It was 2016, when my email notification pinged.
It was an email from the “Right to information unit” after I’d make an application to see how many police officers were accessing my private details on the police computer. I had very publicly been shining a light on some really horrific brutality incidents on the Gold Coast at the time,(which had instigated a review into the use of force called taskforce bletchley).
The document I received showed there had been over 1400 accesses to my name on the Qld Police data base called “Qprime”.
Keeping in mind, I had been seriously stalked by a police officer back in 2006 who eventually entered my home, and who had held my arms behind my back in handcuffs at a time when I was pregnant with my little boy, stating it was for an alleged traffic matter. He’d put his hands all over me and laughed at me as I both vomited and bled, and nothig was done by the QPS in response to this officer with a history. Absolutely nothing.
I had to sue them and him, self represented, as there wasn’t enough money in it for the lawyers at the time. The process of doing that was as traumatic as the assault itself, causing me a complete breakdown.
Perhaps that background explains why I cannot begin to articulate the anger, fear, anxiety, and overwhelm I experienced when my suspicions were confirmed in 2016 after receiving a document that showed particular officers had been searching my whereabouts on the police computer.
One officer in particular, had been looking at me for 6 years, and the reason why that raised alarm bells and so much angst for me, was that he was mates with the original officer, who I had taken successful action against, the one that had stalked and violated me. This officer looking me up was stationed over 2 hours away from my district, and had absolutely no reason to be searching me.
The fact that this was happening was all then exasperated, by what can only be described as a complete botched investigation into my complaint about these accesses to my private information. This was a road I had walked before, not only myself, but by the side of others. Police failing in investigations about themselves.
The protection racket fired up, commonly knows as the “double standards unit” at the QPS.
It was a woman that ran the investigation.
In my view there is nothing more disappointing than a woman who has fallen to her knees in order to make her way up or through the game of mates that exists within the QPS.
As a fellow woman, I want to let her know that what she did is worse than the ones who made these unlawful entries, because she was in a role to do something, to make a change, but instead for whatever reason, I say she deliberately covered for them. How is she not party to many offences people could ask? Well, because none of the ones she investigated were charged with any offence. She played the role of an enabler in my view.
The investigation revealed that only 2 officers were not justified to be looking at my private information. I know that is not true, no reasons where given to me for the rest, except that they apparently “forgot” were “retired” or “deceased”.
They are not all this way. Good and honest officers came forward to me with the truth about what was happening which I am incredibly grateful for.
As she no doubt now makes her way up the ranks for this outstanding effort, may my voice always ring in her head reminding her that she took the cheats way up. She let not only me down, but all women like me who have been violated. That is the legacy she leaves behind.
The response to her doing that is mine.
I spearheaded a 4 year campaign to make sure this never happens again.
Throughout those years I have been highlighting the plight of a woman who was a DV victim that had her details both accessed and released by a police officer.
No different to my case, the investigation into that woman’s predicament was completely botched in more ways the one.
The QPS bungling of the investigation and the repeated refusing to charge the officer involved was all too familiar to me, and I got right behind her because lets face it, there is nothing like personal experience to keep the fire in your belly alive.
I went to police headquarters attending a press conference to personally put the Police Commissioner on notice that I had questions that needed to be answered about all of this, effective immediately. I was told my QPS Media, I was not going to be welcomed back so again, and called a gatecrasher, so naturally, I responded in kind.
I wanted new laws implemented so that what I had been through and what this woman went through was not in vain.
I prepared a submission with recommendations, and gave very clear evidence at “IMPALA” an enquiry held by the Crime and Corruption Commission into data misuse. I left no stone unturned at that enquiry including calling out Commissioned officer who were throwing lower ranking officers under the bus for doing exactly what they were doing.
A change to the criminal code has now been proposed, and handed up to Parliament by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
It introduces a new Criminal Offence called
“Misuse of information by a public officer”
For accessing the information, they propose a 5 year term of imprisonment.
For using or disclosing the information, a proposed 10 year term of imprisonment.
I think these laws reflect the damage that is done to a person when they cannot feel safe in their own home and they are forced to leave in circumstances that can cause extreme trauma.
I have always said that you have to be part of the change you want to see, not just complain about things, and Im proud that I have been, under extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
I think it’s fair to say that a new law and change to the Criminal Code is not a bad result for a “gatecrashing former swimsuit model” just quietly.
The civil matters for all victims of this misuse remain open.
(Video of my evidence given, and questioning the Police Commissioner can be found on my facebook page following the link below).
https://www.facebook.com/381084902026303/videos/2465234550462820
https://www.facebook.com/381084902026303/videos/330436667855208
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