IBAC handling of violent policeman investigation ‘a failing of integrity system’

The Victorian anti-corruption watchdog’s handling of a domestic violence case involving a serving policeman was so fraught it constituted a fundamental failing of the integrity system and led to systemic issues within the force going unchecked for two years.

In a report tabled in parliament on Tuesday by the Victorian Inspectorate – which oversees the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission – inspector Eamonn Moran said the mishandling of the case was so serious and long-running, and the consequences so devastating for the victim, he felt compelled to comment publicly.

“Jay” escaped domestic violence by her partner, a police officer.Credit:Simon Schluter

Jay* was repeatedly subjected to violence by her partner, Darren Hanegraaf, while he was working as a police officer. On one occasion, Hanegraaf slammed Jay’s head against a letterbox and bashed her unconscious. During a separate incident, he choked her until she passed out.

Police officers repeatedly pressured Jay to patch up her relationship with Hanegraaf, and when she found the courage to report the abuse to police in 2018, another officer leaked to Hanegraaf her secret safety plan to flee with her children to Sydney, sparking more violence and coercion.

When Jay complained to IBAC, the body tasked with overseeing the force, her complaint was treated as a police misconduct issue and referred to the force’s internal affairs unit, the Professional Standards Command, for investigation.

The unit assigned the investigation to a police officer from the same division as the officers being investigated over the safety plan leak. The investigating officer deemed the case “an individual privacy matter”.

Moran found IBAC had overlooked the unwillingness of police to act against their own in cases of domestic violence and left systemic issues “unexamined and unaddressed” for two years.

He wrote that it took four months for the police internal affairs unit to send its investigation report to IBAC, which did not start its own review of the matter for another seven months.

It was not until the case was reported in the media two years later that IBAC recognised the seriousness of the systemic issues and conflicts of interest raised in the initial complaint.

By the time the case was reinvestigated by Victoria Police, the period to file charges against the officers accused of leaking Jay’s escape plan had lapsed.

Mother-of-two Jay* was subject to abuse by her policeman husband Darren Hanegraaf.

“The referral of [Jay’s] complaints back to Victoria Police had very real impacts on the quality of the integrity system’s response,” Moran said.

“It contributed to a situation in which there were serious conflicts of interest in the investigation process, which impacted the independence of the investigation.”

Moran made four recommendations to IBAC, including the introduction of guidelines to identify patterns of police misconduct and corruption, and the creation of a formal process to document the impact that referring a complaint for investigation to an external agency such as police can have on a victim.

IBAC has accepted the recommendations, but in a lengthy submission to the Victorian Inspectorate addressing the report’s conclusions, it accused the inspectorate of bias and said the findings were “illogical and unfair”.

The anti-corruption body said Moran had used the documents provided selectively to reach particular conclusions and had not interviewed the staff involved in handling Jay’s complaint.

IBAC also said it was under-resourced, despite repeated requests to the state government for additional powers and funding, which limited its ability to support victims of police misconduct.

The watchdog said it had sought legal advice and considered applying for a judicial review but had decided against it because “it would not be in the public interest for two of Victoria’s major integrity institutions to be involved in litigation at the public’s expense”.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the allegations in the report were serious, but “not reflective of the culture and practice across Victoria Police”.

“In my experience, the vast majority of Victoria Police members are about keeping people safe, doing the right thing,” he said. “I’m very proud of the work that they do.”

Victoria Police declined to comment on the report, citing ongoing legal proceedings stemming from the case. However, in a brief statement, a spokesman said there was “no place for family violence” within the force.

“We are committed to holding perpetrators within our organisation to account,” he said.

Last December, police announced a new specialist team would begin investigating family violence within the force and ensure investigators were always a rank above the accused.

*Not her real name.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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