A STRAIGHT COP IS HARD TO FIND

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" still seems to be unanswerable. A report from the Australian state of New South Wales, where the police force is notoriously crooked:

As members of the force's elite internal affairs command, they were given the job of exposing fellow officers suspected of rorting promotions by cheating on assessment tests. But four years later, officers given the job of policing the police are under investigation themselves.

The NSW Police Integrity Commission is probing suggestions that police phone tap warrants used to snare 12 of the so-called exam scammers were obtained using false or misleading information. It is also alleged that internal investigators with access to secretly taped conversations in which their corrupt colleagues discussed test questions and answers then used the information to fudge their own promotion interviews.

While rumour of scandal has been circulating for some time, it is understood the commission only received an official complaint in March. Both the corruption watchdog and NSW Police Minister Carl Scully told The Sun-Herald they were unable to comment on the matter. Police sources, however, have confirmed that at least one officer has been formally interviewed by the commission and documentary evidence has been taken into custody.

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher said suggestions the police force's anti-corruption squad had cashed in on its own sting operation were highly damaging. "These are very serious allegations and they have to be addressed swiftly and thoroughly," Mr Gallacher said. "But I'd like to think that they might also lead the way to a full and proper investigation into the whole promotions fiasco. "It's a huge issue for cops. Everywhere I go, they view the whole promotions system as a joke because no one is prepared to fully look at precisely these kinds of claims."

The commission's own examination of the original 2001 exam cheating racket, Operation Jetz, left nine police facing disciplinary action, including rugby league referee Sean Hampstead, then a detective senior constable stationed at Gladesville. Senior Constable Paul Museth was sacked by the police force but re-instated on appeal, while Inspector Bob Menzies and Detective Sergeant Mark Messenger resigned before responding to dismissal notices. The inquiry found Menzies, the vice-president of the NSW Police Association, had been the ringleader in the misconduct. Under oath, he admitted to compiling a "study book" of dishonestly acquired test questions.


(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)