Victoria Police chief Simon Overland warns against The Brotherhood

VICTORIA'S chief of police and the state's top watchdog have expressed "deep concerns" about a secret group called The Brotherhood.

Simon Overland

VICTORIA'S chief of police and the state's top watchdog have expressed "deep concerns" about a secret group called The Brotherhood that counts serving and former police, lawyers and public servants among its members.

Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland said yesterday police belonging to such an organisation, even if totally benign, had "the potential to undermine confidence in public institutions".

Mr Overland said the police ethical standards division was probing a policeman associated with the group.

But Brotherhood founder, former police inspector John Moncrieff, and the Police Association have dismissed these concerns, simply describing the group as a lunch club of "men of good ilk" similar to Rotary.

Following a whistleblower's complaint about the group, Ombudsman George Brouwer probed the group and tabled his findings in Victoria's parliament yesterday.

He found the group - started in 2003 - would meet every six weeks for lunch at Melbourne restaurants and had hundreds of people on its "circulation list".

At the lunches, the club founder would reportedly start by stating "we are all members of the Brotherhood and we must assist each other" and that "Chatham Rules apply - that is, what's said in the room stays in the room".

Mr Brouwer said the men on the list included two politicians, former policemen with alleged links to a crime figure, a former Australian Wheat Board executive accused of involvement in a kickbacks scandal and the manager of a table-top dancing club.

He said there were "potential risks" of members of the public service and police being part of the organisation because "the nature of the organisation. . . was established to serve the interests" of the club founder. "The culture of the organisation . . . encourages exclusivity and secrecy with the potential for illegal and improper exchanges of information," he said.

Mr Brouwer said his probe identified examples of improper behaviour, including a police member on The Brotherhood list who used his position to wipe $2000 worth of speeding fines for the club founder.

He also found that at one of the lunches there was an "unauthorised disclosure by a senior Victoria Police officer of the identity of a prosecution witness in a high-profile murder case", which breached a suppression order.

"My investigation points to the . . . dangers of police officers and public servants being involved . . . in an organisation such as The Brotherhood, where there is a culture which allows for inappropriate networking and improper exchange of favours and information," Mr Brouwer wrote.

But Police Association secretary Greg Davies said The Brotherhood was just a group of men having lunch and the Ombudsman hadn't "been able to find any criminal allegations they can seriously get their teeth into".