Dominion Post
April 22, 2004
Police warn against lifting secrecy provisions
by Haydon Dewes
Lifting secrecy
provisions on Police Complaints Authority evidence would cause long-term damage
to all independent watchdogs who rely on anonymous information, the Police
Association has warned.
The law and order select committee is considering an amendment to the Police
Complaints Authority Act to allow the commission of inquiry into police conduct
to see files covered by secrecy provisions.
The commission was set up after allegations by Louise Nicholas that she was
pack-raped by
Association president Greg O'Connor told the committee that while the
commission was essential to restore public confidence in police, the amendment
to the PCA act was ill-conceived and asked that it be redrafted to ensure
individual secrecy was kept.
The proposed change, which was rushed through Parliament last month, would
throw open thousands of files containing the evidence of witnesses previously
assured that their evidence would be kept secret.
Mr O'Connor warned this had serious ramifications not just for police, but on the
credibility and ability of independent watchdogs such as the Traffic Accident
Investigation Commission and the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal,
to operate effectively.
"Security under which people give information. .
. which assures them that their information will always be private must know
that guarantees of privacy can never be stripped away simply because it is
convenient," he said.
To do so would be a betrayal of trust and would, in effect, build a wall of
silence in the long term, he said.