The final report into the Lawyer X scandal has recommended for the conduct of former police informant Nicola Gobbo and relevant Victoria Police officers to be referred to a Special Investigator.
Royal Commissioner Margaret McMurdo handed her final report to Victorian Governor Linda Dessau this morning before it was tabled in Parliament.
The report, which extensively examined the conduct of the former gangland barrister, comes 127 days after the inquiry began.
https://twitter.com/Eliza_Rugg9/status/1333232974985248768In the report, Commissioner McMurdo said the Special Investigator would consider whether there was sufficient evidence for Ms Gobbo, and the police members involved, to be criminally charged or disciplined.
"The Commission recommends that the conduct of Ms Gobbo and relevant current and former Victoria Police officers be referred to a Special Investigator, to consider whether there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against them, and/or disciplinary charges in the case of current Victoria Police officers," the report read.
"The Commission's recommendations aim to enable and support Victoria Police in its work to protect the community from criminal activity and protect the rights of individual citizens, while strengthening the operation of, and public confidence in, Victoria's criminal justice system."
A suite of reforms and a total of 111 recommendations were made, including increasing accountability and transparency in Victoria Police's use and management of human sources, establishing a model of independent external oversight, reinforcing police disclosure obligations and improving aspects of legal profession regulation.
The report also proposed governance and monitoring measures to ensure Victoria Police and other relevant agencies implemented these reforms "in an effective and timely way".
The Royal Commission previously found Ms Gobbo's role as a police informant, where she informed against her own clients, may have affected more than 1000 cases in the criminal justice system.
The new findings could see more gangland criminals have their convictions overturned, who were subjects of Ms Gobbo's informing.
Many criminals have launched appeals since the commission came to an end, with two clients being acquitted of their crimes.
Zlate Cvetanovski was acquitted of drug trafficking convictions last month, after he spent more than a decade in jail, while Faruk Orman was set free last year.
Ms McMurdo said while the community may see Victoria Police's ability to secure convictions against people accused of committing "serious violent and drug-related offences" - with Ms Gobbo's assistance - as a "positive outcome", it undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system.
"That view, while understandable, overlooks the far-reaching and detrimental consequences of the conduct of Ms Gobbo and Victoria Police," she said in the report.
Ms McMurdo said both of Ms Gobbo's former clients, who were acquitted of their crimes, had been "deprived of their liberty, spending many years in prison after unfair trials".
"Numerous other people are seeking to appeal their convictions," she said.
"There have been many court proceedings and inquiries, at great public expense, and there are likely to be more.
"These events have put at risk the integrity of the criminal justice system, harmed the reputation of the legal profession, and diminished public confidence in Victoria Police."
More to come.
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