Your right to know win: SA Police secrecy laws set to be relaxed as MPs urge overhaul of draconian secrecy rules

South Australians’ right to know what’s going on behind-the-scenes at SAPOL will be boosted as an inquiry paves the way for far-reaching secrecy laws to be relaxed.

Police on the beat along Hindley Street in Adelaide’s CBD. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

South Australian’s right to know would be boosted as an inquiry paves the way for draconian secrecy laws to be relaxed.

In a major report, a bipartisan state parliamentary committee on Tuesday urged the state government to overhaul SA’s police complaints legislation to boost transparency.

Politicians, from both houses, made 23 findings to ease public information restrictions, open up the secret police tribunal’s operations and reform how officer complaints are investigated as well as funded.

MPs said a commissioner must authorise disclosure of information except if it was “not reasonably expected to prejudice any further action”.

The state government, which received the Crime and Public Integrity Policy Committee’s report on Tuesday, must respond by mid-next year.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is “open-minded to the concept of greater transparency”.

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, and the rank-and-file’s union, believe state laws are balanced and appropriate.

Since 2016, it has been illegal to report, or publicly disclose, all details on any internal police investigation without approval from Mr Stevens, Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Ann Vanstone or the Office for Public Integrity.

The bipartisan parliamentary committee, comprising government, opposition and crossbench politicians, has conducted an 18-month inquiry into the Police Complaints and Discipline Act.

Its 226-page report, tabled in parliament, recommended the burden be shifted to disclosure, better “clarity” on publication restrictions and banning media inquiries being treated as complaints but stopped short of urging full disclosure.

SA’s secret police tribunal should reveal its findings, MPs said, while any details aired under parliamentary privilege would not be suppressed.

It also recommended all officer discipline outcomes be disclosed, which police have recently started publishing every three months.

In response to police concerns that a majority of complaints about officers are unsubstantiated, MPs said all grievances should be made in writing while oversight would be handed to the ICAC.

Police discipline rules should expand to include interstate conduct, it urged but officers should only be suspended when allegations were serious enough to warrant sacking if proven.

Making no criticisms of police, the inquiry “acknowledged the difficult tasks” officers faced while maintaining high levels of discipline.

“It was accepted that it can be dangerous, stressful and at times thankless work, requiring instant decision making that can be later subject to scrutiny … in the absence of such circumstances,” it concluded.

Police on the beat along Hindley Street in Adelaide. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The Advertiser has highlighted several “troubling” cases of police secrecy, the latest over two officers using tasers and pepper-spray on a man, aged in his 60s, at a southern suburbs residential care home earlier this month.

Senior police sparked a fierce backlash after issuing legal threats that any “failure” to treat witness accounts and video footage confidentially risked a criminal offence.

Community outrage forced Mr Stevens, who is currently on leave after the death of his son Charlie, 18, in a road crash, to authorise the footage’s release.

The committee’s presiding member, Upper House Labor MP Justin Hanson said MPs had “sought very hard to find a balance”.

“Given the very different views expressed..... it is to be expected that there will be some degree of ongoing dissatisfaction with (its) operation,” he said.

Attorney-General Kyam Maher said the government “will take the time to carefully consider the report and its recommendations” along with views from other interested groups.

A police spokeswoman said it officers, who made several submissions, “will now carefully consider” the report.

“At this time no further comment will be made,” she said.