Mark Morri: In 2022, integrity’s not for sale among our thin blue line

Disgraced cop Roger Rogerson used to boast that the NSW police force was the best money can buy. Now there’s no tolerance for anyone tainting the thin blue line, writes Mark Morri.

The sacking of an officer over an alleged assault of a teenager, as shocking as the claims are, show how honest our police force has become.

It is one of a list of allegations against officers in the past few months ,with one of the worst accusations being a detective from the sex crimes unit who raped and assaulted a teenager while investigating her case of sexual assault.

Senior police and the public were appalled at the thought an officer could betray the trust of a victim who had sought out police to help her.

As abhorrent as the allegation is, the fact the woman’s claims were listened to and then investigated is proof NSW cops are prepared to investigate their own. It hasn’t always been the case.

There was a time, not that long ago, when her story would not have been even listened to let alone acted upon.

Her allegations would have fallen on deaf ears with little chance it would have even been written down on paper, but after a year long investigation the detective has been charged, suspended and will be put before a court.

The police force has seen a slow but steady cultural shift.

Another investigation uncovered $200,000 was missing from a safe at a large western suburbs command which has been siphoned off from money seized from the bad guys over the past few years.

“Back in the day, that would have been small fry … the work of an amateur,’’ joked a retired cop who witnessed plenty of disappearing cash back in the 1980s and 90s when skimming from a drug bust was commonplace.

And you never heard of a drunk driving cop back then because all they had to do was flash a badge, park the car and get a lift home in a police vehicle and maybe get a pizza along the way.

The most disgraced of all disgraced NSW cops, Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson, used to boast “the NSW police force - it's the best that money can buy’’.

But not now. They are charged and disciplined, often sacked. Since the Wood Royal Commission of 1996 exposed endemic corruption among the police force there has been a slow but steady cultural shift in the force that should be admired and applauded.

The most disgraced of all disgraced NSW cops, Detective Sergeant Roger Rogerson, used to boast “the NSW police force - it's the best that money can buy’’.

While Rogerson was the worst of the bunch, a killer cop and suspected drug dealer, he had plenty of company with far too many of his colleagues almost as bad as him who prospered under a corrupt police hierarchy which had its roots going back to the First Fleet.

There’s no tolerance for anyone tainting the thin blue line.

Thankfully the revelations and resignations that followed the outing of cops like him from that era led to a new breed of police officers rising through the ranks, which were generally honest and hard working.

There are still enough senior police around now who witnessed those dark days who will now tell you the transformation is almost complete with internal and external bodies constantly looking into police policies, behaviour and complaintsl.

There is always going to be the odd “dirty cop’’ but they are no longer tolerated and are often ostracised and exposed by their colleagues who used to be the ones protecting them.