Eject the bad apples

THERE are few more fundamental betrayals of colleagues than that perpetrated by corrupt police.

Policing is already a complicated and dangerous enough job that pits officers against some of the most brutal and ruthless people in society.

But you add the actions of a corrupt few to the mix and the job of policing becomes completely fraught.

Claims in Geelong court of a veteran local police officer essentially ‘running interference’ as a favour to a Rebels bikie figure should concern us all.

Of course it’s up to the courts to decide whether he is guilty or innocent.

The Rebels have been in Geelong for years.

They are not our proudest achievement.

In fact the overwhelming majority of us would cheer if the authorities were to raze their local compound to the ground.

Like all outlaw clubs the Rebels like to emphasise how they are motorcycle enthusiasts without firm provable links to crime.

And like all outlaw clubs there is the regular march of key players through the courts over the crimes they are suspected of committing.

It is clear these clubs hold some appeal to young men looking for thrills, allegiance to some sort of code, danger, and the brotherhood of similar-minded blokes.

But these clubs just use up these young men, ruin their lives and spit them out.

The Rebels may be less ostentatious in their lawbreaking than gangs like the Comancheros but that does not make them any less sinister.

It is the nature of some investigative policing to seek to wheel and deal with information in order to parlay smaller criminal arrests into bigger ones.

But our sworn officers need to remember how charming or down to earth criminal figures seen they need to be handled like plutonium.

The old saying applies: He who sups with the devil should have a long spoon.

Police owe it to their colleagues and the community to remember which side they’re fighting for.