Police are pleased with the Auditor-General's conclusion that they have responded in a committed manner to the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct's findings.
Commenting on the Auditor General's first monitoring report tabled in Parliament today, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rob Pope, said that Police would have no hesitation on acting on the two recommendations in the report.
"Up until this point we have concentrated on a project management approach to ensure that processes have been put in place to act on all the Police related recommendations in the Commission of Inquiry Report.
"This has been very successful with demonstrable progress reported via quarterly public reporting. For instance, we've revised the disciplinary process which is now consistent with general employment law. We've developed and implemented a professional distance policy to provide guidance on conflicts of interest. There's enhanced internet monitoring and reporting. Ethics training has been made mandatory. We've also stepped up the number of Adult Sexual Assault investigators through regular training courses.
"From here on in though, reporting does need to include more analysis and evaluative information around both the progress and the outcomes of changes in service levels and culture.
"In such a large organisation as ours changes take awhile to permeate through all staff and to become embedded in the culture. We're now moving into a new phase where we will transition any further work required into line management.
"It is good to see how staff have accepted the Code of Conduct approach and understood the wide-ranging provisions of the Policing Act passed last year. Yet we are far from being complacent on the need to make the changes made since the Commission of Inquiry fully ingrained. Further monitoring by both the Auditor-General and the State Services Commission is welcomed," said Mr Pope.
ENDS