Qld Police Commissioner Stewart‏

An interesting email received:

Commissioner Stewart is currently under investigation by the Anti-discrimination Commission for acts of reprisal against police officer, Senior Constable Lyn Jones for participating in a public interest disclosure.

The public interest disclosure concerned a forensic officer from the Fingerprint Bureau Brisbane stealing from a crime scene.  The incident was reported to senior management at the Fingerprint Bureau, Inspector Brendan Keleher and Inspector Tony Carstensen, who then bullied staff not to report the incident as they had both applied for promotion and "didn't want anything interferring in their promotional prospects".  

After disclosing the incident to Ethical Standard Command, S/C Jones was advised by Senior Sergeant Blair Webber at the Fingerprint Bureau that the senior officers were "drumming up" complaints against her to "get rid of her".  Five (5) months later S/C Jones was managerially transferred from the fingerprint bureau under allegations of complaints made against her.  One (1) month later she was suspended without pay in relation to false complaints submitted by Sergeant David Reece, Sergeant Waldo Kowalsky and S/Sgt Blair Webber of the fingerprint bureau. 

The complaints were investigated by Inspector Ray Rohweder who is a known associate and mate of S/Sgt Webber.  Rohweder was also under investigation, at that time, for threating and bullying staff.  After being found guilty of these offences, Rohweder was managerially transferred from Ethical Standard Command, but made sure he took S/C Jones' disciplinary file with him.   Rohweder then continued to "drum up" complaints against her. 

Three (3) years later S/C Jones is still suspended without pay on false complaints.  To date, her disciplinary file is over 1000 pages as Inspector Rohweder collects statements from "rent a crowd".  

CMC advised S/C Jones in March 2012 that "from the documents ESC had provided it was quite obvious that the QPS was trying to get rid of her as she had been labelled a 'trouble maker' for being a whistleblower". 

The public should hear not only about the bad cops, but what happens to the good cops who dob them in.  Officer who particpate in a public interest disclosures and tell the truth get bastardised by management, receive death threats and labelled "dogs".   If we keep our mouths shut we get dismissed from the service for not dobbing them in.  In other words, we're dammed if we do and dammed if we don't. 

But S/C Jones is not one for being bullied by the "boys club" and has submitted a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Commission for the QPS's acts of reprisal.   I wish her luck, but she's more likely to "disappear" like S/Sgt Mike Isles before they'll let her win.