The disciplinary process for police officers in Victoria continues to be marred by significant delays, frustrating members at best and, at worst, injuring them to the point of no return, authorities say.
The Police Registration and Services Board serves as the tribunal for Victoria Police, reviewing disciplinary decisions along with those about whether to promote or transfer officers.
President Andrea Lester lamented delays in the police disciplinary process in the board's latest annual report, while The Police Association Victoria condemned the process as "anachronistic".
In one recent board decision, a senior constable who worked night shifts for a week accidentally left his car in an entrance at a Melbourne police station, and only realised his mistake after he'd gone out drinking with colleagues.
The entrance had to be cleared so other officers could use it, so he drove the car about 25 metres into another parking spot opposite the station.
It took two years for him to go before the courts, where he pleaded guilty to drink driving, and another year for him to face a disciplinary hearing in June 2022.
"At the time of this report, timeliness of the discipline process remains a significant concern, with some matters taking more than two years to resolve, with serious adverse impacts on the subject police officer, witnesses, colleagues and workplaces," Ms Lester said.
"While the pandemic is no doubt a factor in this reporting year, with delays in both criminal and disciplinary proceedings, this is a long-term problem.
"The need for reform of the police discipline process has been on the agenda for many years and while recent process-based reforms are welcome, the full modernisation of the system remains unfinished business."
The union has long held the view the current Victoria Police disciplinary process is slow and punitive by design, a spokesperson said.
Reform needed to deliver streamlined processes, and focus on modernisation.
"In essence, the current Victoria Police discipline system lacks gears and, with this, an ability to provide a nuanced approach and response on a case-by-case basis which many other modern workplace models seem to achieve," the spokesperson said.
"It's fair to say that the current process and its delays, at best, frustrate members, and at worst, injure members to the point that they never return to policing."
Ms Lester took part in a working group along with Victoria Police and the union to come up with ideas about how to modernise the police discipline system.
Some were being incorporated into internal processes at Victoria Police, and Ms Lester was hopeful broader changes and amendments to legislation could be considered in the future.
Among them, she wanted police to be able to be handed a remedial - rather than punitive - order, where they could be asked to do training or mentoring to address the reasons behind their misconduct.
Victoria Police has started a "discipline transformation project" in a bid to simplify and streamline its complaints handling and discipline systems, a spokesman said. That would improve timeliness along with accessibility, transparency and accuracy.
While the police disciplinary process was a matter for Victoria Police, a government spokeswoman said it was working closely with the force and its union to understand how processes could be sped up.
