Fingerprints of innocents retained
By Carly Crawford
September 03, 2006 01:54am
THE fingerprints of up to half a million innocent Victorians have
been retained illegally by Victoria Police.
Senior police have warned the scandal could expose the force to a fine
totalling millions of dollars.
Leaked documents, seen by the Sunday Herald Sun, reveal it could
take police two decades to clear a backlog of hundreds of thousands of
fingerprint sets.
The documents blame a staff shortage for the dilemma.
"There are a number of fingerprints on the database that should have
been destroyed and this represents a risk to the Chief Commissioner through
contravention of the Crimes Act," the documents state.
Under the Act, fingerprints must be destroyed within six months if they do
not give rise to criminal charges, although police may apply to the courts
for an extension.
Failure to destroy a set of prints carries a fine of up to $1000.
The State Opposition estimates that between 400,000 and 500,000 fingerprints
that should have been destroyed remain on file with Victoria Police.
Opposition police spokesman Kim Wells said: "The Victoria Police is an
organisation you would expect to abide by the law, so I'm gobsmacked by
this."
The documents say that specialist forensic officers have been called in to
help clear the backlog, raising fears that progress on major criminal
investigations has suffered.
Victoria Police has allocated two extra staff members to help tackle the
problem.
A police spokesman said: "It is about priorities. Our main one is
processing forensic evidence to get criminals off our streets.
"A strategy is in place to rectify the situation. We take our
legislative responsibilities very seriously."
A spokesperson for Police Minister Tim Holding said: "The Bracks
Government expects Victoria Police to comply with all elements of the
legislation regarding fingerprint destruction."
The documents say measures are in place to stop the prints, which date back
as far as 1994, being used.
Det-Supt Paul Sheridan backs warnings from the Forensic Services
Department's Fingerprint Branch manager that the Chief Commissioner is
breaking the law.
"I reiterate the comments . . . that the Chief Commissioner is in
contravention of the Crimes Act and could be subject to penalty," he
says in the documents.