"SOME WITNESSES EXPRESSED A VIEW THAT IMPROVEMENTS WERE NOT
REQUIRED AS THERE SHOULD BE A HIGH LEVEL OF TRUST IN THE ACTIVITIES
UNDERTAKEN BY THE FORENSIC OFFICERS. TRUST OR PROFESSIONALISM IS NOT
THE ISSUE IN MY VIEW. RATHER IT IS A MATTER OF ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY
AND APPROPRIATE PROCEDURES ARE ADHERED TO. IT IS ALSO TO ENSURE THAT
THE COURTS AND THE VICTORIAN COMMUNITY CAN HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE
INTEGRITY OF THE PROCESSES USED FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DRUG EXHIBITS AT
THE VICTORIA POLICE FORENSIC SERVICES CENTRE."
REPORT OF THE VICTORIA OMBUDSMAN;
PHOTO: FARAH JAMA AND HIS LAWYER;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am very grateful to Dr. Robert Moles for providing this site with the direct link to the Victorian Ombudsman's recently released report on forensic practices. The report reveals an extraordinary amount of sloppiness and a lack of procedural safeguards for the storage, protection and tracking of forensic exhibits which may be required in court. Dr. Moles is the publisher of "Networked Knowledge" (NetK) which publishes a wealth of useful legal materials and investigates and provides information on alleged serious miscarriages of justice. He is indeed a major player in the battle against wrongful convictions - wherever they may occur. Dr. Moles is the author of "A State of Injustice which was published in October 2004", and "Losing Their Grip – The Case of Henry Keogh" published January 2006. Since the site was established in August 2005 NetK has delivered 1,540,000 documents to over 400,000 readers in some 200 countries. Its annual rate of document deliveries is now over 500,000. Networked Knowledge can be found at: http://www.netk.net.au/; Context is important here. This Blog has reported seriously flawed forensic lab processes in Canada, the United States and now in Australia. The reports reflect the consequences of sub-standard forensic laboratories wherever they occur - the reality that they will cause innocent people to be convicted of serious crimes. Governments have a duty to revamp their flawed forensic processes and set and obtain the highest standards possible - and must also review past cases in depth in order to root out miscarriages of justice which may have occurred. As the Age, has pointed out in a recent editorial which will be featured in an up-coming post, "The flaws (pointed out by Ombudsman George Brouwer) were not connected to the contaminated DNA sample that led to Monday's Court of Appeal ruling that overturned the rape conviction of Farah Jama, who had spent 15 months in jail. The conjunction of that ruling, the DNA evidence ban and the Ombudsman's report will, however, raise doubts about the integrity of police practices."
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Back to the Victorian Ombudsman's report which discloses that the MacLeod Centre, where some 18,000 drug-related items were stored, "(Drug) exhibits were being stored on pallets in an open work space in open boxes without seals or evidence tape."
Two passages caught my attention:
Passage One: "During my investigation I noted that the manner in which exhibits were Being stored was less than optimal and the then Deputy Commissioner was advised of my concerns about the security of exhibits seized from clandestine laboratories. Exhibits were being stored on pallets in an open work space in open boxes without seals or evidence tape."
Passage two: "Some witnesses expressed a view that improvements were not
required as there should be a high level of trust in the activities
undertaken by the forensic officers. Trust or professionalism is not
the issue in my view. Rather it is a matter of ensuring accountability
and appropriate procedures are adhered to. It is also to ensure that
the courts and the Victorian community can have confidence in the
integrity of the processes used for the management of drug exhibits at
the Victoria Police Forensic Services Centre."
This humble Bloggist was utterly taken back by the "trust us" attitude.
Indeed, look what happened when they weren't being watched!"
Judge the report for yourselves: You will find it at;
http://netk.net.au/whatsnew.asp
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
