The Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service has renewed its call to strengthen police oversight measures in the state to end abuses of power.
A 2022 report from Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission found "concerning patterns in current processes" regarding Victoria Police's handling of complaints made against police by Aboriginal people.
In an audit of 41 complaints made, which involved a total of 63 allegations of misconduct, IBAC revealed just three were determined to be substantiated by Victoria Police.
They included two examples of inappropriate language and one concerning duty failure.
Despite being the most common allegation, the report found no complaints alleging assault were substantiated by police as well as "concerning indications" of bias or lack of impartiality from subject officers in 22 per cent of their audited files, and bias from investigators in 41 per cent of files.
Deficiencies in managing conflicts of interest were highlighted. In some cases, investigators worked at the same station as the officer or officers subject to investigations.
The audit did not re-investigate complaints, only presented the numbers.
Over 40 per cent of the files examined by IBAC involved people 17 years old or younger.
"The persistence of extremely low substantiation rates is a significant deterrent to Aboriginal people making complaints about police, and can undermine efforts to build trust and confidence in the police complaints system among Aboriginal people," the report said.
IBAC's report found "little evidence" of investigators using dedicated resources established by Victoria Police to improve relationships and communication between police and Aboriginal communities.
VALS chief executive and Yorta Yorta and Narrandjeri woman Nerita Waight told National Indigenous Times independent oversight is required now.
"There can be no more delays. There can be no more police investigating police. It is time for accountability," she said.
VALS are among a group of bodies and community lawyers calling for the establishment of a police ombudsman in the state.
Through their Police and Prison Accountability Practice Wirraway VALS works to mitigate issues disproportionately impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
"But it's difficult to achieve justice when Victoria has no effective police oversight," VALS said in a statement last week.
"We are pushing the Victorian Government to implement an independent oversight system now.
"Because a legal system without police accountability can never deliver justice."
A Victorian government spokesperson told National Indigenous Times work is being undertaken to improve the state's police oversight system "to ensure it is strong, transparent, and meets the needs of all Victorians".
"A final decision on a model has not yet been reached -- because it's vital we take the time to get these important reforms right," they said.
The government are recruiting for a new IBAC Commissioner to strengthen consultation with IBAC on reforms.
The Commissioner operates as an independent officer of Parliament.
Former chief executive of the Sentencing Advisory Council, Stephen Farrow, was appointed acting Commissioner in December.
"In the meantime, our government has increased funding and support for the critical work undertaken by IBAC - which includes its police oversight functions," the state government spokesperson said.
The Victorian government is currently undertaking a systematic review of police oversight in line with recommendations from both the Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants - published in 2020, and 2018 IBAC Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria.
