Vic: Surveillance police associates lists 'lost': report
20 Jan 2009 1:38 AM
MELBOURNE, Jan 20 AAP - Police in Victoria's specialist surveillance unit fear their details may have fallen into criminal hands after the force lost highly confidential lists of associates that members supplied to the force.
The 40 members of the unit were controversially ordered to supply lists of their associates to the force in October last year, but they have been ordered to resubmit the forms because the originals are missing, The Age newspaper reported.
A police spokeswoman confirmed on Monday night that an "administrative error" had occurred, but believed no names of the officers' associates had been misplaced.
The spokeswoman said she was not aware of all circumstances in the case but believed the lost documents were a form signed by members acknowledging they understood the force's inappropriate associations policy.
Surveillance police work in a secretive environment and don't disclose their role to colleagues or relatives, The Age said.
One officer said members of the unit were assured the documents would be treated with the utmost care and discretion.
"We've been let down," he said. "It's pathetic that our private information is out there somewhere and it could be absolutely anywhere because no one has a clue what's happened to it."
Police Association secretary designate Greg Davies said it was "outrageous" that private information about police was missing.
"God only knows who's had access to it," he said.
Last year, two secret surveillance dossiers were leaked to criminals including a murder suspect, compromising investigations.
The Office of Police Integrity and the Commissioner for Law Enforcement Data Security are conducting separate investigations on the dossier leak.
