Ross Hancock fails to overturn termination at Police Registration and Services board

A former detective of 37 years has failed in an appeal to overturn his termination after he was busted drink driving.

Ross Hancock faced the faced the Victoria Police Registration and Services Board last month to appeal his dismissal Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

A veteran detective who was sacked after being busted drink driving has failed in his bid to get his job back after a tribunal found he made a “high-risk error” that could have had deadly consequences.

It comes after Ross Hancock, 56, a leading detective senior constable, faced the Victoria Police Registration and Services Board last month, appealing his dismissal after being charged with conduct likely to bring the force into disrepute.

Mr Hancock was sacked after a drink driving incident in June 2023 when he blew .107 — more than twice the legal limit.

During last month’s appeal, the board heard Mr Hancock admitted to consuming “three to four beers” before he hopped behind the wheel.

After about a month of deliberations the board decided to uphold the termination, publishing in its findings on Friday that Mr Hancock’s actions could have put lives at risk.

“It nonetheless represented a high-risk error of judgement and disregard for the law and for road safety, which could have had grave consequences to the applicant and innocent community members,” Deputy President Chris Enright said.

Ross Hancock appeared at the Police Registration and Services Board last month Picture: Athos Sirianos

Mr Hancock also pleaded guilty to a drink driving charge at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court in April last year and was officially dismissed by Victoria Police on November 6.

The court disqualified him from driving in Victoria for 10 months and fined him $400 without conviction.

Mr Hancock’s representative Scott Stanley — from the police association — said Victoria Police’s handling of his client’s dismissal “lacked procedural fairness” after it initially suspended him without pay before his criminal matter was finalised.

“We say this entire process has been harsh, unjust and unreasonable,” Mr Stanley said.

“There are a number of police members charged every year ... but we don’t see them charged with disrepute and suspended without pay.

“We don’t see this process, we say this process was used improperly”.

In response Victoria Police told the board while it was “previously general practice to wait for criminality to be finalised” it was “not mandated anywhere” to do so.

The board in its decision sided with Victoria Police, with documents revealing that the force changed its approach around this in January 2024.

“We were not persuaded that there was any substantive information or material capable of demonstrating that the decision to the charge (Mr Hancock) prior to (his) matters being determined by a court was a ‘manipulation of the interim action/discipline process’,” Mr Enright said.

Mr Hancock was employed by Victoria Police for 37 years.