Cop in Abuse Probe Was under Investigation

By Dan Box
The Australian
September 24, 2013

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/cop-in-abuse-probe-was-under-investigation/story-e6frg6n6-1226725534107

A NSW detective who claimed on television that he was ordered to stand down from a police inquiry into Catholic Church child abuse was under internal investigation for alleged disciplinary offences before the broadcast, an inquiry has heard.

Confidential documents tendered to the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry reveal Detective Chief Inspector Peter Fox also had previously refused to provide "explosive" information about the church to other police officers.

In his closing submission to the commission yesterday, the barrister representing NSW Police, Wayne Roser SC, accused Mr Fox of using an interview in November last year with ABC1's Lateline to deliberately undermine the police.

Mr Fox was never part of the police strike force formed to investigate the alleged cover-up of abuse committed by priests, Mr Roser said, "and it follows that there was no way he could ever be removed".

Instead, Mr Fox "endeavoured to get the national broadcaster, the ABC, to be a party to drip-feed information to undermine the investigation".

Evidence before the commission shows "anyone who has challenged (Mr Fox) in relation to any matter or disagreed with him on any matter . . . has been personally criticised in a vehement way," Mr Roser said.

An exchange of emails between Mr Fox and the ABC before the program was broadcast reveals the policeman asked for specific information to be held back, saying "we can string it out and drip-feed it," the commission heard.

Other internal police documents, marked "highly protected" and dated several weeks before the broadcast, show NSW Police "have initiated a complaint" relating to Mr Fox's previous public criticism of the force. "It is likely that issues would include breach of media policy, breach of code of conduct and disobey a reasonable direction," the document states.

In September last year, Mr Fox told a community forum in Newcastle that he possessed "explosive" information about child abuse allegedly committed by priests but had been ordered not to investigate the issue.

An attempt by senior police officers to contact the detective about this claim "confirmed DCI Fox refusal to enter into any such communication regarding material he could provide", the documents show.

In his own closing argument, Mr Fox's barrister Mark Cohen said NSW Police had accused his client of conspiring with another local journalist to criticise the alleged cover-up investigation, known as Strike Force Lantle.

"There is no proper basis to come to the conclusion that there was some gross, grubby and black conspiracy," Mr Cohen said.