POLICE WHO RAPE, SELL DRUGS AND STEAL: RYAN

The Police Commissioner, Mr Peter Ryan, has revealed for the first time the
extent of corruption in the force, admitting that some of his officers had
been charged with raping women in police cells.

Other officers had been sacked, or were on their way out, for other "major
crimes" including indecently assaulting minors, selling drugs and
burglaries, he said.

"When people come on a document in front of me charged with indecent assault
on young children, raping women in police cells, crashing police cars and
running away, stealing ... and dealing in drugs, burglary and crime, you
don't want them in your police force and I don't want them in mine."

Mr Ryan made the remarks while addressing the Police Association of NSW
biennial conference in Wollongong.

So far, 108 officers have faced the "commissioner's confidence" provision of
the Police Service Act. The provision, section 181D, allows Mr Ryan to
remove an officer he no longer has confidence in, as part of his clean-up
following the damning revelations of the Police Royal Commission.

By March 30, half of the 108 had been dealt with. Three were removed, 14
resigned, four were medically discharged, one was dismissed under another
provision, 15 were warned and 17 taken out of the 181D category. Decisions
on the remainder have yet to be made.

A spokesman for Mr Ryan said last night that the commissioner had "rattled
off" a series of "worst-case scenarios" in his speech to scotch rumours that
minor incidents, such as turning up late for work, could see officers sacked.

The spokesman would not be drawn on whether any charges had been laid,
saying it was policy not to discuss cases involving the commissioner's
confidence provision.

Mr Ryan said of the legislation in his speech: "It is designed only to weed
out those who are corrupt, absolutely inept, or simply don't want to work,
and to deal with [them] as quickly as possible.

"It is designed to bring to an end the days when people were left wondering
for months and even years about their future."

He stressed that honest officers had nothing to fear. "I am tired of seeing
draconian action taken against those who have just made a simple mistake.
Let people come clean and we can deal with it openly."

Mr Ryan said that one of the big problems of the "old" Police Service had
been that little tolerance was shown to officers who made honest mistakes.
This resulted in knee-jerk reactions and often led to cover-ups.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett