The IPCA has found police's response to sexual assault allegations was left wanting. Photo / Bevan Conley
The IPCA has found police's response to sexual assault allegations was left wanting. Photo / Bevan Conley
Police failed to adequately respond to allegations a police medical officer allegedly sexually assaulted multiple recruits during medical examinations, an investigation has found.
In a decision released today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) said the allegations against the male doctor, who worked with police between 1999 and 2016, were not adequately investigated when they first came to light.
At least seven complaints were raised by recruits over the period.
A total of fourteen recruits, a mix of males and females, alleged the doctor conducted anal examinations or asked them to undress during their examination.
The medical examination, known simply as a ‘medical’, is one of the final steps in the police recruitment process.
While there were no standard guidelines of what an examination required, the authority said nude and anal examinations were not common.
According to the decision, the police watchdog received two complaints in 2019 about the handling of concerns raised by the recruits.
The authority investigated, focusing on establishing when police staff became aware of the allegations and their response. Whether or not the doctor’s alleged actions were lawful was not in the purview of the IPCA investigation.
“We found that recruits had raised their concerns about the doctor’s medicals at least seven times between 2002 and 2014/15. Police had failed to act and continued to send recruits to the doctor,” the authority said in a statement.
It was not until a formal complaint was made in June 2017 that police launched a criminal investigation against the doctor. That investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge the person, but the Medical Council was notified.
“We found that the criminal investigation of the doctor conducted by police in 2017 was of an acceptable standard. However, we also found police had failed to investigate any of the concerns raised between 2002 and 2014/15,” the authority said.
“In addition, we reached the view that while the criminal investigators offered appropriate support to recruits during the criminal investigation, the member of police executive who knew about the allegations failed adequately to support the recruits throughout the criminal investigation and Medical Council process.”
Police should have conducted a full investigation into its initial failure to respond to the allegations, when the extent of the allegations became clear.
“By not doing so, Police failed to gather the information necessary to enable them to reach proper conclusions about how they had initially dealt with the recruits’ concerns.”
The Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal found the doctor “departed from professional standards”, but the doctor appealed this decision in the High Court.
In June last year, the High Court found that there was insufficient evidence to support any adverse conclusions concerning the doctor by the Medical Council.
The release of the IPCA’s report was delayed due to the High Court proceedings.
When it came to the anal examinations, the authority consulted several other police medical officers as to whether it was standard practice.
Former IPCA chair Judge Colin Doherty, who oversaw the investigation. His term expired on May 1. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“They considered some of [the doctor’s] practices to be unnecessary for the purposes of the medical. However, some acknowledged a doctor’s ‘duty of care’ and the discretion to assess wider medical issues that may present during a medical examination.”
Judge Colin Doherty, who was chair of the authority at the time of this investigation, said police failed in their obligation as an employer to ensure the safety of its staff.
“It is unacceptable that police continued to contract the doctor for medicals up until 2016 without investigating or even questioning the alleged conduct, when several recruits had raised concerns about his behaviour over a period of about 15 years.”
Police accept response wasn’t adequate
Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura said police acknowledged and accepted the findings.
“Police would like to acknowledge the people who were affected and who had the courage to come forward and speak up when they felt something wasn’t right.
“This is clearly a situation in which Police’s high standards when dealing with historic allegations of this kind have not been met.
“It is important to note that both Police’s own criminal investigation, and a disciplinary investigation by the Medical Council’s Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, both found insufficient grounds to proceed with further action including criminal charges.
“Nevertheless, Police accept that the response to these historic allegations wasn’t sufficiently robust or timely given their seriousness, and that this was a reflection of systemic issues at the time.”
Police accept that between 2002 and 2014/15 there were failures in meeting the organisation’s obligations as an employer for the safety and wellbeing of our staff and recruit applicants.
Kura said the shortcomings in the response were “particularly saddening when we reflect on our values as an organisation”.
“Respect is one of our key values and it drives a standard we set for ourselves to treat others as we would want to be treated.”
“We want our staff to know their safety and wellness is of great importance, and police has taken steps to ensure this does not happen again, and to ensure complaints are properly investigated and managed.”
