Royal Commission Into The New South Wales Police Service - Consequences and Reform

Consequences and Reform

When the inquiry was first set up, Police Commissioner Tony Lauer stated that corruption in the New South Wales Police was not systemic or entrenched; in fact, he provided a map to the commission purporting to show areas which were guaranteed to be free from any systemic misconduct. The Kings Cross patrol, the most egregious participant in corruption and criminality, was labelled by the Lauer document as being entirely free from corruption.

The sensational revelations coming out of the Commission hearings, and his emphatic assertion that corruption was a non-issue, made Tony Lauer's position as Commissioner untenable. He resigned shortly after the publication of the Commission's initial report.

Following the Commission hearings, the government felt that the senior ranks of the NSW Police Service were too compromised by personal misconduct or personal ties to corrupt officers meant that no officer could be expected to navigate the reform of the service and implement decisions in the face of bitter opposition from colleagues and former colleagues. Peter James Ryan was recruited from the United Kingdom, and successfully implemented many of the recommendations of the Commission, including drug testing for serving officers, integrity testing and more thorough supervision.

In addition to reforms of the police service, the facilities, staff and equipment of the Commission formed the nucleus of the Police Integrity Commission; the PIC retained many of the broad powers held by the Wood Royal Commission, and has acted as a standing Royal Commission.