Police and the crown have reviewed Justice Collins decision and decided not to proceed with an appeal. It’s considered impractical for the other charges to proceed given the circumstances.
This is a disappointing end to a long and complex investigation, but it’s a reminder that police practices in gathering evidence have to be lawful and are always the subject of court scrutiny.
Police reviewed their policy and practices following the earlier high court decision in October 2012 and have implemented those policies to ensure that police and the courts are not put in this position again.
"Police is absolutely committed to ensuring the we operate in a way which puts offenders before the courts while operating within the law," said Assistant Commissioner (Investigations) Malcolm Burgess.
I can say the activity which was criticised by the court was a small but vital part of a much larger investigation which was successful in exposing the unlawful activities of gang members,” said Mr Burgess.
Police officers involved in this aspect of the case were acting in the honest belief that their actions were lawful and necessary to protect the undercover officer. They believed their actions in putting the undercover officer before the court were sanctioned by the then Chief District Court Judge. The High Court determined otherwise. We accepted that decision when it was first made by Justice France in 2012 and took action then to review and update our policy to prevent this happening again.
The actions of the police staff were reviewed in 2012 and a decision made then that no prosecution or disciplinary action was required. The result of that review was subsequently referred to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA)
ENDS