The federal police association has called for the ACT government to release the Sofronoff inquiry report immediately, in its entirety, as there was "no point in hiding or sugar coating the information and recommendations".
It has also urged that the ACT Chief Justice make an assessment on the professional conduct of specific parties involved - but did not name them - and whether this should be referred to the Australian Federal Police for criminal investigation.
Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana said that the outcome of the inquiry into the investigation and trial of Bruce Lehrmann revealed the ACT's investigating officers had conducted their task with complete professionalism.
"While we haven't seen the report, nor the recommendations, if the public reports are accurate, it's clear that ACT Policing members conducted a proper and professional investigation," he said.
"The investigators performed their duties in absolute good faith, with great determination, although faced with obstacles, and put together a sound case."
ACT Policing was unable to comment officially on the report because they, too, have not seen it even though the relationship between Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan and ACT director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold was badly damaged by the leaking of a letter from the DPP to the police chief in November last year.
In the letter, Mr Drumgold complained to Gaughan that police had engaged in a "very clear campaign to pressure" him not to prosecute Bruce Lehrmann, the alleged offender in the case. Gaughan was reportedly furious at the allegation, and that the contents had been released under freedom of information without his knowledge.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has refused to release it until the ACT Cabinet has reviewed it. However, the bulk of the material is now in the public domain and legal onus squarely on ACT Attorney General Shane Rattenbury to decide on how to proceed.
It is understood that the experienced ACT investigators assigned to the case had identified very quickly the potential for it to generate significant interest and controversy due to Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann both working for the same former Liberal cabinet minister, Linda Reynolds.
As a result, they were particularly careful and methodical in their note-taking and record-keeping. All ACT detectives enter their case notes into an official diary, which becomes an official document and an accessible supplement to any digital case-log entries.
In the leaked report, Mr Sofronoff found the police officers involved in the matter had worked "with great determination" and compiled "a sound case".
While they made mistakes, such as conducting a second interview with Ms Higgins when it was unlikely to yield anything useful, Mr Sofronoff reportedly concluded none of the errors prejudiced the case.
"We were always confident that the investigating officers had conducted a thorough and professional investigation from day one," Mr Caruana said.
"While we welcomed the inquiry, we knew it would be the only way to reveal the truth.
"It's disappointing that valuable ACT taxpayer money was spent due to allegations now found to be wholly false and made up."
He said that investigators had demonstrated "accountability, honesty, and transparency, which is reflected in the public reporting".
"The ACT Policing officers made admissions to their errors and owned them," he said.
"Sexual assault investigations are among the hardest to conduct, even more so when you have a high level of national scrutiny. I commend all members involved in the investigation and those who appeared before the inquiry."
Mr Caruana expressed his concern for the mental health and welfare of all involved in the inquiry, and that the professional reputations of experienced investigators, including the former head of criminal investigations, Detective Superintendent Scott Moller and another senior detective, Marcus Boorman, had been unfairly maligned in the process by some ill-informed commentators and stakeholders.
"Given what we've read in the public domain, it's quite clear that further action by the ACT government is required.
"There is no reason to delay the release any further.
"They can release the report today and consider the recommendations in due course. They can also offer support where needed, so the healing of all the people involved in the Inquiry can begin," Mr Caruana added.
