#CARRICKFERGUS POLICE STATION NUMBER PROFESSIONAL#

ROB STURRY: The police in terms of detection of crime need the confidence of the public, not just to report crime but to assist them with their inquiries.

ROB STURRY: Well I do think that it can only have an adverse affect and, as I've said before, it can only erode the public confidence in the - not just the administration of the Police Force but the detection and prosecution of crime within that area.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: Why will it have an affect on the detection of crime?

ROB STURRY: I think it may, and I think what it does - what this sort of revelation does is it erodes the public confidence in the police force, and in that Station particularly.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: So do you think that this will have a significant impact on the administration of justice in Victoria? ROB STURRY: Well if credit's in issue, if an accused person says that the evidence against them had been planted or manufactured or concocted, a Magistrate or a Judge or jury may say well I'm aware that there have been firearms and cash and drugs improperly stored, or unlawfully stored, at a particular station in particular circumstances and it may raise a suspicion, founded or unfounded, in the minds of either the Magistrate, Judge or jury that the evidence may have been unfairly or improperly obtained.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: Do you think that allegations like that raised in court might sway a Magistrate, or indeed a jury? ROB STURRY: The problem that the police will encounter is that any untoward conduct being engaged in by -even if it's a very small proportion of Police Officers, does have the potential to undermine the general credibility of prosecutions that emanate from that Station.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: How might these allegations undermine prosecutions by St Kilda Police Station? He says the discovery could well impact on the credibility of St Kilda Police, and have a big impact on prosecutions emanating from the Station, which is one of the busiest in the State. Lawyer Rob Sturry runs one of the biggest criminal practices in Melbourne. Was it someone not prepared to put it through the property book or is it an indication of something far more sinister? And I'm not ruling that out, but I can't speculate.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: But it's quite possible that the allegations will lead others to speculate about corruption in the force, and that could well impact on the administration of justice. What's your definition of corruption? We still don't know what those items were there for. GRAHAM MACDONALD: I'm not prepared to say that this here is an indication of corruption within Victoria Police.

#CARRICKFERGUS POLICE STATION NUMBER PROFESSIONAL#

He said the Force was embarrassed by the discovery, but maintained that the majority of Police Officers are hard working, professional and trustworthy.

In a raid late yesterday by the Forces Ethical Standards Department the contraband was discovered in the ceiling of the station.Īs Damien Carrick reports, the discovery could well reverberate through the Victorian justice system, affecting the detection and prosecution of crime.ĭAMIEN CARRICK: Assistant Police Commissioner, Graham MacDonald, today confirmed that several Officers have been questioned following the raid but as yet no charges have been laid. COMPERE: The police force in Victoria is still reeling from the discovery of a big stash of drugs, cash and guns hidden at the St Kilda Police Station.

Carrickfergus police station number