Debate over increased powers for NSW police watchdog

The NSW Police Force operates in some of the toughest circumstances, including putting their own lives on the line to keep the rest of us safe. Increasing rates of domestic violence, the rising terrorist threat and ballooning crime rates in the regions means policing has never been more challenging.

At the same time, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is a necessary watchdog to provide confidence that the NSW Police Force is not beyond scrutiny.

The LECC is an independent body that detects, investigates and exposes serious misconduct within the NSW Police. It is as important to policing as the Independent Commission Against Corruption is to the public sector and elected officials.

Yet, despite repeated requests for clearer and stronger powers to ensure the LECC can access documents from NSW Police to complete its investigations in a timely manner, the Minns Labor government has chosen to ignore the requests of the independent watchdog.

LECC chief Peter Johnson, SC, appeared before a parliamentary committee hearing in May to advocate for greater powers to obtain documents from police to prevent delays in crucial misconduct investigations.

Johnson told the committee the LECC needed simpler and stronger powers to avoid delays to investigations. “Accessing information from the NSW Police Force remains difficult and unfortunately, there is often an overly defensive approach taken to the commission’s requests,” he said.

The inspector of the LECC, Bruce McClintock, SC, told the committee the watchdog could work effectively only if there was co-operation from police.

“It will lead to dysfunction if there is an adversarial relationship,” he said.

The parliamentary Committee on the Ombudsman, the LECC and the NSW Crime Commission handed down two recommendations. One of those was that legislation be amended to “consolidate and clarify the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s powers to access NSW Police Force material”.

In August, the government noted the recommendation, adding “the commission has strong information-gathering powers which may be exercised for the purposes of the commission’s functions”.

The LECC was established in 2017 to replace both the former Police Integrity Commission and some of the roles carried out by the NSW Ombudsman.

While it theoretically has sweeping powers to investigate police misconduct, it has become clear that tensions between the LECC and NSW Police have been worsening. In 2024, the LECC went to the NSW Court of Appeal after the police refused to hand over its manual on the use of “less lethal” measures following the death of a woman who was shot by a bean-bag round.

The court ruled in favour of disclosure.

Special Minister of State John Graham has confirmed there is “currently no proposal from government to change the LECC’s powers”. The Herald believes this is a concerning position.

The police watchdog deserves clearer and simpler powers to better do its job. To refuse to consider any changes undermines its independence and, counterproductively, risks eroding trust in the very organisation we rely on in our greatest times of need.

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