Victoria Police Corruption And The Ceja Task Force

Introduction

Drug use and the abuse of drugs is rampant in the society we live in. Drug abuse has effects at both a personal, national and global level. When police become involved in the creation and distribution of drugs it corrodes the confidence that the community has in the police and the belief that they will protect and serve. Police corruption is a problem that affects everybody, regardless of status and whether they are civilians or law enforcement officers. A prevalent example of this is the drug corruption that occurred in the Victoria Police force, leading to the creation of the Ceja Task Force. Police corruption as it relates to drugs is a topic of interest that has been receiving a great deal of attention in the media and by citizens.

Police culture is characterised by a code of silence, unquestioned loyalty to fellow officers, and cynicism about the criminal justice system. Such characteristics do not only promote police corruption but also impede the controlling and detection of corrupt police. A code of silence comes with grave consequences for violation. This is evident when members of the Ceja Task Force were placed in fitting roles with officers who worked in Victoria Police. Breaking the code of silence leads to harassment and victimisation. Members of Ceja who were placed in Victoria Police witnessed this due to their previous work investigating corrupt police. Interrelated with the code of silence, is loyalty between officers above everything else. As officers hold such loyalty to each other it causes corrupt officers to continue doing as they please, and potentially make other officers corrupt with no evident consequences. This is clear in the Ceja report as the Drug Squad maintained loyal to one another through the corrupt process of purchasing and distributing illicit drugs. The last aspect of police culture that will be discussed is police cynicism or disillusionment about their jobs, the criminal justice system, and public support. This causes police officers to believe all people are bad. In turn, this leads to police defying the

As many other countries have dealt with the issue, many of the recommendations offered for implementation in Australia have been tested and analysed. One of the most prominent issues discussed in the Purton review is the management of property and exhibits. The recommendation put forward was to search rooms one at a time with the occupier of the premises present. It was also recommended that police should videotape searches. This would ensure that no cash, drugs, or personal items are stolen or planted during raids. Thereby, preventing opportunistic and corrupt behaviour. The recommendation also takes into consideration that videotaped searches are not always appropriate and therefore, cannot always be done. However, searching rooms one at a time would ensure a clean, thorough search of the premises. This recommendation is easy to fulfil and ensures that no corrupt or suspicious behaviour occurs. This, in turn, means that police are doing their jobs with no bias or perceived guilt and will decrease the amount of wrongful convictions that