The New South Wales Crime Commission is a

statutory corporation A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in ...

of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

. It is constituted by the Crime Commission Act 2012, the object of which is to reduce the incidence of

organised crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

and other serious crime in the state of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In more recent years, the commission has also taken on a charter of assisting with the investigation of terrorism related offences. However, it became the subject of controversy following various allegations relating covert operations, secrecy and absence of defined accountability, and the conviction of an assistant director for serious criminal activities. In August 2011 the NSW Government announced that a Special Commission of Inquiry would be conducted into the NSW Crime Commission. Headed by retired

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

David Patten, the Inquiry handed its report to the Government on 30 November 2011. Its findings have been made public. It found no evidence of misconduct or impropriety other than that of the assistant director, whose arrest and conviction could not have been achieved without the investigative work of the Crime Commission.

History

The commission was originally established under the name State Drug Crime Commission by the State Drug Crime Commission Act 1985, the Bill for which was introduced by then

state premier The premiers and chief ministers of the Australian states and territories are the head of government, heads of the executive governments in the six states and two self-governing territories of Australia. They perform the same function at the s ...

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

after a period of seminal Royal Commissions, including the Woodward Royal Commission (1977–1979) and the

Costigan Royal Commission The Costigan Commission (officially titled the Royal Commission on the Activities of the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union) was an Australian royal commission held in the 1980s. Headed by Frank Costigan QC, the Commission was establi ...

(1980–1984) into drug trafficking, organised crime and tax evasion. The commission was originally constituted by a Chairman and two other members. The first chairman of the State Drug Crime Commission (SDCC) was Judge John Lloyd-Jones, who was replaced after only four weeks following objection by the legal fraternity to the principle of a judicial officer's presiding over an investigative body. Richard Job, QC succeeded Lloyd-Jones as chairman, and the SDCC was led by Job together with Barrie Thorley, a former judge, and a retired vice-admiral, David Leach. The name of the commission and its statute were changed in 1990. In that year the Drug Trafficking (Civil Proceedings) Act 1990 (later renamed the Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990) was enacted and conferred on the commission the role of taking legal action to confiscate the proceeds of crime. Phillip Bradley was appointed a member in 1989 and became chairman in 1993. In 1996 the office of Chairman was abolished and replaced by the position of Commissioner. Bradley served as the first Commissioner. The commission established itself as a successful criminal investigation and intelligence agency and a successful criminal asset confiscation agency. In the period leading up to the 2011 state election, the commission was the subject of several allegations regarding its practices. Those allegations were not sustained. In February 2011, the Police Integrity Commission (PIC) made a decision to hold a public inquiry into the NSWCC as part of a PIC investigation that had been underway since 2008. The nature of the investigations conducted by the PIC related to the way the NSW Crime Commission managed its asset-confiscation powers. PIC investigations revealed that the commission and lawyers acting for alleged and convicted criminals negotiated legal costs, sometimes in an extremely short timeframe. The Crime Commission took the matter to the

. The Commission sought an order quashing (on the ground of legal error by the PIC) the February 2011 PIC decision to hold public hearings, and the Supreme Court agreed and quashed the decision. The commission also sought to narrow the scope of the PIC hearings, and the Supreme Court made such an order, although the narrowing was not as great as the Crime Commission had sought. The controversy expanded as the commission was accused of undermining free speech by demanding records and phones from

Fairfax Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

journalists. With the matter still before the court, on 6 May 2011 the New South Wales Government extended the appointment of Bradley for a further six months. In May 2011, after the court had quashed the PIC's February decision, the Police Integrity Commission made a fresh decision to conduct a public inquiry into whether the Crime Commission acted outside the laws that govern the confiscation of criminal proceeds, and whether it had abused some of the processes of the court.

Conviction of assistant director

On 11 August 2011, after a five-month trial, a

NSW Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. Whilst the Supreme Court i ...

jury found former NSWCC assistant director Mark Standen guilty of conspiring to import and supply of

pseudoephedrine Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It may be used as a nasal/sinus decongestant, as a stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent in higher doses. It was first characteri ...

, a chemical that could produce A$60 million worth of "ice", or

crystal methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Metham ...

. He was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice. In a 30-year career, Standen had risen to prominence in the perceived fight against organised crime in New South Wales, trusted by ministers and police commissioners, having previously served with the

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

(AFP) and the Australian Customs Service. He was arrested by the AFP on 2 June 2008 after intensive surveillance and investigation, conducted jointly with the Crime Commission. Handing down the sentence on 8 December 2011,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Bruce James stated that Standen had shown no remorse during criminal proceedings and sentenced him to a maximum term of 22-years in custody. Standen may be eligible for early release on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

by 1 June 2024. Standen appealed his conviction and sentence on six grounds. His appeal was rejected on 13 August 2015.

Patten Report

On the same day of Standen's conviction, the NSW Government announced that a Special Commission of Inquiry would be conducted into the affairs of the NSWCC. Handing his report to the NSW Government on 30 November 2011, it was reported that the Special Commissioner, retired Supreme Court justice David Patten, recommended sweeping changes to the NSWCC including to its governance structure, legislation, management of informants, complaint handling, auditing and oversight. The NSW Parliament later passed the Crime Commission Act 2012.

Governance

The functions of the commission are discharged by its Commissioner, two Assistant Commissioners and staff. The commission is overseen by the New South Wales Crime Commission Management Committee, which consists of: *the Independent Chairperson, presently David Patten *the

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

of NSW Police, presently Karen Webb APM. *the Chair of the board of the Australian Crime Commission, presently Tony Negus *the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services and *the Commissioner for the New South Wales Crime Commission, presently Peter Cotter APM

Operations

The New South Wales Crime Commission works closely with the NSW Police Force.

References

{{Authority control New South Wales courts and tribunals

Crime Commission In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...