Police Officer Says Reports Not Her Role

Sky News
October 17, 2014

http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/10/17/police-officer-says-reports-not-her-role.html

A police inspector who advised a church body charged with handling reports of child abuse did not see it as her role to pass on information to her superiors.

The Police Integrity Commission (PIC) was today questioning Inspector Beth Cullen about her role on the Catholic Church's Professional Standards Resource Group (PSRG) - a body set up to help funnel information about sex abuse cases to the police.

Using a system called 'blind reporting', the information about abuse incidents would be given to police without victims' details. In some cases the blind report said the victim did not want police involvement when in fact they did.

Insp Cullen, who attended the monthly PSRG meetings for six years, said she didn't see it as her role to pass each abuse case to police.

'My role wasn't as a police liaison officer or conduit of information to police,' she told the hearing in Sydney.

When counsel assisting, Kristina Stern, asked whether as a police officer she should have taken steps to ensure all information was being given about cases, Insp Cullen replied 'no'.

'I don't think so,' she said.

'It was my understanding that information was given to police on all relevant matters.'

The PSRG was set up to advise the church's Professional Standards Office (PSO), which in turn passed the blind reports on to police.

On Friday Insp Cullen was shown details of a 2001 case before the PSRG that contained information about an alleged serial sex offender.

She was asked if she advised the group more detail should be given to police.

She said just because the PSRG meeting minutes did not reflect her advice, that doesn't mean she didn't give it.

The process of blind reporting worked, she said.

It wasn't a sensible proposition for her to assess every piece of information brought before the PSRG, Insp Cullen added.

If she acquired information that should be given to police, Insp Cullen said she would advise the head of the PSO that it should be done.

She said members of the PSO, Michael Salmon and John Davoren, were always willing to help police with information when a request was made.

The commission is looking at the extent of an agreement between the Catholic Church and NSW Police to handle information about sex and physical abuse cases.

On Wednesday, Insp Cullen's former boss at the child protection squad, Kim McGee, defended the practice of blind reporting as keeping the lines of communication open between the police and the church.

[]