Bruce Lehrmann never would have been charged if it wasn’t for the publicity surrounding the case because the ACT police were “undercharging” and had a “bizarre” approach to sex cases, an inquiry has heard.
Former NSW prosecutor Mark Tedeschi SC asserted that underlined the “bizarre” approach of police.
“It was a case overwhelmingly in need of charging,” Mr Tedeschi told the inquiry, without commenting on the outcome of the case.
Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold’s barrister Mark Tedeschi told the board of inquiry today that ACT police were generally “undercharging” when it came to sexual assault matters, and if Brittany Higgins’ allegation of sexual assault had not received publicity, that it might not have resulted in a charge.
Without the media coverage Brittany Higgins would have faced same fate as hundreds of other complainants, an inquiry has heard. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
“We want to prove that is true: That they did have this attitude to sex cases generally mostly, and that this was a classic example of it,” he said.
“Had it not been for all the publicity, had it not been that the alleged offence occurred in Parliament House, this matter would have been dealt with like the other. I think it’s 250 matters that have been in effect just ignored by the police.”
Mr Tedeschi has submitted to a board of inquiry that the approach of police was clearly an issue and underlined by data.
Board of inquiry chairman Walter Sofronoff KC asked Mr Tedeschi if those concerns over undercharging informed the tensions with police.
Mark Tedeschi KC is representing director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman
“I’ve heard evidence and people are aware that at least during the course of the conduct of the criminal proceedings, relations between Mr Drumgold and AFP generally were poor,’’ Mr Sofronoff said.
Mr Tedeschi said it was his submission that police were undercharging sex cases.
“You want to go wider and say, ‘well, one of the reasons Mr Drumgold felt the way he did and behaved the way he did in some respects was because he had some knowledge about the approach police at the AFP took to charging suspects in sexual offences cases,’’ Mr Sofronoff continued.
“And whether that perception was right or not, it was a perception grounded upon objective facts.
“And that opinion informed his attitude towards how police were working, and whether they were working well or badly in relation to sexual offences. Is that how it runs?”
Mr Tedeschi asked Mr Lehrmann’s defence barrister Steve Whybrow SC if he was aware of the problem.
“And so as part of your involvement in the Bar Association, were you aware that suggestions have been made in both the media and also within government administration circles, that there was a suggestion that police had been undercharging in the ACT in sex cases,” Mr Tedeschi asked.
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer, Steve Whybrow, was questioned about how sex cases in the ACT are handled. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage
“No, the first I was aware of that suggestion was in the course of reading evidence to this inquiry,‘” Mr Whybrow responded.
Mr Sofronoff reminded lawyers present today that he was not holding an inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann‘s guilt or innocence.
“I‘m not interested in whether Mr Lehrmann is guilty or not guilty. I’m not interested in Miss Higgins.
“And consequently, however, I have to deal with the question whether the charge should have been brought,’’ he said.
“Is anybody going to be submitting that the charge was not properly brought?
“Nobody has suggested to him the contrary. And I don’t read in the police evidence that any witness asserts to the contrary.”
Police undercharging alleged rapes in Canberra
In his own submission to the inquiry, Mr Drumgold said that from his first involvement in R v Lehrmann, “my views in relation to the conduct of the AFP officers’ investigations of sexual assault offences developed and changed.”
“Generally speaking, the investigations in which I was involved or oversaw, before 2021 appeared to me to have been carried out reasonably appropriately,’’ he said.
“There were some exceptions, but I did not consider there to be a widespread or systematic problem.”
However a review uncovered data suggesting there was an issue.
The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Steering Committee was established following “a tripartisan commitment to take action to prevent and respond to sexual assault in Canberra.”
“What emerged in 2021, through the SAPR Review process, was that a large number of investigations appeared to have been terminated pre-emptively,’’ Mr Drumgold said.
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“There were large numbers of complaints that did not proceed to charge … the overwhelming majority,” Mr Drumgold said. “I’d never seen figures like that … they alarmed me.”
The ACT’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Steering Committee report was entitled ‘Listen: Take action to prevent, believe and heal’.