Police urgently sworn in after MAJOR bungle
More than 1000 officers have been urgently sworn in by Victoria Police after news emerged of an admin stuff-up.
A change in legislation in 2013 has meant assistant commissioning officers have been swearing in graduating police officers without the appropriate power.
As a result, affected officers have been making arrests, pressing charges and issuing orders without the valid powers to do so.
The mistake extended beyond the officers, with a final tally of 1076 police officers, 157 protective service officers and 29 police custody officers being incorrectly sworn-in over the last eight years.
Victoria Police said three assistant commissioners have already sworn in about 660 officers and protective service officers via videolink, with another 570 remaining.
Officers have taken their oath during their first shift back at work, commencing their duties immediately afterwards.
“This is an oversight, it’s an administrative oversight, it has some significant consequences for a short period of time,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters.
Though it is unclear how many court cases have been affected by the error, Mr Patton said it would be a “case by case analysis” to determine whether people could contest arrests or charges.
“If someone wants to contest a matter, we would adjourn it and step through and analyse the specifics of that,” he said.
“It may be that an officer, who comes within the scope of what we’ve been discussing here, is with another police officer who is not so affected and therefore the arrest may be totally valid.
“There’s a whole range of scenarios.”
The state government has also promised to introduce legislation addressing the situation at parliament’s next sitting.
Police Minister Lisa Neville said the new laws would address past decisions, including arrests and charges issued by affected officers.
“We’ve got to get this right, it will rectify all that and all those matters will stand,” she said.
“Now someone in the meantime might try to contest, but with the support of the opposition … we’ll get this through very quickly and it won’t really be an opportunity for people to have any matters overturned.”
However, Ms Neville said certain instances - such as family violence safety notices - “still have validity” since they are approved by a sergeant.
The Police Association of Victoria also said it would support members affected by the error and ensure their legal and industrial rights were protected.
Image: @victoriapolice (Instagram)