POLICE PROCEDURE

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the minister representing the Minister for Police a question about police procedure.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. BRESSINGTON: My questions are:

1. Under what circumstances would police refuse to take a police incident report when a serious assault has occurred?

2. If a person who is wrongfully arrested was the victim of a serious assault, can that person, once released, lodge a police incident report?

3. What powers do the police have to compel a suspect to participate in a line up?

4. Are the police required to give either their name or badge number when requested by a constituent who believes they have been harshly or unfairly treated?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (14:50): I believe in relation to the latter that there are legal requirements on police officers, and they are certainly covered by police operating procedures, but I will refer that question to the police minister, who can get that information from the police commissioner. In relation to the first question, clearly, I think to have a proper answer to that question one would need to know the context in which that question was asked; in other words, the circumstances of any particular situation. Obviously, when people sometimes make accusations against police their version of events may differ significantly from the perspective that police officers would take. In relation to that latter question, I am happy to refer that to the police minister. To properly answer that, one would need to know the context in which the events occurred which have given rise to the question.