Police Sexism, Bullying, Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Crimes
TOXICPOLICE.COM - EXPOSING AUSTRALIAN POLICE MISCONDUCT
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This page documents sexism and misogyny that exists within the various Australian police forces and discriminates against serving female officers, as well as influencing police officers' judgements of reported sexual crimes.
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It also documents sexual misconduct and crimes perpetrated by serving Australian police officers.
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SEXISM AND MISOGYNY
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POLICE OFFICERS REVEAL TOXIC WORK CULTURE, BULLYING AND SEXISM - 2025 NSW
Probationary constable first became the victim of the force's toxic culture when she was handcuffed to a desk in her uniform and photographed by male officers on a night shift.
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WHISTLEBLOWERS SCEPTICAL AS DETAILS OF REVIEW INTO NSW POLICE CULTURE EMERGE - 2025 NSW
NSW Police has confirmed that a review into claims of a toxic culture are now underway.
Last year, ABC investigations explored claims of widespread homophobia, bullying, sexism and a lack of mental health support with the state's police force.
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AUSTRALIAN POLICING HAS LONG BEEN PLAGUED BY SEXISM AND GETTING WORSE - 2025 NATIONAL
Predatory behaviour from police has been documented across the country, both towards members of the public and towards other police officers.
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BULLYING, SEXISM AND TOXIC CULTURE CLAIMS LEVELLED AT NSW POLICE FORCE - 2024 NSW
More than a dozen current and former NSW police officers have all given remarkably similar accounts of cultural problems in the force.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzmivNfqwpg
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OFFICER POSTS SEXIST MESSAGE AFTER RECEIVING COUNSELING - 2024 QLD
"Couldn't help myself"
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SENIOR POLICE OFFICERS BEING INVESTIGATED OVER OFFENSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY - 2024 QLD
Senior officers appeared to publicly share and comment on lewd social media posts over a number of years, including one about a sexual assault.
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POLICE LEADERSHIP RESIST STAMPING OUT RACISM AND MISOGYNY​ - 2024 QLD
Human Rights Commission workplace review finds systemic discrimination against women, First Nations and culturally diverse officers.
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VIC POLICE PUBLICATION - EQUAL, SAFE AND STRONG: CASE FOR CHANGE - 2024 VIC
Women continue to experience gendered workplace harm but the overwhelming majority do not feel safe to report.
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REVIEW FINDS SYSTEMIC DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN AND FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE - 2024 QLD
Successful female police officers have been accused of "sleeping their way to the top"
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12-10/police-qhrc-diversity-review-discrimination/104702536
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NT POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH RAPE, CHOKING IN A DOMESTIC RELATIONSHIP AND AGGRAVATED ASSAULT - 2023 NT
A Northern Territory police officer is behind bars after being charged with rape. The 30-year-old male officer was arrested on Friday, according to a statement from NT Police. He was charged with sexual intercourse without consent, choking, strangling or suffocating in a domestic relationship and aggravated assault. The officer has been remanded in custody and will face court on Monday.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-23/nt-police-officer-charged-with-rape-choking-assault/102893122
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INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE RESPONSES TO DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE - 2022 QLD
Section three discusses sexism and misogyny and describes these as a "significant problem in the QPS"
https://www.qpsdfvinquiry.qld.gov.au/about/assets/commission-of-inquiry-dpsdfv-report-part-3.pdf
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LAWYER POINTS TO MISOGYNY IN POLICE HANDLING OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE WHERE VICTIM INFORMATION LEAKED TO PERPETRATOR - 2021 NSW
Police handed a domestic violence victim's entire phone data to her perpetrator, a man who is also a senior member of an outlaw motorcycle gang, in a case which legal experts say could amount to serious misconduct.
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GOOD COP PRESSURED INTO COVERING UP - 2020 NSW
Over the past few months, several cases of brutality, intimidation and cover-ups by police officers across the country have been reported . One of those cases involved police officers allegedly pressuring a colleague, officer Lucie Litchfield, to lie in court and creating an environment where she was forced to resign after she refused.
