Police misconduct complaints involving juveniles
874. Hon ALISON XAMON to the minister representing the Minister for Police:
I refer to complaints made against police.
(1) How many complaints have been made against police for misconduct in each of the years 2006 to 2010, and how many of these complaints involved juveniles?
(2) In how many instances were officers found to have behaved in an inappropriate fashion, and how many of these instances involved juveniles?
Hon PETER COLLIER replied:
I thank the member for some notice of this question. The number of complaints and internally generated files are quoted directly from the 2009–10 WA Police annual report, and therefore the figures are in financial years, not calendar years. The word “misconduct” is not a descriptor used by WA Police when recording complaint incidents. Therefore, the figures below relate to all matters investigated.
(1) In 2005–06, there were 855 public complaints, of which 29 involved juveniles, and there were 338 internally generated files, of which none involved juveniles. In 2006–07, there were 993 public complaints, of which 48 involved juveniles, and there were 256 internally generated files, of which one involved a juvenile. In 2007–08, there were 929 public complaints, of which 27 involved juveniles, and there were 239 internally generated files, of which one involved a juvenile. In 2008–09, there were 1 396 public complaints, of which 27 involved juveniles, and there were 319 internally generated files, of which none involved juveniles. In 2009–10, there were 1 174 public complaints, of which 41 involved juveniles, and there were 283 internally generated files, of which two involved juveniles.
(2) For the purposes of answering this question, the phrase “found to have behaved in an inappropriate fashion” has been taken to mean that the complaint had been sustained upon investigation. In 2005–06, of the 1 193 total incidents, 90 were sustained, one of which involved a juvenile; in 2006–07, of the 1 249 total incidents, 148 were sustained, five of which involved juveniles; in 2008–09, of the 1 169 total incidents, 156 were sustained, four of which involved juveniles; in 2008–09, of the 1 715 total incidents, 222 were sustained, none of which involved juveniles; in 2009–10, of the 1 457 total incidents, 215 were sustained, nine of which involved juveniles.