Media Releases

Predatory behaviour persists within Victoria Police

Tuesday 02 May 2023

Today, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has released a review of allegations of predatory behaviour by Victoria Police officers.

The thematic review assessed 27 Victoria Police investigations of alleged predatory behaviour by police officers between 2018 and 2022 and found that evidence of predatory behaviour within Victoria Police persists and that many cases went unreported.

Thematic reviews are when IBAC assesses whether Victoria Police investigations have been conducted in a way that is thorough, impartial, fair – and assesses whether their findings are evidence based and outcomes are reasonable.

IBAC Deputy Commissioner Kylie Kilgour said predatory behaviour is where a police officer misuses their position to begin – or attempt to begin – an emotional or sexual relationship with a person they meet in the course of their duties.

“It can also relate to the sexual assault, stalking, harassment or grooming of a person,” Deputy Commissioner Kilgour said.

“Despite efforts undertaken by Victoria Police over recent years, our review shows that predatory behaviour continues. We found women experiencing domestic or family violence were targets of predatory behaviour by police officers and more than half of all cases reviewed indicated a pattern of behaviour by the perpetrator against more than one person.”

The Victoria Police Manual specifies that some consensual workplace relationships may be considered predatory due to a power imbalance or other circumstances, but police officers are not required to declare intimate relationships in the workplace. More than half the cases IBAC reviewed indicated some level of tolerance for inappropriate behaviour or inaction by managers in response to allegations.

IBAC’s review found that most Victoria Police investigations into predatory behaviour took a victim-centred approach, were thorough, made evidence-based findings and included appropriate sanctions that aligned with public expectations. However, in some cases IBAC found Victoria Police’s Discipline Advisory Unit (now the Legal Discipline Advisory Unit) provided problematic advice to investigators, including recommending sanctions that were not consistent with investigation findings, Victoria Police standards or community expectations.

Following its review, IBAC has made recommendations to Victoria Police to reduce predatory behaviour and strengthen internal investigations, which it has accepted. IBAC will monitor their implementation.

IBAC’s recommendations include:

Improvements to Victoria Police’s employee training, complaint investigation reporting and record keeping.
Improvements to the advice provided by Victoria Police’s Legal Discipline Advisory Unit.
Clearer guidance for employees on the declaration and management of intimate or personal workplace relationships.
Increased monitoring of the ethical health of police officers who are subject to predatory behaviour allegations.

IBAC is Victoria's agency responsible for preventing and exposing public sector corruption and police misconduct.

IBAC's independent oversight of Victoria Police includes:
- receiving complaints/notifications about conduct of police personnel (including complaints received by Victoria Police, which are mandatorily reported to IBAC)
- assessing allegations about police misconduct to determine which are to be investigated by IBAC, referred to Victoria Police for action, and which are to be dismissed
- IBAC also reviews the outcomes of Victoria Police internal investigations to check they have been investigated thoroughly and fairly. Our reviews may result in recommendations for Victoria Police to strengthen its policies and procedures to address systemic police misconduct issues and risks and improve its conduct of internal investigations
- conducting 'own-motion' investigations (i.e., we don’t need to have received a complaint) and we have a "standing own motion" in relation to deaths or serious injuries after police contact
- conducting investigations into serious or systemic police misconduct, including holding private or public examinations
- monitoring and ensuring Victoria Police acts in response to IBAC's investigations and reviews
- auditing how Victoria Police handles complaints
- overseeing Victoria Police's compliance with five Acts including the Crimes Act, Drugs Poisons and Controlled Substances Act, Sex Offenders Registration Act, Witness Protection Act, and the Firearms Act and commencing in 2022 IBAC will also assume a compliance and reporting function in relation to Victoria Police's registration and management of human sources
- developing and presenting prevention education and training for Victoria Police officers and employees.
IBAC Deputy Commissioner Kylie Kilgour speaks:

IBAC has published a thematic review we conducted of Victoria Police investigations into allegations of predatory behaviour by police officers.

Specifically, we assessed 27 investigations that were undertaken by Victoria Police between 2018 and 2022.

A thematic review is where IBAC analyses a series of Victoria Police investigations on a specific misconduct theme.

Through thematic reviews we assess whether, Victoria Police’s investigations have been conducted in a way that is thorough, impartial, and fair, findings are evidence-based, and outcomes are reasonable.

Predatory behaviour is where a police officer misuses their position to commence or attempt to commence an emotional or sexual relationship with a person they meet in the course of their duties.

It can also relate to the sexual assault, stalking, harassment or grooming of a person they meet in the course of their duties.

IBAC has been raising its concerns about the prevalence of predatory behaviour in Victoria Police since 2015.

Through our recent thematic review, we established that despite improvements in Victoria Police’s responses to this type of serious police misconduct, predatory behaviour persists within Victoria Police.

Of the cases reviewed, we found that:
- women experiencing family violence continue to be targets of predatory behaviour by some police officers
- some police officers targeted more junior or otherwise vulnerable female colleagues
- more than half involved a pattern of predatory behaviour
- four of the police officers whose behaviour was investigated were working with vulnerable people including children in State care
- some supervisors failed to respond to allegations of predatory behaviour
- and some police employees continue to show a level of tolerance to inappropriate behaviour by their colleagues.
The majority of the investigations IBAC reviewed were conducted by a specialist unit in Victoria Police set up to deal with complaints about sexual misconduct by police officers.

Our review found that most of these investigations took a victim-centred approach, were thorough and made evidence-based findings.

However, in a small number of cases we found that the disciplinary actions taken were inadequate.

As a result of this thematic review, IBAC made a number of recommendations to Victoria Police to reduce predatory behaviour and strengthen internal investigations. These recommendations included:
- improvements to Victoria Police’s employee training, complaint investigation reporting and record-keeping
- improvements to the advice provided by Victoria Police’s Legal Discipline Advisory Unit
- clearer guidance for employees on the declaration and management of intimate or personal workplace relationships
- and increased monitoring of the ethical health of police officers who are subject to predatory behaviour allegations.
Victoria Police has accepted these recommendations. IBAC will monitor their implementation.

We are continuing to monitor any incidences of predatory behaviour to ensure Victoria Police are taking appropriate action.

If you have information about predatory behaviour by Victoria Police officers or suspected police misconduct, you can report this safely to us. Call 1300 735 135 or visit our website.

You can also view a full summary of this thematic review on our website.

Related resources

Predatory behaviour by police, thematic review summary
PDF, 329.43 KB