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/good-cop-pressured-into-covering-up/
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REVIEW INTO THE NSW POLICE FORCE PROMOTIONS SYSTEM - 2019 NSW
The Review found that while the promotions system in NSW Police appears gender-neutral on paper, it disproportionately disadvantages women in practice. Women are under-represented at senior ranks; flexible or part-time work arrangements (which more women use) reduce access to leadership training, relieving roles, and major assignments. Caring responsibilities, relocation, and informal networks (including “cliques” or being excluded from sponsorship/mentoring) were cited as barriers. Culture plays a role: sexist attitudes, limited female role models, and perceptions that women are less ambitious or capable exist. Sexual harassment and sexism persist. The system’s merit-framework often masks unconscious bias.
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SEXUAL MISCONDUCT & CRIMES
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POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH ALLEGEDLY POSSESSING CHILD ABUSE, BESTIALITY MATERIAL - 2025 NSW
The officer has been suspended from his duties and his employment is currently under review following the string of charges.
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VICTORIA POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH RAPE AND A CHILD SEX OFFENCE - 2025 VIC
The 34-year-old male senior constable from a specialist unit was the subject of an internal investigation, police said on Monday. The officer was charged with two counts of sexual assault, course of conduct sexual assault, sexual activity in the presence of a child under 16 and common law assault.
https://www.noticer.news/victoria-police-officer-charges-sexual-assault/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
POLICE STAFF PARTY ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT AND PUBLIC INDECENCY - 2025 WA
Metro police station staff party alleged sexual assault and public indecency
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WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch says alleged act at city bar involving officers are ‘contrary to all values of policing’ if proven, with two WA Police officers still fighting for their jobs after depravity at staff party ended in sexual assault and public indecency.
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FORMER POLICE OFFICER STEPHEN MICHAEL CALCUTT PLEADS GUILTY TO FILMING TEENAGERS IN SHOWER AND UP SKIRT - 2025 QLD
Stephen Michael Calcutt pleaded guilty to three charges of recording in breach of privacy, and two charges of possessing child exploitation material. The court heard he purchased spy cameras online, set them up in a shower and took stills from the recorded vision, which focused on the body parts of a girl who was under 18. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended after three months, and will be subject to a two year probation order when released.
FORMER POLICE OFFICER EXTRADITED FROM QUEENSLAND TO FACE HISTORICAL SEXUAL ABUSE CHARGES IN HOBART - 2025 TAS
A former police officer has been extradited from Queensland to Tasmania for alleged historical sexual abuse offences. The man will appear in Hobart Magistrates Court on Monday on charges of three counts of persistent sexual abuse of a child and three counts of indecent assault. Tasmania Police alleged the abuse occurred in Tasmania between 1963 and 1982 and involved multiple victim-survivors connected to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church.
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WA ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO STALKING, COMPUTER CHARGES - 2025 WA
One of WA's most senior police officers is expected to stand trial after pleading not guilty to charges of stalking a fellow officer and illegally accessing a computer system.
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FORMER NSW POLICE OFFICER MITCHELL LUCOCK JAILED OVER CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL - 2025 NSW
Mitchell Lucock has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for five counts of soliciting child abuse material and three counts of transmitting child abuse material. The court heard he engaged in a number of "highly depraved" conversations on Telegram and Snapchat expressing interest in young girls and babies.
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POLICE INVESTIGATE 683 STAFF OVER MISCONDUCT - 2025 VIC
Victoria Police have investigated 683 of its own employees in the past five years over alleged sexual and family violence offences.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH5IjQEMvSQ
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FORMER POLICE OFFICER HAS CHARGES OF IMPROPER SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP DROPPED - 2025 WA
A former WA Police officer accused of having an improper relationship with a 16-year-old girl has had the case against him dropped during his trial. Gary Edward Fitzgerald was a serving officer when he started a sexual relationship with the girl about 25 years ago, after meeting her during his policing duties. Mr Fitzgerald was charged with five counts of sexual penetration of a child over 16, under their care, supervision, or authority. But the prosecution has been discontinued in the District Court.
