A senior NSW police officer has rejected suggestions “racism is rife” within its ranks and has told a federal inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children that lessons have been learned after the Bowraville murders.
The parliamentary inquiry has held hearings around the country, hearing from experts, government and police agencies, and families of those murdered and disappeared.
NSW police gave evidence at the Senate inquiry about their response towards missing and murdered women and children in Aboriginal communities, including what one senator called the “deplorable treatment” of the families of Evelyn Greenup, Clinton Speedy-Duroux and Colleen Walker-Craig who were murdered in the 1990s.
No one has been convicted of their murders and a $3m reward is being offered for any information relating to their deaths.
Supt Christopher Nicholson was asked by NSW Greens senator David Shoebridge about any changes that had been introduced in response to recommendations made after a state parliamentary inquiry into the case in 2013.
Nicholson said the NSW police force had “completely overhauled” their community engagement, training and standard operating procedures for missing persons cases and provides cultural awareness training for all staff “from academy all the way through to the commissioner of police”.
“The experiences and the lessons learned in the police force about Bowraville actually feature in the cultural awareness training, at all levels,” Nicholson told the committee.
He told the committee NSW police went “above and beyond” in parts of the state with high Indigenous populations, including additional cultural training for officers and the deployment of Aboriginal community liaison officers to support families of high-risk cases.
Western Australia senator Dorinda Cox asked Nicholson about the complaints handling process for officers and raised concerns about systemic racism being “rife” based on her experiences as a former WA police officer.
Nicholson said all complaints are treated the same “whether or not they’re an Aboriginal person”.
“We have a speak-up campaign, we have a strong and robust, not only view but our leadership, from the Commissioner down, expects all police will act with respect to all people whether in custody or whether victims.
“That kind of behaviour is not condoned any more … We encourage all police to speak up against that behaviour, and when they do, we’ve got strong robust governance that makes sure we investigate it appropriately.”
The suggestion of wide-spread racism was rejected by Nicholson but he acknowledged its prevalence in society. “I would refute that currently in the New South Wales police force racism is rife,” he told the committee.
“While we acknowledge that we are a reflection of society, and that there are individuals within the police force who are a reflection of society, as a leadership group, that behaviour is absolutely not tolerated.”
The committee also heard evidence from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission regarding their work around investigating concerns of misconduct and or excessive use of force by NSW police.
Anina Johnson, the Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, told the committee that a report yet to be made public found 4% of complaints handled by the agency were made by First Nations people, primarily around excessive use of force and complaints about ethical standards.
Johnson said there were two complaints relating to missing and murdered First Nations people but “the small number” might be due to a lack of awareness about complaints processes or cultural safety about coming forward with concerns.
The Aboriginal Women’s Advisory Network’s CEO Dixie Link-Gordon told the committee there was a lack of outcry about the levels of violence targeting First Nations women. “We’ve got to value the lives lost,” Link-Gordon told the committee.
“We have the right to be safe in our homes … It’s a basic human right and children have the right not to have their mothers beaten to death in their home.”
The inquiry is expected to hand down its final report in December.
