Criminal Justice Commission: Submission in Response to the Crime Commission Bill 1997

This submission from the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) on the Government's proposed Crime Commission Bill 1997 raises the following main concerns about the Bill as currently drafted: 

• The CJC's functions to supervise the Queensland Police Service (QPS) will be reduced by the removal of part of the CJC's responsibility for investigating and collecting intelligence concerning police misconduct which is not official misconduct. Similarly, the Queensland Crime Commission (QCC) will not be required to refer suspected police misconduct to the CJC, despite the fact that such misconduct may involve criminal behaviour, or otherwise merit dismissal, demotion or other serious punishment. 
   
• The QCC or its management committee will be able to decide which matters raising suspicions of corruption or other official misconduct should be referred to the CJC for investigation, instead of being required to refer all such matters to the CJC. 
   
• The CJC's capacity to supervise the QPS effectively will also be reduced by removal of its to monitor police intelligence gathering. This means that police intelligence activities will be largely unsupervised, increasing the prospects of inappropriate files being maintained. The Bill will also inevitably lead to duplication of some intelligence functions, and a reduction in the collection of strategic intelligence on organised crime. 
   
• The proposal to have the CJC's applications to use surveillance powers overseen by a Public Interest Monitor will duplicate the existing role of the PCJC and Parliamentary Commissioner. A particular concern is that the Government-appointed Monitor will have unsupervised access to highly sensitive information which could concern Government corruption. 
   
• The QCC will be able to use its intrusive surveillance powers to investigate any allegations of child sexual abuse, including that occurring within families. The use of listening devices and compulsory hearings in such cases raises civil liberties concerns, and ignores previous recommendations, including that of the Queensland Children's Commission, for a multi-agency approach that gives priority to the needs of child victims. 
   
• The inclusion of politicians on the QCC's management committee risks political interests influencing operational decisions about investigations. The proposal raises the prospect of PCJC members being included in any CJC investigation of official misconduct related to the leaking of confidential QCC information. It will also decrease the capacity of the PCJC to monitor the CJC, because of the onerous new obligations given to the PCJC's Chairperson and deputy Chairperson.