Cop’s appeal denied: Blemish on a perfect work record will stay
A POLICEMAN seeking to erase a minor blemish from his record has found himself at loggerheads with his own force and the state’s anti-corruption laws.
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A POLICEMAN seeking to erase a minor blemish from his record has found himself at loggerheads with his own force and the state’s anti-corruption laws.
Ten-year veteran Senior Constable Ryan Gilmore says he is “proud” of his excellent service record.
His name appears on a board at his station recording recipients of the annual Pursuit of Excellence Award, and his employee history records a number of compliments from members of the public.
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Sen-Constable Gilmore fears his reputation may be damaged by what he claims is an untrue allegation.
A member of the public made a complaint about two matters to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission in May 2015, one of which concerned Sen-Constable Gilmore’s conduct.
While details of the “lower level conduct matter” remain unclear, Sen-Constable Gilmore believes he was unjustly found to have failed to investigate a reported offence in circumstances where that crime was not reported to him and he was not aware of the report.
In a bid to clear his name, the officer made a Freedom of Information request to access a file outlining the 2016 Professional Standards Command investigation which found the complaint “substantiated”.
He also sought part of a second document which referred to the outcome of that investigation. Victoria Police refused his request, saying the investigation had been conducted under the IBAC Act, not the Victoria Police Act, and the documents were therefore not subject to FOI.
Last month, the officer took his battle to clear his name to the Victorian Administrative and Appeals Tribunal, seeking to overturn that decision.
Sen-Constable Gilmore argued the documents did not relate to an investigation under IBAC as the corruption watchdog had not referred the complaint against him for investigation, with Victoria Police making its own decision to investigate.
But VCAT senior member Elisabeth Wentworth found that the matter referred to the Chief Commissioner by IBAC was in part a complaint against Sen-Constable Gilmore and, although IBAC had not directed his alleged conduct be investigated, the police probe was still covered by the IBAC Act.
Ruling the FOI Act therefore did not apply to the documents in dispute and VCAT had no jurisdiction in the matter, Ms Wentworth dismissed his application for review.
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