Evidence of abuse kept from the police
15.12.2007
By: Sean Parnell, Sarah Elks, Additional reporting: Tony Koch
QUEENSLAND'S anti-corruption body says the state Government's own policies delay and sometimes prevent evidence of child abuse being passed on to police.
Amid international outrage over the case of a 10-year-old girl gang-raped at Aurukun in the state's far north, the Crime and Misconduct Commission yesterday responded to evidence that police had uncovered ``numerous child protection issues'' across Cape York that had not been passed on to police by the Department of Child Safety.
Detective Sergeant David Harold -- a Cairns Child Protection Investigation Unit officer also involved in a program that encourages communities to report abuse -- told a CMC-led review team in July last year that obfuscation by Child Safety officers had forced him to approach health clinics to obtain evidence of abuse and neglect.
The review ultimately led to two Child Safety officers -- Stephanie Fielder and Maria Fletcher -- being disciplined for failing to pass evidence of the Aurukun case to police as required.
On Monday, The Australian revealed that the 10-year-old was gang-raped after being returned from a foster family in Cairns to the Cape York community of Aurukun. The nine male offenders, including three adults, escaped jail sentences after Cairns District Court judge Sarah Bradley said the girl ``probably agreed'' to have sex.
Sergeant Harold told the review team -- tasked with investigating the Department of Child Safety's inadequate response to the Aurukun gang-rape -- that a ``directive from Brisbane'' had prompted health staff to withhold evidence.
``It got to a political level at that stage where I believe ministers got involved and certain people were told not to speak to police,'' Sergeant Harold told the team.
Under pressure from Premier Anna Bligh, CMC chairman
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Robert Needham revealed yesterday the review had found no evidence to support Sergeant Harold's claims of political interference but that the Government's policies could be to blame. ``In short, it appears that the police officer ... has speculated about the involvement of ministers and misunderstood advice about the statutory obligations of, and the policy that applies to, officers of Queensland Health,'' Mr Needham told Ms Bligh in a letter.
Health staff are obliged to report to the Department of Child Safety, which in turn is required to inform police of any suspected criminal offences. Mr Needham noted the policy was under ``careful consideration''. But police and Children's Commissioner Elizabeth Fraser have told of several cases where child safety officers have failed to pass on evidence to police, and the department's controversially high threshold for reporting to police is also under review. Heavy caseloads have also affected the work of child safety officers, who are under-represented on Cape York.
A spokeswoman for Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech confirmed only three Child Safety officers -- including the two involved in the Aurukun case -- had been disciplined for not passing information to police. Mr Needham reiterated that the review had found ``a wide range of departmental officers consistently failed to comply with legislation, policy and procedural frameworks'' in the Aurukun case and ``on the balance of probability there is a level of `inter-agency politics which is harmful to the best interests of children'''.
Ms Bligh said she had spoken to Ms Keech and her predecessors Desley Boyle and Mike Reynolds. The Premier said they did not order information be withheld and in fact repeatedly advised staff of their obligation to alert police of any suspected crimes.
The department is implementing recommendations from the review team. But a senior official connected with the team criticised the CMC response, saying the review itself was flawed. The team was ordered not to put Sergeant Harold's claims to ministers or any senior bureaucrat.
Queensland Police Union deputy president Denis Fitzgerald said he had spoken with officers based in remote Aboriginal communities and they confirmed there was a communication problem between child safety officers and the police.
Queensland Attorney-General Kerry Shine will appeal the decision by Judge Bradley not to impose custodial sentences on the males who gang-raped the 10-year-old in Aurukun.
The legal officer who prosecuted the case, Steve Carter, has also been stood down pending an investigation, while the Government has also launched a review of all sex abuse cases on Cape York over the past two years.
