2026-06-11
Pressure is mounting on the Minns Labor Government to bolster the powers and remit of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission to investigate NSW Police after an independent review into police lambasted the culture.
The report detailed systemic sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and abuse perpetrated against female officers and victims of crime and chronic failures of the very systems designed to prevent or address these harmful behaviours and practices.
Greens MP and spokesperson for justice and solicitor Sue Higginson said:
“The independent review has proven the toxic, misogynist and unsafe culture within New South Wales Police is not confined to a few bad apples. We need to be real about what this report has found, we are talking about a system that is rotten at its core that threatens the integrity of our system of law enforcement,
“Every single woman interviewed in the police force disclosed harassment and abuse without exception, this must be a wake-up call for the Minns Labor Government,
“Police are subjecting women within their own ranks to serious harm, women are blackmailed into sex, subject to racial slurs and choked in the name of ‘teaching them the ropes’. This is how police treat their own, and we have recently had a glimpse of how they treat the people of New South Wales in the recent 4 Corners,
“Police are entrusted with extraordinary surveillance powers and deadly weapons, and public confidence in police is cascading.
“I am not surprised by anything I have read in this report. I have been hearing directly about this type of toxic culture since coming into Parliament. I tried very hard in 2023 to get an inquiry up into policing in NSW, and at that time the Police Minister seemed to be on board. I understand it was Premier Chris Minns who prevented any inquiry at that time,
“It is very clear that the only way out of this mess is a radical program of reform and greater independent oversight,
“I am once again calling on the Minister for Police Yasmin Catley to offer more than concern, and Premier Chris Minns to provide the independent police watchdog, the LECC, with more resources and immediately legislate powers the LECC has been calling for to investigate police misconduct,
“The police’s own Professional Standards Command have overseen this system of violence, bullying and sexual harassment because for too long, the Government have enabled a system of police investigating police. This system is enabling severe harm and immediate legislative intervention is a must,” Ms Higginson said.