Cath Burn: Top cop’s explosive secret interview revealed

DEPUTY Police Commissioner Cath Burn admitted she knew an officer in her command had “back-­captured” written authorisation for internal corruption investigations after they had already occurred.

Deputy Police Commissioner Cath Burn. Picture: Jane Dempster

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DEPUTY Police Commissioner Cath Burn admitted she knew an officer in her command had “back-­captured” written authorisation for internal corruption investigations after they had already occurred.

Ms Burn — a frontrunner to replace Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione — made the explosive comment while being questioned during a 2002 probe.

The details of her December 2 interview and the investigation into internal practices have remained ­secret until today.

A series of police interviews obtained by The Daily Telegraph raise questions about her role in the targeting of hundreds of officers when she was the investigations manager and team leader of a secret unit set up to investigate internal corruption.

The unit was called the Special Crime and Internal Affairs Unit.

NSW Police Detective Inspector Mark Galletta (left) with other NSW police officers

Detective Inspector Mark Galletta asked Ms Burn — who was eventually promoted to the unit’s chief inspector and this week denied she had done anything improper or ­illegal — whether she knew Senior Constable Louise De La Harte’s role “was to back capture all the certificates” giving authority to carry out integrity tests.

Burn replied: “Yeah, that’s right.” She went on to say: “Because we didn’t have them in place at the time so, um, she had, ah, hopefully the experience and the ability to do that and my understanding, she did do that.”

SCIA officers carried out undercover “integrity” tests against fellow officers to assess them for dishonest or corrupt conduct.

Because we didn’t have them in place at the time so, um, (Louise Delaharpe) had, ah, hopefully the experience and the ability to do that and my understanding, she did do that — Cath Burn

According to the Police Act 1990, a commissioner, deputy or assistant commissioner must authorise a certificate that states the date and time a police officer is authorised to carry out an integrity test.

Mr Galletta asked Ms Burn: “Did you have on hand the authority to conduct an integrity test before you did it?” Ms Burn replied: “Not necessarily in a written document.”

The top cop was questioned about the backdating after Ms De La Harte revealed her shock when told to do it. “Integrity tests were conducted before I even got there.

“I was basically asked to back-capture previous integrity tests,” Ms De La Harte said in a record of interview in November 2002.

“When I saw there was no authorities to conduct, I asked where they were and they (her bosses) said that they had verbal approval off the commander to conduct the tests.”

Ms De La Harte said she felt uncomfortable about the practices in the unit after being seconded in 2001 from the NSW Police Integrity Unit.

“Cath Burn was my supervisor and she gave me a broad (overview) of their job and were doing integrity tests there,” she said. “I felt funny because I was from the integrity testing unit and I wasn’t allowed to speak to anybody from integrity testing about it, not even my boss.’’

Ms De La Harte claimed she told her supervisors, Ms Burn and Peter Seary, that they needed an authority to conduct tests regardless of the outcome.

“I remember them saying if they fail the tests, yeah they better get them (authority certificates),” she said.

“But if they didn’t, we won’t worry about it. And I said, Well, no, every tests you’ve done, you have to have an authority to conduct before you do it.”

I felt funny because I was from the integrity testing unit and I wasn’t allowed to speak to anybody from integrity testing about it, not even my boss — Senior Constable Louise De La Harte

Ms De La Harte said her job was to type up the authority to conduct tests even though she didn’t know who or what they were for.

“I just felt like I shouldn’t have been doing it, because I wasn’t involved in the test and whoever the case officer was should have done it,” she said.

“It should have been done before the tests, but you know. See I had to do it, I was asked to do it, so I did.’’

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Ms Burn said in a statement she has not done anything illegal or asked the officer to do anything illegal.

“While these allegations are the subject of a current investigation by the Ombudsman I am under a strict legal obligation not to discuss them.

“However, for the record I have never ordered Senior Constable Louise De La Harte to do anything improper or illegal and I have never authorised or had any involvement in the illegal conduct of integrity tests.”

In a further statement Ms Burn said: “The legislation does not require written authorisation before an officer participates in an integrity test. A verbal authorisation is entirely lawful.”