The evidence to the parliamentary inquiry over a police bugging scandal has exposed "alarming divisions" in the NSW Police force and an independent judicial inquiry may be required, NSW Labor says.
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Deputy Premier Troy Grant, a former police officer, insists the explosive hearings involving NSW Police's top brass will not diminish the force's performance.
Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas has told the inquiry a police internal affairs unit that subjected him and his family to two years of intensive surveillance carried out "massive wrong doing and habitual illegal acts". He said no accusation was ever made against him. The operation was run a decade ago by his fellow deputy Catherine Burn and was overseen by current commissioner Andrew Scipione.
On Friday, Mr Kaldas criticised NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour's investigation into the bugging, saying he was "denigrated" and "humiliated".
Labor's justice spokesman, Paul Lynch, said the hearings had revealed "alarming divisions within the NSW Police".
"There are serious questions here for the Premier and the Police Minister [Stuart Ayers] as to what action they are taking to ensure our police service is operating effectively," he said.
Mr Lynch said Labor would await the findings of the parliamentary inquiry before calling for further action which "may include the need for a judicial inquiry".
Other recommendations the parliamentary inquiry could canvass include an official apology to those inappropriately targeted by the operation, and an investigation into the actions of the Supreme Court, which authorised the bugging, despite later revelations that the warrants issued included the name of a journalist and police never accused of wrongdoing.
On Friday morning Mr Grant, a former police officer, refused to answer questions about whether the government's faith in the state's top police had been shaken.
"Nick Kaldas is a man I respect and admire. He's a friend of mine … a man of unshakeable integrity," Mr Grant said.
"Anything where there's disharmony – or alleged disharmony – is not good for anyone. Let's the evidence lay where it is and judge it when it's fully presented.
"While this incident and these proceedings are unpleasant there is no reduction in the capacity of the NSW Police force."
Greens' justice spokesman David Shoebridge, a member of the committee conducting the inquiry, said the matters raised were "deeply troubling" and deserved urgent attention.
"Any conclusions however can only be drawn after the totality of the evidence has been received and reviewed," he said.
Michael Kennedy, a former police officer who is now a policing academic at the University of Western Sydney, predicted the revelations would trigger healing of old grievances in the police force.
"I think it will be rather a cathartic experience and probably it will bring closure," he said, saying the incident had forced people throughout the force to "take sides".
He said the incident had become politicised and both the state Coalition and Labor must accept "this has been a mess … there have been major problems and they need to stop protecting the status quo".
Dr Kennedy said the scandal raised questions about the transparency of the legal system, political appointment of the judiciary and the conduct of the Ombudsman's office.
