1st of September 2020
We at CAA have long been critical of inept and dishonest practices at command level of the Victoria Police. So it is with great pleasure that we commend new Chief Commissioner Shane Patton for telling his workforce the truth about the Lawyer X affair.
The conduct of some police during that protracted affair marked “profound failing” for “organisational and systemic” reasons, he told them. He thereby staked out a refreshingly new standard of leadership – one where the truth and the law are touchstones guiding members; not “spin” or denial of reality; not cover-up and distraction. Just truth and the law.
There is much to do before Mr. Patton can overcome years of toxic and dysfunctional culture, leading to those organisational and systemic failures – it is as though layers of corrosion need to be removed in order to Uphold the Right – but in this message Mr. Patton has demonstrated a willingness to start chipping away.
We continue to wish him well in that task.
HAIL TO THE CHIEF
