"THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER MUST BY NOW BE ACCUSTOMED TO ACTING IN CRISIS MODE: ON WEDNESDAY HE HAD TO BAN POLICE FORENSIC SCIENTISTS FROM GIVING EVIDENCE ''UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE'' BECAUSE OF FLAWS IN DNA EVIDENCE PROCEDURES. THE FLAWS 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..."
EDITORIAL: THE AGE;
PHOTO: FERAH JAMA AND HIS LAWYER;
(WIKIPEDIA DESCRIBES "THE AGE" AS:"A LIBERAL BROADSHEET DAILY NEWSPAPER, WHICH HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA SINCE 1854);
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BACKGROUND: According to the Australian, Farah Jama was found guilty of raping a 40-year-old woman at a nightclub in Melbourne's outer-eastern suburbs after the victim was found unconscious. She had no memory of the crime but Mr Jama's DNA was later found on the victim. The then 20-year-old denied ever being near the nightclub on that night, saying he was reading the Koran to his critically ill father at his bedside in their home in the northern suburbs. The only evidence police had was the DNA sample of Mr Jama, which was coincidentally taken 24 hours before the alleged crime after he was investigated over another unrelated matter but not charged. Prosecutors told the Victoria Court of Appeal earlier this week that it had since been discovered that the same forensic medical officer who took the first DNA sample of Mr Jama had coincidently taken the DNA sample from the 40-year-old rape complainant 24 hours later. They said it had emerged that the officer had not adhered to strict procedure when taking the sample and therefore they could not “exclude the possibility” of contamination. Therefore they argued the guilty verdict was unsafe and satisfactory and should be quashed. His lawyer Kimani Adil Boden hailed a “momentous” day for Mr Jama, whose case he described as “tragic”. “He's been in custody for close to one-and-a-half years on charges he didn't commit. “Justice has finally been done, however, at a price.” Victoria's police chief responded to Mr. Jama's release by banning all forensic officers from submitting DNA evidence or providing statements to the courts until further notice.
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"FOR the second month in succession, Ombudsman George Brouwer has released damning findings of mismanagement in key agencies of Victoria Police," the editorial, published by the Age on December 11, 2009, begins, under the heading Findings will dent public trust in police practices," begins.
"Last month, in a report Chief Commissioner Simon Overland described as an embarrassment, the Ombudsman brought to public attention dodgy deals and bungling that had left the information technology division $39 million over budget," the editorial continues.
"And yesterday, Mr Brouwer laid bare disturbing practices at the police Forensic Services Centre. Police records of drug exhibits were unreliable, he said, because there had been no independent audit of drug holdings for at least 15 years. Mr Brouwer found that senior executives had failed in their roles, with the resulting lack of accountability creating an environment in which corruption could go unnoticed. The report noted lax practices that included storing drugs in open boxes without seals or evidence tape. Again, Mr Overland responded swiftly to the criticisms: the centre's director, Cate Quinn, has been suspended on full pay pending an investigation of misconduct, and the police have agreed to store drugs in lockable cages.
The Chief Commissioner must by now be accustomed to acting in crisis mode: on Wednesday he had to ban police forensic scientists from giving evidence ''until further notice'' because of flaws in DNA evidence procedures. The flaws 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. To allay those doubts, Mr Overland may have to initiate a comprehensive reform of procedures."
The editorial can be found at:
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/editorial/findings-will-dent-public-trust-in-police-practices-20091210-km76.html
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
