police officers, about members of the Internal Investigation Branch, about public servants
employed by SA Police and complaints which relate to policies, practices or procedures of
the police force. There is also a provision
which allows the Police Complaints Authority to conduct an investigation where the
Authority considers that there are reasons for doing so. Such cases are the exception
rather than the norm. Aggrieved citizens may complain either to the police or
directly to the office of the Police Complaints Authority.
In either event the complaint must be registered by the Police Complaints
Authority and the complainant notified of subsequent developments. The Police Complaints Authority may receive
anonymous complaints (and also complaints from people who do not wish their identity to be
made known to the police), and may - and usually does - require that complaints are
reduced to writing. Complaints can be
received in respect of police "conduct", which is broadly defined as any act,
decision or omission done in the exercise or purported exercise of any power or function
which a person has by virtue of being a police officer.
It does not cover purely private acts done while off-duty simply because the
person is a police officer, unless there is some "official" colour to the
conduct. Examples are cases where an
off-duty officer "flashes his badge" in the course of a private dispute or calls
for police assistance in private issues beyond what any other citizen might expect. The Act was proclaimed on 1 September 1985. Complaints cannot be received which relate to conduct occurring before this date. It is, however, important to understand that the Commissioner can take any action he considers appropriate regardless of the fact that the Act does not apply. |
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Last updated: 23 October 2002 |