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Documents show NSW Police Service warned twice that intelligence sharing arrangement with Catholic Church on child abuse claims was illegal
ABC
BY THE NATIONAL REPORTING TEAM’S LORNA KNOWLES – EXCLUSIVE
October 12, 2014
Documents obtained by the ABC reveal the NSW Police Service was warned twice by one of its own lawyers that an intelligence sharing arrangement with the Catholic Church on child abuse claims was illegal.
In explosive evidence expected to emerge at a Police Integrity Commission (PIC) hearing this week, an officer from NSW Police Service’s Crime Agencies Legal support sounded the warnings in 2001 and 2002 about a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the church and NSW Police.
Under the draft MOU, a police sex crimes squad officer sat on an internal church body, known as the professional standards resource group.
Set up by Catholic bishops, the expert panel was created to advise the church on specific cases of child sexual abuse involving clergy and others.
The officer’s role was to advise whether church practices had breached the law. She would also advise on whether priests should be removed from their positions.
The PIC will investigate whether the participation of this officer, between 1998 and 2005, amounted to police misconduct.
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