It has recently been alleged that the NSW Police has a culture
of bullying and harassment. The allegation made by both former and
current officers is that the internal complaints system is being
misused to target "good" officers. It is a timely
reminder for leaders to reflect on whether their organisation's
culture post-pandemic has remained consistent across all teams.
More broadly, organisations should take active steps to audit and
rectify workplace cultural issues rather than await adverse
reporting.
Complaints system failure
The NSW Police policy of mandatory reporting of misconduct has
resulted in hundreds of complaints being made by police against
their colleagues some of which have no merit and are allegedly
being used as a weapon to bully employees. It appears that because
complaints are handled within the Local Area Command or police
district, there is the risk of collusion which means the outcome of
complaints of bullying and harassment is often unfair.
