Watchdog says WAPol's actions were not 'misconduct'
THE WA GOVERNMENT has formally rejected any claim that the publishing of maps by one of its own agencies showing the location of shooters amounted to misconduct.
In this article we encourage shooters in WA to let a special parliamentary investigator whose job is to oversee decisions like this, know that its not good enough – and that the law needs to be changed.
YOU PROBABLY already know the story.
Earlier this year, WA Police released maps showing the location of hundreds of gun owners to the media, which published them for all to see.
The release of the maps formed part of a story to create the impression there were too many guns in the community – all in the name of justifying more laws.
The locations were so stunningly accurate, that we published this story, which showed that it was not that difficult to use publicly available software to reverse engineer the maps to produce shopping lists for criminals.
Our story managed to get a run in the WA media.
Our complaint to the Corruption and Crime Commission
As a result, we made a complaint to the WA Corruption and Crime Commission, on the basis that the decision by WA Police to release the maps was more than careless: it was a derogation of their responsibility towards gun owners.
It was, in our view, a serious misconduct by an agency that had been entrusted with important private information to make that information available in this way.
The response
We’ve now received their response. As you will see, they have sided with the Police. The message this sends is that it’s ok for WA Police to splash private information relating to the location of firearms in the media.
Here’s what they said.
WA’s Police Minister, Paul Papalia, encouraged the maps to be published.
The parliamentary inspector
The response is simply not good enough. In line with the advice, we have written to the Parliamentary Inspector Of The Corruption and Crime Commission who can make recommendations to fix this.
We’ve written to the Parliamentary Inspector, so are now asking shooters in WA to back this by emailing them to take these concerns seriously.
WA is now essentially a dictatorship and has the tabloid rag, The West Australian, as it’s main mouthpiece. It is without doubt the worst place, bar none, to be a shooter or outdoors person. And they wonder why no-one wants to come here
I find the release of the information unacceptable, as the government and police are to help maintain private information regarding the public. Can we please release the private details of the police minister’s address on the internet
So, it would appear the the WA version of the CCC is as useless and corrupt as their Queensland cousin.
They have the ability to ignore anything that might resemble actually doing some work that is in the interest of the public (as opposed to the interest of the government in office).
Send it back for review and Leo sending it back until someone in that office actually bothers to look at the situation and the facts rather than calling their mates in the police to find out whether they should bother looking or not.
Leo??? Keep!!!
WAPOL tell us to secure our property and such, yet they basically tell criminals where firearms are located on police sanctioned maps and if they stolen , it’s becomes the licensed owners and they are harassed by the police who gave out the information with state sanctioned immunity. PLEASE TELL ME WHO THE ARSEHOLES ARE!!!!!!!!!
Dear Commissioner, By introduction, I am a retired police officer who gave evidence as witness 51 to a Royal Commission of Inquiry into government and police corruption and misconduct. I read your letter addressed to Neil Jenkins, your reference 00897/2022 and nowhere do you say there is no evidence to support the claim that police provided information to a newspaper that criminals could use to identify where to find firearms.
You say that you will do nothing. It is an absolute disgrace and akin to the pre-Fitzgerald days.
Sincerely, Lawrence Lyons. 4040QPR
Addendum remark:
If a map showing where police officers and their families lived to within 100m, would the paper publish it? Should there be a home invasion and the criminals use the newspaper’s map to locate their victims, the analogy is the newspaper, with the approval of the police minister, provided the GPS coordinates enabling the crime to be committed. They would be a party to the offence of a home invasion.
Just look at the ‘gun owner’ they portrayed in the media release! I’m gobsmacked! Dark, hooded figure holding a smoking revolver!? I’m sure I don’t look like that when I’m shooting at my club wearing my club shirt with my name badge lol!
Sorry, not a revolver lol