Police chief resigns amid wrangle over crime figures

Simon Overland. Photo / Supplied

The crisis simmering for months in the Victorian police force erupted yesterday with the resignation of embattled Chief Commissioner, Simon Overland.

Overland quit after reaching "mutual agreement" with the State's new conservative Government over the findings of an Ombudsman's report that condemned his release of misleading crime statistics ahead of last year's Victorian election.

Although denying he had attempted to use the figures to influence the vote, Overland said yesterday he believed it was in the best interests of the State and its police force that he resign.

The row over the statistics and claims of political manipulation followed a series of controversies that included Overland's sacking of his deputy, Sir Ken Jones, recruited two years ago from Britain after earning an international reputation as a corruption-buster.

Jones's dramatic departure angered Liberal Premier Ted Baillieu, who ordered a special inquiry into shortcomings in the force's senior command structure to be headed by Jack Rush, QC. Baillieu said yesterday that inquiry would continue.

Overland, who previously worked for the Federal Police and was a key figure in the establishment of the Australian Crime Commission, made his mark in Victoria through the gang wars that left up to 30 people dead.

He headed Task Force Purana against organised crime in Melbourne, but alienated subordinates and rank-and-file officers and increasingly rubbed against Baillieu and senior ministers, including Deputy Premier and Police Minister Peter Ryan.

In April the widening gulf between the Government and its most senior policeman became public when Baillieu made it clear he was near the end of his patience with Overland's failure to solve the run of problems afflicting the force, including the strains with Jones and other senior officers.

As well as the controversy over Jones, State Ombudsman George Brouwer began investigating allegations from a whistleblower that Overland tried to boost the campaign of soon-to-be-ousted Labor Premier John Brumby by assisting the release of selective crime statistics.

Further controversy followed revelations that the force's crime database had exceeded its budget by A$100 million ($131.3 million) and allegations that failures in communication over parole details may have led to several deaths.

This week The Australian reported that Baillieu continued to support the Government's most senior police adviser, Tristan Weston, who quit the force last week amid an Office of Police Integrity investigation of misconduct allegations linking him with a campaign to undermine Overland.

Yesterday Brouwer provided the trigger for Overland's resignation, handing a report to Parliament that described the crime figures released in the lead-up to the election as "misrepresentative".

The report said figures quoting a 27.5 per cent reduction in assaults in Melbourne's central police district in the previous quarter were without qualification, had not been validated and were misleading to the public.

Overland went on leave yesterday and will officially end his job on July 1.