A police watchdog has called for telephone recording systems to be rolled out in stations across NSW after the officer son of an ex-premier was caught fabricating details of a key conversation.
Daniel Keneally, the son of former Labor premier Kristina Keneally, was convicted of making a false statement over the details of a phone call that led to an activist's wrongful imprisonment.
The then-constable wrote a statement containing numerous falsehoods relating to a call from the the founder of the website ISuepolice, Luke Moore, to Sydney's Newtown police station in February 2021.
Daniel Keneally's statement included false claims Mr Moore threatened to kill a police officer, resulting in him being arrested and held in custody for three weeks.
The activist was eventually released on bail and the charge dropped because of a secret recording of the conversation he made on his phone.
It revealed significant discrepancies in the officer's statement.
Keneally was charged in October 2022 following an investigation by the NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission after an internal police probe initially cleared him of any likely criminal wrongdoing.
In a report into the case, released on Friday, the commission called for the introduction of telephone systems in police stations with the capacity to record conversations with the public.
But it noted Newtown police station had the facility to record incoming telephone calls, a feature Keneally was not aware of at the time.
"The only advice he (Keneally) received from the sergeant was to record the conversation with Moore to the best of his ability," the commission said.
The watchdog recommended Keneally be dismissed from the force, but he resigned in June after his District Court appeal failed.
He was sentenced to a 15-month intensive correction order and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service.
Greens MP Sue Higginson noted Keneally only left the force after his appeal failed, describing the internal police investigation as a failure.
"Police are routinely found unwilling to hold themselves to account until the courts or the watchdog drag them kicking and screaming," she said.
"It is a gross injustice that Moore was falsely sent to prison while Keneally, convicted and his appeal quashed, will avoid jail."
Mr Moore has criticised NSW Police for taking two years to charge Keneally, pointing to the fact he was arrested and locked up within 15 hours of the phone call.
Kristina Keneally spent more than a year as NSW premier and also served as a senator in the federal parliament.
NSW Police has been contacted for comment on the findings.
