Queensland police should not be able to refer arrested suspects to their lawyer mates, says the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (QCCL).
The group's vice-president, Terry O'Gorman said last week the practice was ''extremely unhealthy, if not dangerous'' and should be banned.
''The practice leaves itself open to police being paid for passing on referrals to solicitors or barristers who may or may not act in the best interests of the accused,'' he said.
''There is a possible conflict of interest in the arrangement as well as the possibility of the perversion of justice.''
He said the practice was ''sufficiently widespread'' to be of concern to criminal defence lawyers in Queensland.
The Federal Crimes Act, covering Australian federal police, prohibited them from referring suspects to specific lawyers.
"The same should be the case in Queensland," he said.
The QCCL last week suggested the ban in its submission to the State Government's Review of Police Powers and Responsibilities Act (PPRA).
The Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services, Neil Roberts, said the Act was reviewed every five years to ensure policing powers were ''adequate and appropriate''.
Submissions closed last week and 29 were received. They will be reviewed by a committee comprising government and non-government stakeholders, including the Queensland Law Society, QCCL and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service.
The QCCL submission also called for the mandatory tape recording of police suspects ''at the point of first contact''.
Mr O'Gorman said a government report last year examined alleged police misconduct in relation to payments made to criminals in exchange for confessions, before the tape was turned on.
He said an increasing number of alleged offenders were challenging the validity of police recorded interviews, claiming they were threatened or pressured into making certain statements before being taped. Many retrials and appeals against criminal convictions were expected following the report.
''Mandatory recording of interactions from the first point of contact would guarantee proper conduct leading up to an interview,'' he said.
Police had ready access to digital recorders but sometimes chose not to use them, he said.
The report also included incidents of cash rewards and prisoners being allowed unsupervised sex visits with their wives and girlfriends.
Public submissions will be invited at a later date.
No comments:
Post a Comment