History
The commission was established pursuant to the Commission Act, 1985 / {{{4}}} (NSW ), initially the State Drug Crime Commission Act introduced by then state premier, Neville Wran after a period of seminal Royal Commissions, including the Woodward Royal Commission (1977–1979) and the Costigan Royal Commission (1980–1984) into drug trafficking, organised crime and tax evasion.
The first chairman of the State Drug Crime Commission (SDCC) was Judge John Lloyd-Jones, who was replaced after only four weeks following objection by the legal fraternity to the principle of a judicial officer's presiding over an investigative body. Richard Job, QC succeeded Lloyd-Jones as chairman, and the SDCC sat as a management committee, led by Job together with Barry Thorley, a former judge, and a retired vice-admiral, David Leach.
Phillip Bradley was appointed commissioner in 1989 and became chairman in 1983. In the period leading up to the 2011 state election, the commission attracted significant public criticism over its practices. In February 2011, Bradley launched legal action against the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) after it was revealed that the PIC planned to hold a public inquiry into the NSWCC. The nature of the investigations conducted by the PIC related to the way the NSW Crime Commission managed its asset-confiscation powers. PIC investigations revealed that the commission and lawyers acting for alleged and convicted criminals negotiated legal costs, sometimes in an extremely short timeframe. To defend its position, the commission took the matter to the Supreme Court, The controversy expanded as the commission was accused of undermining free speech by demanding records and phones from Fairfax journalists. With the matter still before the court, on 6 May 2011 the New South Wales Government extended the employment contract of Bradley for a further six months. On 17 May 2011, The court dismissed the commission's application, giving the go-ahead to the Police Integrity Commission to conduct a public inquiry into whether the Crime Commission acted outside the laws that govern the confiscation of criminal proceeds, and whether it had abused some of the processes of the court.
Read more about this topic: New South Wales Crime Commission
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