The appropriate use of force

Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mike Gallacher / Pic: Ella Pellegrini Source: The Daily Telegraph

POLICE Minister Mike Gallacher has been forced to tell two of his most senior police to "get on with the job" and forget personal grievances.

Mr Gallacher said he had spoken informally to Deputy Commissioners Cath Burn and Nick Kaldas about rumours the pair were not talking because of an inquiry into Operation Mascot, which involved the bugging of more than 100 police officers in 2000.

At the time Ms Burn was an acting inspector in the internal affairs department and Mr Kaldas was head of homicide - and one of those bugged, although Ms Burn has denied having anything to do with the warrant. The legality of methods used in Operation Mascot and the refusal of both past and present governments to release details of a subsequent report - known as Emblems - into the operation has been referred to the NSW Ombudsman.

"I have spoken to them informally and they assure me the relationship is a lot better than people put it. (Their) focus needs to be on their game, on their job rather than any ongoing grievance," Mr Gallacher said.

The Minister was confident the war against gun crime was being won and predicted police would soon have major success. Mr Gallacher said the restructuring of the NSW Crime Commission and its closer working relationship with NSW police was vital in the war and said already there had been huge wins.

The joint operation Strike Force Alistair last week arrested more than 20 high-ranking bikies and seized a number of weapons as a result of the two law-enforcement agencies working together.

Gallacher said crims shooting each other would never stop but he wanted to make the streets safe and had told police to "get out there and get in the faces of these guys".

By bringing new blood to the commission, such as respected former NSW police investigator Bob Inkster, Mr Gallacher said the two organisations were working together more than in the past.

He said the commission was shrouded in secrecy and the jailing of former commission officer Mark Standen for conspiracy to import drugs gave the government impetus and reason to change its structure and culture.

"I am confident the NSW Crime Commission will continue to have success," he said.

In his two years at the helm the former policeman has pushed through a raft of reforms.

The scrapping of the force's generous death and disability scheme led to a bloody and at times personal fight with the powerful Police Association - including the first protest march by police on Parliament House. Millions of dollars have been saved and the attrition rate has plummeted.

Another move police objected to was the introduction of sobering-up cells. He said the idea was to get drunks off the street before they harmed themselves or others.

"It will be trialled. I have asked to give it 12 months and see if it works," he said.

The other two most far-reaching reforms were bringing the highway patrol under one command and a restructuring of police resources, which he claimed had seen more than 300 probationary constables deployed in regional NSW.

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Bungling Pistorius detective quits force

Hitlon Botha, the detective who was roasted by the judge for bugling the crime scene in the Oscar Pistorius case, has quit the police force. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

THE former lead detective in South Africa's investigation of the murder case against Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has resigned from the police force, police said.

The decision by detective Hilton Botha to quit followed criticism for his bungling of the investigation into Pistorius' shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, as well as the revelation that he faced attempted murder charges for a 2011 case in which he fired at a vehicle.

The police force as a whole came under scrutiny for the initial decision to assign Mr Botha, a relatively junior officer, to a high-profile case involving an international celebrity.

South African police practices came under more intense criticism last week after a taxi driver from Mozambique was dragged from a police vehicle and later died in detention east of Johannesburg.

Brig. Neville Malila, a police spokesman, said Mr Botha voluntarily applied to leave the service, and said police would not divulge his reasons.

"It was his initiative. He applied for the resignation and the exit interviews were conducted with him," Brig. Malila said.

"He still maintained that he wanted to leave the service and we honoured his wish."

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius looks down in court during his bail hearing in Pretoria.

Mr Botha made several errors as the lead investigator after the double-amputee athlete shot Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria, the South African capital.

He walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area; gave conflicting estimates of the distance of the house of a potential witness; and was criticised by the judge in the athlete's bail hearing for failing to secure data from cellular telephones found at the scene of the shooting.

He admitted in court the investigation "could have been handled better", conceding he may have contaminated the crime scene and his team had failed to spot a bullet lodged in the toilet.

It later emerged that Mr Botha faced attempted murder charges for a case in which he and two other officers fired on a vehicle in an attempt to make it stop. His superiors then removed him from the Pistorius case, replacing him with a senior investigator, police Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo.

Rudolph Zinn, a former detective who lectures at the School of Criminal Justice and Police Practice at the University of South Africa, said it should have been standard procedure to assign a top official from the beginning of the Pistorius case.

"A senior person should be appointed as soon as possible to take over the investigation's management to make sure that the crime scene is processed accordingly," he said in an interview with The Associated Press last month.

Pistorius, who was freed on bail, says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through a locked bathroom door. Prosecutors believe the shooting happened after the couple got into an argument.

The Olympian's next court appearance is scheduled for June 4.

Also Thursday, a South African public relations company said it will no longer represent Pistorius.

Janine Hills, the head of Vuma Reputation Management, said the Pistorius family is in a "stronger position" to handle media issues, but that her company will continue to provide guidance. She said in an email to the AP that a "handover process" had been under way since March 1.

View the original article here

Bungling Pistorius detective quits force

Hitlon Botha, the detective who was roasted by the judge for bugling the crime scene in the Oscar Pistorius case, has quit the police force. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

THE former lead detective in South Africa's investigation of the murder case against Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius has resigned from the police force, police said.

The decision by detective Hilton Botha to quit followed criticism for his bungling of the investigation into Pistorius' shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Feb. 14, as well as the revelation that he faced attempted murder charges for a 2011 case in which he fired at a vehicle.

The police force as a whole came under scrutiny for the initial decision to assign Mr Botha, a relatively junior officer, to a high-profile case involving an international celebrity.

South African police practices came under more intense criticism last week after a taxi driver from Mozambique was dragged from a police vehicle and later died in detention east of Johannesburg.

Brig. Neville Malila, a police spokesman, said Mr Botha voluntarily applied to leave the service, and said police would not divulge his reasons.

"It was his initiative. He applied for the resignation and the exit interviews were conducted with him," Brig. Malila said.

"He still maintained that he wanted to leave the service and we honoured his wish."

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius looks down in court during his bail hearing in Pretoria.

Mr Botha made several errors as the lead investigator after the double-amputee athlete shot Steenkamp at his home in Pretoria, the South African capital.

He walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area; gave conflicting estimates of the distance of the house of a potential witness; and was criticised by the judge in the athlete's bail hearing for failing to secure data from cellular telephones found at the scene of the shooting.

He admitted in court the investigation "could have been handled better", conceding he may have contaminated the crime scene and his team had failed to spot a bullet lodged in the toilet.

It later emerged that Mr Botha faced attempted murder charges for a case in which he and two other officers fired on a vehicle in an attempt to make it stop. His superiors then removed him from the Pistorius case, replacing him with a senior investigator, police Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo.

Rudolph Zinn, a former detective who lectures at the School of Criminal Justice and Police Practice at the University of South Africa, said it should have been standard procedure to assign a top official from the beginning of the Pistorius case.

"A senior person should be appointed as soon as possible to take over the investigation's management to make sure that the crime scene is processed accordingly," he said in an interview with The Associated Press last month.

Pistorius, who was freed on bail, says he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through a locked bathroom door. Prosecutors believe the shooting happened after the couple got into an argument.

The Olympian's next court appearance is scheduled for June 4.

Also Thursday, a South African public relations company said it will no longer represent Pistorius.

Janine Hills, the head of Vuma Reputation Management, said the Pistorius family is in a "stronger position" to handle media issues, but that her company will continue to provide guidance. She said in an email to the AP that a "handover process" had been under way since March 1.

View the original article here