RR Phantom
Location : Wasted Space
Job/hobbies : Cayman Islands Actuary
 |  Subject: OZschwitz: poLICE links to illegal brothel and other crimes  Thu Oct 30, 2008 6:40 pm | |
| POLICE have been linked to the running of an illegal brothel, and corrupt dealings with street prostitutes and drug dealers, in a report tabled yesterday in State Parliament.
The report by former judge David Jones, who oversees Victoria's police watchdog, does not name the police station involved but The Age has confirmed that those under investigation formerly worked, or work, in the St Kilda area.
The revelations have sparked fresh calls to introduce safe houses for prostitutes, where they can work in a regulated environment without being charged.
The Jones report into the Office of Police Integrity also reveals it is investigating allegations that Victoria Police and interstate officers have formed "improper relationships with prisoners", including granting them favours.
In relation to the sex worker inquiry, sources have told The Age that the OPI and Victoria Police internal investigators have for 18 months been investigating:
■A small number of police who have had sex free with street prostitutes, including transvestites, at a hotel and other locations around Melbourne.
■A long-serving officer who was involved in plans to run a brothel with a notorious criminal figure who is also involved in the nightclub industry.
■One former officer and one serving officer who are believed to have had long-term sexual relationships with street prostitutes.
Victoria Police and OPI officers raided a Footscray premises earlier this year in an attempt to corroborate information that a street prostitute had sex with a now-former policeman and that the officer was involved in other improper activities.
Corruption investigators have also examined claims that a street sex worker was raped by a policeman using a baton and that an officer had travelled to a Sydney hotel where he met a transvestite and engaged in illegal drug use.
The report tabled yesterday by Mr Jones — a former County Court judge who oversees the OPI in his role as the Special Investigations Monitor — listed the allegations as "the theft of goods and controlled drugs from known sex workers, assaults of sex workers and criminal or improper associations with drug dealers, drug users and sex workers".
Mr Jones said the alleged corruption being probed by the OPI might also include "the ownership and management of an unlicensed brothel".
Among the small number of police under investigation, one has resigned and another has been transferred to a different region.
Force command has implemented major changes at the St Kilda police station and neighbouring stations after identifying concerns 18 months ago.
Lawyers and street sex workers who spoke to The Age said the changes had made a difference and the conduct of local police had improved over the past year. But they said the allegations highlighted the need to introduce safe houses for sex workers.
St Kilda Legal Service senior lawyer Vanda Hamilton, who has defended many sex workers, said: "Without safe houses or decriminalisation, police can say to street sex workers, 'We are not going to charge you if you do this for us.'
"It also means the sex workers must rely on police to protect them against assaults, leading to a potentially unhealthy symbiotic relationship. But if they are allowed to work in a safety zone, things are much more transparent and it lessens those risks."
In 2002, the Bracks government shelved plans to introduce tolerance zones and "safe houses" for St Kilda's sex workers, fearing a political backlash.
The Jones report said the OPI inquiry "is also considering whether the policies, procedures or practices of Victoria Police in the area of 'sex workers' were adequate to prevent or inhibit such activity by officers".
The report on the OPI's work is part of Mr Jones' function to ensure the watchdog operates properly. Elsewhere in the report, Mr Jones raised his limited ability to investigate complaints about the OPI because of a State Government decision to limit his jurisdiction.
The OPI declined to comment.
LNK
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