Victim advocates call for NSW Police to undergo mandatory mid-career vetting in wake of double shooting

Victim advocacy groups and the NSW Opposition have pushed for police officers to be randomly vetted mid-career by trained psychologists in the wake of an alleged shooting of two men by a serving cop.

NSW Police officers should be randomly revetted throughout their careers in the wake of the alleged shooting of two men by serving police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon according to former police officers and victim advocates.

Opposition Police spokesman Paul Toole said the regular psychological testing of serving officers would benefit and ensure the safety of both officers and the people they serve.

An investigation is underway into the recruitment and police history of Lamarre-Condon who is accused of shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies and then dumping their bodies in shallow graves.

Two weeks ago a UK inquiry into the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving British police officer Wayne Couzens recommended a major overhaul of police vetting and recruitment.

UK policeman Wayne Couzens who pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard. An inquiry has now made recommendations for the overhaul of police vetting procedures in the UK.

Mr Toole said the UK inquiry author Lady Elish Angiolini’s recommendations including the “mandatory, randomised revetting” of officers should also be introduced here as a way to identify risks and red flags.

“We should be looking at the recommendations coming out of the UK and see what ones we can apply to ensure we have the best police officers to serve the NSW public,” he said.

“We should be supporting police officers throughout their career. Some of the incidents they see and deal with can impact upon them. We need constant vetting to ensure we police officers know their colleagues are the best that they can be.”

Victims advocate Howard Brown said the NSW Police had mental health support programs in place, including the mandatory WellCheck program for officers in specialist areas, but they were not in force across the board.

Sarah Everard who was murdered by former police officer Wayne Couzens in the UK.

“One of the recommendations that came out of England was that vetting of police officers should not be a one off condition on entry but an ongoing evaluation especially after a crisis,” Mr Brown said.

“When officers are involved in a critical incident, NSW Police offers counselling but they do not enforce it. They should,” he said. “Things change and officers need to be continually vetted.”

Former police officer and welfare consultant Trent Southworth said a mandatory psychological assessment would not only raise alarms but benefit police officers.

“There should be a blanket mandatory mental health assessment looking at the effects of the job on police officers,” he said. “I don’t know one who does not have problems from the job.”

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has said the investigation into 28-year-old Lamarre-Condon would look into whether he had been tagged as a high risk officer in the past.

A photo of Beau Lamarre-Condon taken from social media. Lamarre-Condon allegedly murdered Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

“That will form part of the investigation, because we will look at his recruitment file, his history in the organisation, and it might even go back further than that,” she said.

Before he joined the NSW Police Lamarre-Condon was a celebrity blogger obsessed with taking selfies with celebrity visitors to Sydney including Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. He was accused and cleared of using excessive force after video emerged of him tasering a man in the face.

A spokeswoman for Police Minister Yasmin Catley said a critical incident investigation is underway that is subject to oversight from the independent police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.

“We need to let these run their course and then make decisions in light of what they find and may recommend,” she said.

A spokeswoman for NSW Police said a working group had been established to review the systems around firearms.

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