ACT chief police officer responds to the ombudsman’s use of force report June 10, 2025

The Canberra Times

Stressing that police “are not mental health experts” Deputy Commissioner Scott Lee says of the 13 recommendations in the report police have accepted 2, and partially accepted 8 recommendations.

Transcript

00:00Last year the ACT Ombudsman advised us who would be conducting an own motion investigation

00:07into the use of force by ACT policing. ACT policing is transparently and constructively

00:13engaged with the Ombudsman in the conduct of the Ombudsman's own motion investigation

00:20regarding the use of force by ACT policing. We are a transparent organisation that openly

00:26provided the Ombudsman with information and facilitated visits where requested.

00:32Police are provided with significant responsibility and powers

00:36to protect and ensure the safety of the community. To maintain the trust and confidence of the

00:41community that these powers are being exercised appropriately and responsibly, I acknowledge

00:47and welcome the need for transparency and accountability for ACT policing. I would like

00:53to reassure the ACT community that the overwhelming majority of interactions my officers have with

00:57the community are appropriate and are conducted with care, professionalism and to the high standards

01:04expected by ACT policing and the community. As the Ombudsman acknowledged in his report,

01:11police have a very challenging job. Our officers need to make quick decisions in complex circumstances

01:18about whether and how to exercise their various powers. The report examined police activity from 2019 to 2023

01:29where police responded to 445,736 incidents. From these over 445,000 incidents,

01:385,902 incidents resulted in a reportable use of force being utilised by ACT policing members to resolve the situation.

01:51This equates to just 1.3% of those incidents resulting in a reportable use of force by police.

01:58Of these incidents, the Ombudsman's investigation team viewed files of body-worn camera

02:04or CCTV footage related to 54 separate use of force incidents and analysed a significant number of other

02:12use of force reports. While the vast majority of our interactions with the community are undertaken

02:18professionally and to a high standard, where mistakes are identified, ACT policing and the AFP are

02:25committed to ensuring that these matters are reviewed, learnings are identified and appropriate action is taken.

02:33ACT policing and the AFP is committed to continuous improvement to ensure that our policies

02:39and training and procedures are continually enhanced to support our members and to meet community

02:45expectations. While the use of force for police may be necessary at times, we recognise that de-escalation

02:53without the need for force should always be our first option. This is ingrained in our recruits and

02:58their initial training and reinforce yearly with scenario-based training and is demonstrated with

03:04the data that I referenced before that just 1.3% of our interactions resulted in a reportable use

03:10force. Overall, ACT policing's professional standards data demonstrates our members' ability

03:17and commitment to uphold our values in line with the AFP's code of conduct. In relation to any case

03:23studies identified in this report where there are established allegations of misconduct, I can assure

03:28the ACT community that those members are held accountable in line with our professional standards

03:33framework. In relation to the recommendations contained in the report, I can confirm that the AFP and ACT

03:41policing has accepted two recommendations, partially accepted eight recommendations and did not accept

03:47three recommendations. Where we have partially accepted recommendations, this means that we do disagree

03:55with certain aspects in each recommendation. However, we do accept that there are elements we can enhance.

04:03We have outlined our rationale and our response to the Ombudsman

04:07and that rationale is also published as part of the report.

04:11ACT policing will prioritise the implementation of these recommendations in accordance with the timelines

04:16provided in our response and work has already commenced on process improvements that are being

04:22implemented now. I want to thank my officers for the tireless work they perform every day

04:29and their dedication in keeping Canberran safe. It is often a thankless task that is not lost on me

04:35the dangers and the risks that they face. I'm happy to take some questions.

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