Federal police association warns of growing 'imbalance of power' in force
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Version 0 of 1. The Australian Federal Police Association has warned of an increasing “imbalance of power” between rank-and-file officers and AFP management amid allegations of deep-seated problems of sexual harassment and discrimination. The association’s warning came in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into laws that would increase the commissioner’s powers to delay the resignation of officers by up to six months. The AFP has faced increased scrutiny over how it manages internal investigations of misconduct after the release of Elizabeth Broderick’s report that found sexual harassment and bullying was rife. It is also under pressure over the effectiveness of mental health programs, after the suicide of an AFP officer at her office in Melbourne several weeks ago. But the agency has also sought to justify legislative changes put forward by the government to increase the commissioner’s power to delay officers’ resignations. Under the AFP Act, the commissioner has the power to delay an AFP officer resigning for 90 days if a serious internal investigation into his or her conduct is under way. The proposed changes would increase the commissioner’s power to 180 days. The AFP said in its submission this was because once an officer resigned it had limited options to pursue administrative action against that officer. But the Australian Federal Police Association said in its submission that the increased power would only create further uncertainty for officers, and questioned whether the issue was due to resourcing of internal investigations by the AFP. The association’s submission said: “The only practical purpose for this amendment appears to be that it will provide an extension of time for the AFP to undertake or continue an investigation into allegations of misconduct against employees, which is clearly a resource issue rather than an effective evidence-based improvement to the current regime.” It said that delaying the ability to resign “contributes further to the imbalance of power already experienced between the AFP and its employees”. “The amendment will unreasonably prolong the resignation process for employees, keeping them out of the workplace for longer periods and potentially preventing them from obtaining other employment or opportunities to move on with their lives,” it said. The AFP submission argued that it was “imperative that the AFP is able to investigate allegations of category-three misconduct while the person under investigation remains an AFP employee”. It outlined several cases where the timeframes were inadequate: “Generally, this occurs because the employee is informed of the investigation, attempts to resign to avoid having their employment terminated, and the PRS [professional standards] investigation is unable to be completed within 90 days of the resignation date.” Guardian Australia asked the AFP whether it could outline how many times the commissioner had exercised the power to delay the resignation of an officer. The AFP responded by saying “support for this amendment is not related to resourcing of the Professional Standards function. It is to ensure the AFP is able to maintain the integrity and professionalism of its workforce, as well as the confidence and trust of the community.” The AFP is likely to face heavy questioning in Senate estimates on Tuesday about the fallout from the Broderick report and the suicide of the AFP officer. The new professional standards team “Safe Place”, tasked with investigating sexual harassment and discrimination, received 95 complaints in a three-month period, with a third of those relating to senior officers. Guardian Australia understands the agency will provide an update on some aspects of the AFP Safe Place program and the progress of investigations into misconduct. • Contact Paul Farrell securely using the Signal messaging app on +61 457 262 172 or using the Guardian’s Securedrop server |