South Australian Consolidated Acts

POLICE (COMPLAINTS AND DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS) ACT 1985 - SECT 32

32—Authority to make assessment and recommendations in relation to investigations by internal investigation branch

        (1)         Where the Authority receives from the Commissioner under section 31 a report of the investigation or further investigation of a matter by the internal investigation branch, he or she must consider the report and any comments of the Commissioner attached to the report and, subject to subsection (2), must, by writing, notify the Commissioner of—

            (a)         his or her assessment of whether—

                  (i)         any conduct of a designated officer—

                        (A)         constituted an offence or breach of discipline or was contrary to law; or

                        (B)         was unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory; or

                        (C)         was in accordance with a rule of law, a provision of an enactment or a practice, procedure or policy, being a rule, provision, practice, procedure or policy that is or may be unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or improperly discriminatory; or

                        (D)         was based either wholly or partly on a mistake of law or of fact; or

                  (ii)         a designated officer exercised a discretionary power for an improper purpose or on irrelevant grounds; or

                  (iii)         in a case where the conduct to which the investigation relates comprised or included a decision by a designated officer to exercise a discretionary power in a particular manner or to refuse to exercise such a power—

                        (A)         irrelevant considerations were taken into account in the course of reaching the decision to exercise the power in that manner or to refuse to exercise the power, as the case may be; or

                        (B)         the complainant in respect of the investigation or some other person was entitled at law to have been furnished, but was not furnished, with the reasons for deciding to exercise the power in that manner or to refuse to exercise the power, as the case may be; and

            (b)         his or her recommendations as to whether—

                  (i)         action should be taken—

                        (A)         to charge a designated officer with an offence or breach of discipline; or

                        (B)         to reconsider, vary or reverse a decision or to provide reasons for a decision; or

                        (C)         to rectify, mitigate or alter the effects of a decision, act or omission; or

                        (D)         to alter a rule of law, a provision of an enactment or a practice, procedure or policy on which a decision, act or omission was based; or

                  (ii)         any other action should be taken in relation to the matter; or

                  (iii)         no action should be taken in relation to the matter.

        (2)         Despite the provisions of subsection (1), the Authority may, if he or she considers that the matter has not been adequately investigated, in addition to or instead of making an assessment and recommendations under that subsection—

            (a)         refer the matter back to the Commissioner for further investigation; or

            (b)         make a determination under section 23(1) that the matter should be investigated by the Authority.

        (3)         Where a matter is referred to the Commissioner under subsection (2)(a), the Commissioner must refer the matter to the internal investigation division for further investigation.