Victoria's anti-corruption watchdog has found there are ongoing misconduct issues involving Victoria Police's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) amid complaints about the excessive use of force by officers.
In a report tabled in parliament today, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) identified repeated failures of CIRT officers to accurately report their use of force, a lack of adherence to the Charter of Human Rights, inadequate risk assessment and poor communication.
The investigation was prompted by a number of incidents between 2017 and 2020 that resulted in complaints being made to IBAC.
Those incidents include the shooting by police of two people at Inflation nightclub, which resulted in the pair receiving a significant compensation payout from Victoria Police.
IBAC, in 2019, found Victoria Police failed to assess the planning and actions of the police officers involved in the incident.
In another episode investigated by IBAC, police officers broke a man's arm during a raid on the Hares & Hyenas bookshop in 2019.
After that incident, IBAC cleared police of using excessive force, but found the man's human rights were breached because police did not tell him why he was being arrested.
IBAC Deputy Commissioner Kylie Kilgour said the report released today finds risks and vulnerabilities that undermine the work of CIRT officers.
"Inconsistencies in reporting reduces the transparency of CIRT's use of force on members of the public," she said.
"Inadequate risk-assessment processes increase the risk that CIRT officers will use force on members of the public that may result in serious injuries.
"This is particularly relevant to CIRT, due to the nature of the incidents to which it responds and the additional weapons CIRT officers regularly use."
IBAC recommended Victoria Police improve the accuracy of its use-of-force reporting and strengthen operational risk assessments for CIRT officers.
The anti-corruption body has also questioned the gender diversity of CIRT, finding that 90 per cent of officers are male, which is not representative of the police force, or the community as a whole.
In a statement, Victoria Police said it would consider IBAC's recommendations.
"Each of the historic IBAC investigations mentioned in the report have been subject to previous recommendations which Victoria Police accepted," a spokesperson said.
"As many in the community would be aware the Critical Incident Response Team operates in a complex environment that involves significant risk to the public, other police and CIRT members.
"Victoria Police has committed to achieving sustainable gender equality by 2030 and recently released an action plan to drive meaningful progress towards that goal over the next two years."
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said police command was aware of the issues and was moving to address them.
"In my discussions with [Victoria Police Commissioner] Shane Patton and other members of police command, they know and understand that there are cultural issues that need to be dealt with and they are working very hard, certainly over our time in office, to deal with those," he said.
"Because it's a serious matter, it's not dealt within a week or a month, it does require intensive effort.
"The vast, vast majority of members of Victoria Police are there to keep us safe and [they] work hard. They've got good values and they work incredibly hard putting themselves in real danger."
IBAC has recommended Victoria Police report back within six months on moves to improve use-of-force reports and risk assessments, and improve gender diversity within 12 months.
Lawyers call for independent police ombudsman
IBAC's findings were published on the same day a coalition of legal groups renewed calls for the creation of a new independent body to investigate allegations of police misconduct.
Lawyers from across the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, Human Rights Law Centre and Robinson Gill said recent reporting on community confidence in the force highlighted the need for a body separate to IBAC to monitor police.
A report by the Victorian Inspectorate noted IBAC only investigated about 2 per cent of serious police misconduct complaints, with the rest referred back to police for investigation.
In a recent letter, the legal coalition said that figure demonstrated why another body focused solely on police was needed.
"IBAC has an important role to play in public sector corruption, let it do its job," they said.
"Loading it up with police complaints as well means neither role is sufficiently resourced to be effective.
"Investigations of police complaints requires different powers and skills to that of the corruption watchdog."