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POLICE COMMISSIONER ADDRESSES FACTUAL INACCURACIES IN PUBLIC STATEMENTS ABOUT POLICE INSPECTOR'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCT - 2024 SA
On Tuesday, independent MLC Frank Pangallo raised concerns in parliament about Inspector Wade Burns, who is the current deputy president of the Police Association of South Australia (PASA), regarding alleged "predatory behaviour" and the alleged sexual assault of a female police employee during a social function.
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NSW POLICE OFFICER CHARGED AFTER ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT IN CRONULLA, SYDNEY - 2025 NSW
A serving NSW police officer has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman in Sydney’s south almost a year and a half ago.
Police began investigations after receiving a report of that a woman had allegedly been sexually assaulted at a home in Cronulla by a man she met at a hotel on Saturday September 16, 2023.
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VICTORIA POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT BY NSW POLICE OVER ALLEGED SURRY HILLS HOTEL INCIDENT - 2025 NSW
A Victoria Police officer has been charged with sexual assault in New South Wales over an alleged incident in a hotel room.
NSW Police on Tuesday charged the Victorian officer, a 32-year-old man, following investigations into the alleged sexual assault of a 38-year-old woman in a hotel room in Sydney’s Surry Hills.
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DOZENS OF POLICE OFFICERS FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES INCLUDING SEXUAL ASSAULT - 2024 VIC
A total of 78 officers and public transport police, known as Protective Services Officers, were facing charges for criminal or traffic offences as of April 16, 2024. Data released by the force revealed 68 police and five public transport police are facing criminal charges while five officers are charged with traffic offences. Sexual assault, intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault were the most common charges. They relate to alleged incidents that happened while officers were either working or off duty.
https://www.seymourtelegraph.com.au/national/dozens-of-police-facing-criminal-charges/
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MELBOURNE POLICE OFFICER FACING THREE SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES - 2024 VIC
A Melbourne police officer has been charged with sexual assault following a string of alleged incidents in Melbourne's northern fringe. Police say the charges relate to four separate occurrences between 2020 and 2023.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-18/victoria-police-officer-charged-with-sexual-assault/103363140
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FEMALE POLICE INSPECTOR SACKED FOLLOWING SEXUAL MISCONDUCT INVESTIGATION OVER XMAS PARTY INCIDENT - 2024 TAS
A female Tasmania Police inspector has been sacked following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against other female employees. The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to criminally charge the former police officer.
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FORMER POLICE OFFICER AVOIDS JAIL AFTER INSTALLING GPS TRACKER ON WOMAN'S CAR - 2024 NSW
Former police officer Joshua Wootton was handed a 12-month community corrections order after stalking a woman.
The ex-constable had several charges relating to a second victim dismissed on mental health grounds in 2023.
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NSW POLICE OFFICER GRANTED BAIL AHEAD OF TRIAL ON RAPE AND STALKING CHARGES - 2024 NSW
A police officer accused of assaulting, stalking and raping a woman will be released to help him receive treatment for PTSD acquired during his time on the force. But Jonathan Charles Bettles will remain effectively under house arrest at his parents' western Sydney home after being granted bail. The 36-year-old is charged with sexual intercourse without consent and aggravated sexual assault of a woman in September 2019.
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FORMER QUEENSLAND POLICE CONSTABLE JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL - 2024 QLD
A former Queensland Police Constable has been handed a prison sentence and disgraced his uniform after being caught sending videos of children being abused.
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INDEPENDENT WATCHDOG SAYS POLICE USE POSITIONS AS PREDATORS TO START SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS - 2023 VIC
Review of 27 investigations says the issue is ongoing and many cases have gone unreported
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FORMER POLICE OFFICER SENTENCED TO SIX MONTHS' JAIL FOR MISCONDUCT INVOLVING NINE WOMEN - 2023 VIC
One charge related to the ex-officer pursuing and engaging in a sexual relationship with one female, while two others related to pursuing intimate relationships with vulnerable women, all while a serving officer. The remaining charges related to Johnson looking up information about Victoria and other women on a police database "without reasonable excuse or justification".
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INDEPENDENT WATCHDOG CALLS FOR AN OMBUDSMAN TO TACKLE PREDATORY BEHAVIOUR AFTER SENIOR OFFICER JAILED FOR RAPING JUNIOR COLLEAGUE - 2023 VIC
A senior police officer's conviction for raping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a "vulnerable" junior colleague has led to renewed calls for a Victorian police ombudsman, and a fresh focus on "predatory behaviour" by members of the force.
