Simon Overland office 'in breach' of FOI spirit

SIMON Overland's Victoria Police has been slammed for rejecting a Freedom of Information request without legitimate reason.

THE Ombudsman has slammed Simon Overland's Victoria Police for a culture of secrecy that saw it reject a major Freedom of Information request without legitimate reason, breaching the spirit and intent of the FOI Act.

The report reveals that the office of the then police chief commissioner told the police officer responsible for assessing FOI requests he could not even access the requested documents, telling him bluntly: "They're secret, you can't see them."

A report released yesterday calls for Victoria Police to apologise to the Seven Network for wrongly blocking the release under FOI laws of two independent reports on violent crime and public safety only days before last year's cliff-hanger state election.

While Victorian Ombudsman George Brouwer did not find evidence that the refusal to release the sensitive documents was politically motivated, he identified damning cultural, legal and procedural errors in the way Victoria Police handled FOI requests under Mr Overland.

"The errors primarily related to the readiness to accept the existence of (FOI) exemptions with insufficient material to support the exemption," the Ombudsman found.

"This willingness was demonstrated at both the initial decision and internal review stages and indicates a less than open Freedom of Information attitude at Victoria Police."

The Ombudsman investigated the issue after a complaint was lodged by Seven's FOI editor, Michael McKinnon. The executive adviser to Mr Overland was dismissive of the McKinnon request, turning away the police officer who was trying to view the documents in order to rule on the FOI request.

"I've got them," Mr Overland's staffer told the officer.

"They're secret. You can't see them and I'll tell you about them so you can apply the exemption."

The Ombudsman found that the initial police decision to reject the FOI request on the grounds the reports were cabinet submissions and therefore exempt from FOI provisions was wrong, because the reports were not cabinet submissions.

The internal review of the original decision was found to be "equally flawed" in that no effort was made to test the false claims that the documents were created for cabinet and were therefore exempt from FOI requests.

The Ombudsman's report called for Victoria Police to review its FOI policies at all levels and give extra training to FOI and legal staff about the manner in which the laws are applied.

McKinnon said yesterday the Ombudsman's findings were a win for Victorian voters and would improve the accountability of Victoria Police.

"Police should not and cannot hide the truth from the public," he said.

Acting Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said he accepted the recommendations and would implement them.

Mr Overland resigned in June after a damning Ombudsman's inquiry finding that he released misleading crime statistics on the eve of the state election.