Individual bullying won’t be probed

A former police officer says he has ‘‘lost all hope’’ in an independent review into bullying within the police after discovering it will not investigate or make findings about individual complaints.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush last week announced the review into the systems and processes police have in place to address bullying complaints.

The review will be undertaken by Debbie Francis, an experienced consultant and independent external reviewer. On Tuesday, the terms of reference were put on the police website.

The document says the scope will include assessing police systems and processes against the State Services Commission’s model standards for positive and safe workplaces, as well as WorkSafe’s guidelines on preventing and responding to bullying at work.

The review will also compare the police rate with other public sector agencies. It will not investigate or make findings about any specific allegations of bullying or individual incidents.

The terms of reference said police culture had changed ‘‘significantly’’ over the past 10 years.

The changes were implemented as a result of the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct.

Former armed offenders squad member John Woodward, who was told to retract his statements on alleged police bullying after going public, said he was ‘‘pretty gutted’’ with the terms of reference.

‘‘I think it is going to completely miss the point, in my opinion. How are they going to fix the mistakes of the past if they won’t look backwards?

‘‘I am not interested in heads rolling but just make some findings on that and use it as an example of what not to do.’’

Woodward was also concerned the review was not looking at police culture.

‘‘I have lost all hope in the review to be quite honest.

‘‘There is no reviewing the culture ... the culture is the problem not the process.’’

In announcing the review last week, Bush said there was ‘‘no place for bullying’’ in the police.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority is also investigating after receiving several ‘‘specific’’ complaints of bullying.