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POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH MULTIPLE CHILD SEX OFFENCES ALLEGEDLY COMMITTED AGAINST GIRL FROM AGED 13 - 2023 WA
Detectives from the Sex Assault Squad allege the 48-year-old senior constable carried out the offences against the girl between 2009 and 2012, starting when she was aged 13. He has been charged with seven counts of indecently dealing with a child, six counts of sexually penetrating a child, three counts of sexually penetrating a child under his authority, and one count of persistent sexual conduct. The officer was stood down role in regional WA since police received the complaint.
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CONCERNS RAISED ABOUT POLICE'S HANDLING OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS REVIEW - 2023 TAS
Concerns have been raised about the independence of an investigation into the way allegations of child sexual abuse against a former police officer were handled. The review was announced after the child sexual abuse commission of inquiry found not enough had been done in 2008 when credible reports emerged about the former officer's behaviour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5VY0lHsQ6c
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'VILE, DISGRACEFUL': POLICE OFFICER WHO RAPED TEENAGE GIRL IDENTIFIED FOR THE FIRST TIME - 2023 SA
Decorated detective Jordan Koch groomed the girl before sexually assaulting her in 2021.
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Jordan Lloyd Koch, who was jailed for sexually assaulting teenager, has conviction overturned.
A South Australian police officer who was jailed for sexually assaulting a teenage girl has had his conviction overturned.
Earlier this year, Jordan Lloyd Koch, 37, was found guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse and two counts of indecent assault.
He was given a three-year sentence with a non-parole period of 20 months.
That conviction has been set aside in the South Australian Court of Appeal and has been remitted for retrial.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-21/jordan-lloyd-koch-conviction-overturned/103256404
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SPATE OF SCANDALS DRAGS PUBLIC TRUST IN POLICE TO RECORD LOW - 2022 VIC
Public trust in Victoria Police has hit a new low after a succession of corruption, sexual abuse and misconduct scandals, with more than one in five Victorians reporting they no longer have confidence in its integrity.
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POLICE OFFICER DISGUSTED WITH HIMSELF AFTER PROPOSITIONING SCHOOLGIRL WHILE ON DUTY - 2021 NSW
Two officers suspended after being charged in relation to the consensual encounter at a Cabramatta hotel last March.
They each admitted to a single count of misconduct in public office, after an investigation identified nine women who were approached by the officers over a one-year period.
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POLICE OFFICER JAILED IN RELATION TO CHILD ABUSE MATERIAL - 2021 / 2022 WA
The officer appeared in the Geraldton Magistrate's Court, charged with seven counts of possessing or controlling child abuse material obtained or accessed using a carriage system.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-20/wa-police-officer-abuse-charge/100393638
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Sentenced to three years and six months' jail for accessing and possessing "vile, degrading, and perverse" child abuse material, which he then discussed and exchanged with users in online chat rooms. Judge noted that children as young as one-month-old were in the material Tyler had accessed, possessed and exchanged.
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STATE'S TOP COP DROPS BOMBSHELL INTO QLD POLICE FORCE - 2022 QLD
Over the past few days and months, the toxic culture of the Queensland Police Force has been laid bare as part of an inquiry into its response to domestic and family violence. But today, the state’s top cop dropped the biggest bombshell of all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUnwvA3FGOw
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NSW POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT - 2021 NSW
A 22-year old Sydney Police officer has been accused of raping one woman and groping another in separate incidents that are alleged to have occurred last year. The probationary constable was arrested at Granville Police Station following an investigation by the Professional Standards Command (PSC) over alleged incidents in July and December 2018.
https://www.sydneycriminallawyers.com.au/blog/nsw-police-officer-charged-with-sexual-assault/
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FORMER POLICE OFFICER JAILED FOR 30 YEARS FOR SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN - 2020 / 2023 WA
An ex-WA Police senior constable has appeared in court charged with more than 100 sexual offences, accused of drugging and raping women he met online in a series of alleged crimes dating back to 2010.
