Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement's report on its examination of the annual reports of the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

by leave—The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement has a statutory duty to examine the annual reports of the ACC and the AFP. The committee has had a longstanding responsibility to examine the annual report of the Australian Crime Commission. However, this was only the second opportunity for the committee to examine the annual report of the AFP since the committee's jurisdiction was widened in 2010. The committee held public hearings with both the Australian Crime Commission and the Australian Federal Police and appreciates the ongoing level of engagement with committee proceedings demonstrated by both agencies. The committee congratulates the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police on another successful year in law enforcement.

The committee recognises that close cooperation between law enforcement agencies across the various jurisdictions is fundamental to the effective combating of crime. Therefore, the committee was interested to gauge the nature of this relationship through the annual reports review process.

In terms of initiatives which provide for greater cooperation, the ACC has established a presence in each state and territory, which enables the respective police agencies to be briefed on the ACC's capability whilst also improving the flow of information to the ACC itself, which is very important for the establishment and maintenance of its criminal intelligence databases. The Australian Federal Police also places great emphasis on its relationships with its counterparts. Part of the AFP's efforts to refocus its attentions on the reinvigoration of investigation and operational capabilities in 2010-11 went to improving the relationships with various national and international counterparts. As chair of the committee, I have very much noticed the change in the focus of the AFP. The committee notes that it is certainly being seen to be working in considerable partnership with each of the state and territory law enforcement agencies. As a result of those partnerships, significant inroads have been made into the detection and prosecution of serious and organised crime.

The importance of cooperation is also reflected in the nature of crime investigations, with joint investigations becoming increasingly common. Fifty-four per cent of serious and organised crime investigations were conducted under a formalised joint agency agreement established on January 2012. The remaining 46 per cent comprised joint investigations but without formal agreement. The committee recognises that cooperation in the fight against serious and organised crime has taken on a heightened importance given that Australia has become a more attractive target for international criminal groups as it is no longer isolated from or immune to world trends.

Whilst considering trends and changes in criminal activity, the annual reports examination process also provided the committee with an opportunity to consider the efficiency of internal agency procedures. One area of particular interest to the committee is the timeliness of complaint handling by the Australian Federal Police. The committee appreciates that the AFP has taken measures to improve the time it takes to deal with complaints since the committee reported on the matter in its last annual report examination. However, the Ombudsman's most recent report noted a continued deterioration in timeliness in this respect. The committee is concerned about the deterioration in the average time taken for complaints to be handled and recommends that the AFP's annual report include the average number of days taken to resolve cases for each category of complaint. The addition of this information will enable the committee to monitor the timeliness of complaint resolution. The committee appreciates the advances made by the Australian Crime Commission and Australian Federal Police over the past year, and I am therefore very happy to commend the committee's report to the House. In closing, could I also pay regard to the very hardworking secretariat of this joint committee. Under the guidance of the then secretary, Mr Jon Bell, and the senior research officer, Bill Bannear, I think significant inroads were made into the committee's ability to investigate into—but, more importantly, work in cooperation with—these two very fine law enforcement organisations. Both Mr Bell and Mr Bannear have, since this report has been published, taken on other roles. I wish them well and I thank them for the commitment and dedication that they offered whilst they were working for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement. I note that you, Madam Deputy Speaker Grierson, are also a member of that committee. I thank you for your role in that. I commend the report to the House.