Annual Report 2017-2018 OmbudsmanNT
Tabled paper 934
Tabled Papers for 13th Assembly 2016 - 2020; Tabled Papers; ParliamentNT
2018-10-31
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Made available by the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory under Standing Order 240. Where copyright subsists with a third party it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/304663
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/363371
99 16. Suspected Criminal Conduct Where a CAP discloses grounds to suspect that a Police Officer may have committed a criminal offence, the matter will immediately be referred to the Ombudsman to determine what further action is required in relation to the complaint. If the matter proceeds to criminal investigation by the Police the Commissioner will ensure the Ombudsman is provided with regular briefings (at least every six (6) weeks) on the progress of the investigation. Any criminal investigation arising from a police complaint should be investigated concurrently with the police complaint unless the Ombudsman directs otherwise. 17. Procedural Fairness Any person with responsibility for investigating a CAP is to ensure that all parties are afforded procedural fairness and courtesy during the process. The complainant will be given a fair opportunity to express their complaint and reasons for complaint and receive an explanation for the police action complained about. Police officers subject of a complaint under investigation will be advised of the particulars of complaint as soon as reasonably practicable without jeopardy to the investigation process and be given a fair opportunity to answer the complaint and provide their explanation. All information provided by the parties should be taken into account and given careful and impartial consideration when determining the outcome of a complaint. Before assessing the PSC report, the Ombudsman may seek comment from a complainant or the complainants legal advisor. To enable meaningful comment the relevant parts of section 95 reports may be provided. If PSC provides to the Ombudsman grounds for not disclosing the report or content in the report to the complainant or another person, the Ombudsman will consider those grounds before deciding whether to disclose all, or part, of the report. Additionally to ensure that complainants from non-English speaking backgrounds are treated fairly, the 'tenor and spirit' of the `Anunga' Guidelines, as described by Police Practice and Procedure: Anunga Guidelines, are to be applied by investigating officers during any interview process. This is particularly relevant when considering the use of interpreters generally, and any request by an Indigenous complainant to have a legal representative present at interview. 18. Other 18.1 Non-Disclosure of Information The Commissioner may request the Ombudsman not to disclose certain information to a party to a police complaint. The Ombudsman will consider the request and if the Ombudsman does not agree to the request, is to advise the Commissioner of the decision and the reasons for refusal. The parties acknowledge that a report prepared by PSC under section 95 of the Act (section 95 Report) may fall within a class of document for which a claim against disclosure on the basis of public interest immunity may be made. The parties agree to notify each other if any application for disclosure of a section 95 Report or part of the section 95 Report is made, including: (a) by a complainant or to any third party in a court or tribunal; or (b) by a complainant or third party to the other party; in order to provide each other an opportunity to make submissions in relation to application for disclosure of the section 95 Report.