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“deviant psychopathic personality with no mental health challenges.”Adrian Trevor Moore described as a ‘depraved misogynist’ who used his position in the Western Australia police force to facilitate his offending.
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EX-POLICE OFFICER AVOIDS JAIL TIME AFTER SHARING EXPLICIT PHOTOS OF ARRESTED WOMAN - 2019 NSW
An ex-police officer has narrowly avoided jail time after he shared explicit photos of a woman he had arrested. Steven Albee, now 29, was working at a traffic stop in Sydney's west in April 2017 when a woman refused a roadside drug test. She was taken to the police cells at St Marys where her mobile phone was analysed, and four intimate and explicit photos of her and her partner were found. Albee then sent two of those photos in a Facebook group chat to four police colleagues.
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OFFICER INVESTIGATED FOR GROOMING, SHARING EXPLICIT IMAGES AND PROCURING TEENAGE BOYS - 2018 TAS
On 13 September 2018, Paul “Beau” Reynolds (Reynolds), a then-Senior Sergeant Tasmanian Police Officer died by suicide. What was known to a small number of Tasmania Police, including the highest echelons of policing at the time, was that
Reynolds was being investigated for grooming, sharing explicit images with and procuring teenage boys, including coercing them to take photos of themselves.
https://www.police.tas.gov.au/uploads/FINAL_Weiss-Review-Report_24July2024.pdf
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VICTORIA POLICE MUST DO MORE TO TACKLE SEX DISCRIMINATION, SEXUAL HARASSMENT: AUDIT - 2017 VIC
More than 120 cases of alleged misconduct involving Victoria Police members have been reported since a damning review revealed widespread sexual harassment within the force. In 2015, Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) made 20 recommendations to change systems and cultures within Victoria Police in a report that found major problems, including gender discrimination and sexually predatory behaviour. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said 184 investigations, including of rape and sexual assault, were being looked into by a taskforce set up to investigate workplace sexual harassment. He said almost two-thirds of the reports were made after the VEOHRC report was released.
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U.S. OBSERVATION: NEW REPORT REVEALS AND INSIDIOUS CULTURE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT IN AN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE - 2015 VIC
Police in Victoria, Australia have finally promised to crack down on predatory officers and address the culture of sexual misconduct within the force. Their promise is in response to the damning findings of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) report into sexual harassment, discrimination, and inequality within the state police.
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VICTORIA POLICE COMMISSIONER GRAHAM ASHTON APOLOGISES OVER DAMNING REPORT SHOWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT WITHIN FORCE - 2015 VIC
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has apologised to staff over the findings of a damning report on sexual harassment within the police force. The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) has found a high prevalence and tolerance of sexual harassment within Victoria Police, as well as substantial evidence of sexual discrimination and gender inequality.
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VICTORIA POLICE URGED TO CRACK DOWN ON 'PREDATORY' OFFICERS WHO TARGET VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC, FAMILY VIOLENCE - 2015 VIC
A number of serving Victoria Police officers are under investigation as repeat offenders of predatory behaviour, according to an intelligence report from the state's anti-corruption commission. The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission has examined 142 allegations of predatory behaviour, including grooming, stalking or sexually assaulting vulnerable members of the community, over a 10-year period between 2004 and 2014.
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INDEPENDENT REVIEW INTO SEX DISCRIMINATION AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT, INCLUDING PREDATORY BEHAVIOUR IN VICTORIA POLICE - 2015 VIC
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FORMER VICTORIAN COUNTRY POLICE OFFICER A VICTIM OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT WITHIN FORCE - 2015 VIC
A former regional Victorian police detective who spent 27 years in the force is ashamed of a damning report showing sexual harassment within the police force, and has recalled her own experiences of harassment. Narelle Fraser remembers being on night shift and the only female officer on duty. She said, while she was in one room, the entire male staff was in the muster room watching pornography.
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WOMAN WINS POLICE SEX MISCONDUCT CASE - 2004 VIC
A 23-year-old woman has won a $105,000 settlement over sexual misconduct by some police officers at Maryborough in central Victoria nearly eight years ago. The woman was 16 and homeless when she claimed two policemen took her and another girl to a park for sexual activity on two occasions in 1996.
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