Victoria’s police chief commissioner, Shane Patton, has publicly warned his force it is not above the law after a jump in disciplinary hearings last year, with officers accused of family violence, sexual harassment and unjustified use of police information.
Patton on Thursday revealed 17 police officers had been dismissed in 2022, while a further 31 resigned while their cases were being heard, when he says they saw the “writing on the wall”.
He said while the 100 disciplinary hearings that took place last year were only a “slight increase” on previous years, it is the “type of offending” that has senior police concerned.
Other alleged offences included predatory behaviour targeting colleagues or vulnerable community members, racism, homophobia and transphobia, drink-driving and drug use.
“I don’t know how you get to go out and lock someone up for being a drug user if you’re on the gear yourself,” Patton told reporters on Thursday.
Patton said the small number of workers committing family violence offences was particularly worrying.
“Those [perpetrators] who we become aware of, we will hold to account. In the past we haven’t dealt with that very well,” he added.
In most cases workers caught breaking the law would be dismissed and criminal charges considered, however Patton said an employee’s record would be taken into account for offences like lower-level drink-driving.
On Wednesday he sent an email to all members of Victoria police outlining expectations. He said while most of the force did the right thing, a minority thought rules did not apply to them.
“I want to be crystal clear. No one in this organisation is above the law,” he wrote.
“In fact, I would go as far as saying I have higher expectations for Victoria police employees than I have for anyone else.”
Patton attributed the “slightly above normal” number of disciplinary hearings to more drug and alcohol testing, the growing number of employees and changing attitudes within the force.
“We’re continuing to see increased lack of tolerance by members in the job themselves who are reporting misconduct against colleagues, which might not have happened 40 or 50 years ago,” he said.
Disciplinary processes are now being simplified in a move to promote transparency and timeliness.
The warning comes after several high-profile instances of alleged police misconduct, including when officers leaked photos of former AFL coach Danielle Laidley, which were then shared on social media.
Laidley reached a confidential financial settlement with Victoria police over the matter, and legislation has been updated to give clarity around prosecution for breaching confidentiality.
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, said it was a “wholly good thing” the chief commissioner was committed to taking action against discriminatory behaviours.
“It’s a timely reminder to people that if you’re enforcing the law, you’ve got to retain the community’s confidence,” he told reporters.
“Whether it’s a police contingent at Pride or emails like that one, it’s all about making sure that everyone is clear on what is expected of them and that is they do their job, and they do it well.”
