ALLEGED attempts to smear police by the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold are “untested and currently subject to internal AFP mechanisms”, says Australian Federal Police Association president Alex Caruana.

Caruana is calling for a full judicial inquiry following the mis-trail and subsequent decision to abandon prosecution of Bruce Lehrman, accused of raping political staffer Brittany Higgins, a charge the defendant has always denied.

“The Guardian” is reporting that Drumgold, in a letter to the ACT police chief in November,  obtained through freedom of information laws, calls for an inquiry into “political and police conduct” during investigation of Higgins’ claims.

He complains that police officers engaged in “a very clear campaign to pressure” him not to prosecute the alleged rape of Higgins, saying there was “inappropriate interference” and he felt investigators “clearly aligned with the successful defence of this matter” during the trial.

Drumgold’s letter, alleges Higgins herself felt bullied by investigators. The letter calls for a public inquiry to examine “both political and police conduct” in the case.

“While Mr Drumgold has called for an inquiry into the actions of police, any inquiry, in the interests of impartiality and holism, must also assess the conduct of Mr Drumgold, the DPP, the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner and ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury, as well as issues causing delays in the trial and subsequent mistrial,” says Caruana.

“The ACT government must complete a review of the entire judicial system without delay; the system is in shambles thanks to Mr Rattenbury’s inaction and incompetence. If the attorney-general will not call for a full and comprehensive inquiry into the justice system, then the ACT Chief Minister must step in and take action.

“The AFPA also questions if information was deliberately leaked by the ACT DPP to the media and believes breaches of the FOI legislation are likely to have occurred.

“The FOI from the ACT DPP to ‘The Guardian’, to our knowledge, has no redactions, and it includes personal details of officers involved in the investigation. ACT Policing was not consulted on the release of information and its members’ details.

“The AFPA will make a formal complaint to the Office of the Australian Information Commission and the ACT Ombudsman regarding the possibility of FOI breaches and misconduct by the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

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