Cover up culture
An insidious cover up culture exists within police, government departments, regulatory bodies, universities and corporations. If you are mistreated or suffer an injustice and lodge a complaint, chances are it will be excused, ignored or covered up by an unscrupulous manager (or senior police officer). The wrongdoing might stem from an innocent mistake but the cover up is intentional, which is despicable.
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Unscrupulous managers
The type of person who is prepared to cover up a legitimate complaint is unscrupulous or a bully. Sadly, many current managers are like this. They know there is very little you can do about it, and even if you took things further, nothing would happen to them.
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Why are there so many unscrupulous managers?
Upper management rewards managers who minimize problems, which benefits managers who are prepared to cover up wrongdoing. Also, an unscrupulous culture is a cancer that rots an organization. It attracts the unscrupulous and at the same time repels decent people. Over time the entire management is corrupted.
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Managers try to justify being unscrupulous
Like all bullies unscrupulous managers will do whatever they can to avoid accepting responsibility for their wrongdoing. One tactic is to try and justify their unscrupulous behaviour by claiming that many complaints are frivolous, but it is not right to dismiss all complaints just because some complaints are frivolous. If a manager is unable to determine which complaints are frivolous and which complaints are legitimate, they are unfit to be a manager.
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Unscrupulous managers will blame the lawyers
If managers or senior police officers choose to take advice from a lawyer they are still responsible for their actions, they should have taken advice from better lawyers. It is just another tactic to blame someone else for their unscrupulous behaviour.
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The solution is simple
There has to be serious consequences for any manager who excuses, ignores or covers up a complaint because they enable the wrongdoing It does not matter how minor the wrongdoing is, the cover up itself is inexcusable. They should be instantly prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Over time the unscrupulous managers will be replced by decent managers.
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Unscrupulous managers deserve no leniency
Most people are decent, they would refuse to cover up any wrongdoing, especially if it caused someone else to suffer. But an unscrupulous manager does not care about the suffering of others. They only care about themselves, and they will go to extraordinary lengths to do so, they will even resort to threats.
Justice Matters has evidence against 2 senior NSW police officers who threatened a member of the public with prison if he continued to follow up on complaints that they themselves had covered up using false pretenses. It is these 2 police officers that should be in prison, they deserve no leniency.
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We also have evidence of a superintendent acting on behalf of the commissioner's office who used false pretenses to cover up a perversion of justice by NSW police officers, and threats used by government department heads and CEOs in an attempt to stop complaints from being followed up on.
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Some examples of what should be done
Justice Matters accepts that some people might consider the measures below to be too extreme, but there are others who feel they do not go far enough. Especially the victims of injustice, whose suffering has been covered up or ignored by an unscrupulous manager.
For those who feel the measures go too far, please consider that one day it might be you or a loved one whose life has been torn apart by an unscrupulous manager or senior police officer who covered up wrongdoing.
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Putting aside whether or not the measures are too extreme, the important consideration is that they would make a much needed difference, because regrettably, the examples below are merely the tip of the iceberg.
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Senior police officers
Senior police officers who cover up misconduct complaints betray the enormous trust we place in them because they enable police abuse. These senior officers should be instantly dismissed and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It would only take 1 senior officer to be prosecuted to send an emphatic message to the rest.
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Protecting whistleblowers
If any regulatory body has been found to have not acted on legitimate complaints by whistleblowers, the individuals responsible for the cover up should be prosecuted.
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The Independent Commission Against Corruption
ICAC found that Gladys Berejiklian was seriously corrupt but decided against prosecution because they lacked evidence, even though they had recorded conversations. The person responsible in ICAC should be prosecuted for the cover up.
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State Archives and Records Authority
SARA found Gladys Berejiklian’s office acted illegally, but decided not to refer the matter for prosecution. Berejiklian’s office did not act illegally it was someone in the office who should have been prosecuted.
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The person responsible in SARA should be held to account. If they were unable to identify who acted illegally then they should be dismissed because they are unable to do their job. If they did identify who should be prosecuted, then they themselves should be prosecuted for the cover up.
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NSW Civil & Administrative Tribunal
Justice Matters has evidence against NCAT’s Chief Registrar for covering up and ignoring complaints about NCAT members’ bias, bullying and gross miscarriages of justice. The Chief Registrar should be dismissed and prosecuted.
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Government departments
There are public servants who engage in bullying, it happens so often there is a term for it “public servants with power”. But it could easily be fixed. The managers who cover up for them should be dismissed and prosecuted wherever possible.
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Regulatory bodies
Regulatory bodies play a vital role in our justice system by offering quick and affordable resolutions, but they often reject legitimate complaints, and managers cover up appeals. These managers should be dismissed and prosecuted wherever possible.
Justice Matters' campaign to end insidious cover up culture
Accountability for unscrupulous managers & senior police, because without personal liability we will never have justice!
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There is no such thing as a corrupt organization there are only individuals within an organization who do the wrong thing.
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Unfortunately, organizations are littered with unscrupulous managers (and senior police officers) who are prepared to cover up the wrongdoing.
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The problem exists across all organizations including the police, government departments, regulatory bodies, universities and corporations.
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These unscrupulous managers deserve no leniency, because they enable the wrongdoing. They should be instantly dismissed and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.