CAPÍTULO II: MARCO REFERENCIAL
2.1.1 Antecedentes Históricos
Part 8A of the Police Act 1990 provides that a person may make a complaint about the conduct of a police officer to the Commissioner, the Ombudsman or the Police Integrity Commission. Conduct is defined broadly and may include allegations relating to the misuse of Tasers by police – including criminal conduct, unreasonable conduct and perceived or actual breaches of policies, practices or procedures.
The Commissioner must notify the Ombudsman of any complaints specified in guidelines agreed between the Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commissioner. These guidelines currently specify a range of complaints that must be notified including:
Any unreasonable conduct involving the use, discharge or safe keeping of police issued weapons including firearms, Tasers, OC Spray and batons, including but not limited to breaches of relevant NSWPF standard operating procedures, guidelines or policies.31
The Ombudsman can require the NSWPF to investigate a complaint and to provide him with a copy of the investigation report. If the Ombudsman is not satisfied that the complaint has been investigated in a timely and effective manner, he may require that it be further investigated and the actions taken reconsidered. The Ombudsman may at any time investigate the complaint directly or prepare a report to the Commissioner of Police and the Minister of Police to make recommendations about the matter.
Endnotes
1. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010.
2. Taser International, TASER CAM™ <www.taser.com/products/on-officer-video/taser-cam> accessed 24 July 2012.
3. NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release July 2012), section 1.9, p. 9.
4. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010; Mares, J., ‘Taser Video Management: VIEW Imagery Management System – [email protected] Integration: Concept Discussion’ (presented at a meeting between senior NSWPF officers and NSW Ombudsman staff on 9 December 2010).
5. Taser International, TASER CAM™ <www.taser.com/products/on-officer-video/taser-cam> accessed 24 July 2012. A more advanced model of the Taser (X2) can be fitted with an improved recorder, ‘TASER CAM HD’. The Taser Cam HD records coloured videos at 30 frames per second at 1280 x 720 resolution, and is also sensitive to poor lighting conditions: Taser International, TASER CAM™ HD <www.taser.com/ products/on-officer-video/taser-cam-hd> accessed 24 July 2012.
6. Taser International, TASER® X26™ ECD <www.taser.com/products/law-enforcement/taser-x26-ecd#features accessed> 24 July 2012. 7. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a
notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010.
8. Letter from Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman, 19 January 2012 – enclosure entitled ‘NSW Police Force draft response’.
9. NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release July 2012), section 1.17, p. 10.
10. Taser International, TASER® X26™ ECD <www.taser.com/products/law-enforcement/taser-x26-ecd#features accessed> 24 July 2012; NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release July 2012), section 1.17, p. 10.
11. Taser International, TASER® Cartridges <www.taser.com/products/law-enforcement/taser-cartridges> accessed 24 July 2012.
12. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010.
13. NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release July 2012), Annexure C; letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010. 14. NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18,
(approved for release July 2012), section 7.1, p.19. 15. ibid, sections 9.1, 7.13, pp. 20, 22.
16. The six policing regions are: Central Metropolitan Region, North West Metropolitan Region, South West Metropolitan Region, Northern Region, Southern Region and Western Region.
17. NSW Police Force, Region Taser Review Panel Standard Operating Procedures, version 1.3, 25 October 2010. 18. NSW Police Force, Regional Taser Review Record, version 1.01 (undated).
19. NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release July 2012), sections 13.1–13.2, p. 23.
20. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman, 22 August 2012. 21. NSW Police Force, NSW Police Force Handbook, 30 May 2012, p. 27.
22. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010.
23. NSW Police Force, Commissioner’s Policy Notice 12/12: Taser Use in Mental Health Facilities, version 1.2 dated January 2012, issued in June 2012, p. 1 (emphasis in original).
24. ibid, p. 1.
25. Taser International, TASER International, Inc.’s Warranty, Limitations and Release: Law Enforcement Products – International Sales (Non-U.S. and Canada) (Effective January 17, 2012),17 January 2012.
26. Western Australia Police, Post Implementation Review of Taser, May 2010.
27. Letter from Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, NSW Police Force, to Bruce Barbour, Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman (in response to a notice issued under s. 18 of the Ombudsman Act 1974), 13 December 2010.
28. Hansard, NSW Legislative Council, 7 September 2011, p. 5055. See also NSW Government, Budget Paper No.4: Infrastructure Statement 2011–12, pp. 4–10.
29. Letter from Deputy Commissioner, Field Operations, Nick Kaldas APM, NSW Police Force, to Linda Waugh, Deputy Ombudsman, NSW Ombudsman, 14 May 2012.
30. An extended spark test involves performing three successive spark tests in a row in order to identify if the battery life of a Taser has
degraded: NSW Police Force, Standard Operating Procedures for use of Electronic Control (TASER) Devices by the NSW Police Force, version 1.18, (approved for release in July 2012), section 1.16, p. 10.
31. NSW Ombudsman and the Police Integrity Commission, Guidelines Agreed Between the Police Integrity Commission and the Ombudsman After Consultation with the Commissioner of Police Under the Police Act 1990, 1 December 2010 (effective 1 February 2011), clause 13, p. 6.