Watchdog to Investigate Police Dealings with Catholic Church over Abuse

By Nick Ralston
Sydney Morning Herald
October 3, 2014

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/watchdog-to-investigate-police-dealings-with-catholic-church-over-abuse-20141003-10pqsl.html

The police corruption watchdog will investigate whether there was any misconduct by the NSW Police Force in its dealings with the Catholic Church over the handling of complaints of abuse.

The Police Integrity Commission's investigation, dubbed Operation Protea, will conduct a public hearing in Sydney on October 13.

A statement from the PIC, released on Friday, said that it would examine two main areas.

The first is whether there was any police misconduct by any NSW officer in the Catholic Church Professional Standards Resource Group between 1998 and 2005.

The second area is whether there was any police misconduct involved "in the participation by the NSW Police Force in any agreement, protocol or Memorandum of Understanding between the force and the Catholic Church relating to the handling of complaints of abuse committed by Catholic Church personnel or employees".