Top NSW police blamed for bugging operation

The NSW Crime Commission has rejected adverse findings in an ombudsman’s inquiry into the NSW police bugging scandal.

The NSW Crime Commission has rejected adverse findings in an ombudsman’s inquiry into the NSW police bugging scandal and revealed it had questioned the validity of an investigation into former assistant commissioner Nick Kaldas.

In a damning response to the ombudsman’s Operation Prospect report, which examined the internal surveillance operation, codenamed Taskforce Mascot which began in 1999, the NSW Crime Commission has rejected findings against it. It said that senior NSW police officials were ultimately in charge of officers working on Mascot.

The 28-page report, released yesterday, comes ahead of interviews this week by an independent selection panel to find a successor to Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, who will step down at the end of this month. Among the candidates believed to have been short-listed for the job, are Mr Kaldas and Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn, both of whom were adversely named in the Prospect report. Both have publicly rejected its findings.

It a scathing response to the ombudsman’s four-year investigation into Taskforce Mascot, the crime commission said the report released in December carried “limited weight’’, lacked procedural fairness and many of its findings and recommendations were based on errors of fact and law.

The ombudsman had denied the crime commission the opportunity to examine witnesses, be present at hearings or examine all the evidence on particular topics.

“The NSWCC considers that the findings and recommendations in the report are technically invalid and of no legal effect,” its response said.

The Prospect report recommended the NSWCC apologise to 15 people who were unfairly targeted by Taskforce Mascot between 1999-2001.

“The NSWCC is not intending to make such apologies,” the report said.

“… on nearly each occasion the conduct was perpetrated by police officers and it is not the NSWCC who should apologise for their actions.”

Recommendations to review current practices, reporting structures and training were largely irrelevant because the operation concerns had taken place more than 17 years ago and the officers involved had long left the organisation.

It also disputed the ombudsman’s findings that the crime commission was responsible for the police working on the investigation. “It is wrong to attribute blame to the NSWCC for the actions of police who were working under the direction of an Inspector, a Superintendent and an Assistant Commissioner of NSWPF on a daily basis and find no fault on the part of the NSWPF,” the report said.

A spokesman told The Australian the NSW police were“aware of the report however it is inappropriate to comment further at this time”.

The crime commission also revealed that its head, Phillip Bradley, was unaware he was under investigation when he gave evidence to ombudsman investigators and was ultimately blamed for misconduct himself.

The report revealed that Mr Bradley raised concerns about the investigation into Mr Kaldas by Taskforce Mascot.

Mr Bradley had expressed doubts there was sufficient evidence to warrant the targeted investigation of Mr Kaldas at the time but his concerns were ignored by taskforce police.