Taskforce Salus was last year spruiked by senior police as proof the force could investigate its own and gathered momentum from the #metoo movement. But the case involving the high-ranking female officer, whom Fairfax Media has not named for legal reasons, has led some within Taskforce Salus to raise accusations that senior police may have inappropriately intervened in the case. However, senior police sources insist the decision to admonish the senior officer and direct her to seek counselling was more appropriate than the sacking, demotion or other tough penalties recommended by Taskforce Salus. It is understood Taskforce Salus advised that the power imbalance involving a senior officer having a secret relationship with a subordinate under her direct command raised serious integrity issues and had the potential to bring the force into disrepute.

At least one other allegation involving suspected predatory behaviour and the same senior female officer was also raised with Salus. In February, after the case was closed in the face of protests from Taskforce Salus members, IBAC received allegations about the handling of the case. The decision to hand down a lesser penalty was made by now disgraced ex-assistant commissioner Brett Guerin, who quit the force earlier this year after he admitted to posting racist and highly inappropriate remarks on social media. The Age can also reveal Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton received a formal complaint in February 2018 from the wife of a sergeant who was serving as a staff officer to the senior female police officer. The relationship between the sergeant and the female officer ended before Taskforce Salus began investigating in August 2017. “I have no confidence in the disciplinary process… due to the assessment process of higher command. Connections should never bail out a member's misconduct,” the wife wrote to Mr Ashton on 16 February 2018.

“I am a senior manager of a private company and also a member on several boards; this behaviour would not be tolerated, it not only nurtures and condones a culture of bad behaviour but impacts the integrity and professional development of a company…I question whether the outcome would have been different if she was a male.” Ten days later, Mr Ashton publicly played down suggestions of inappropriate conduct within senior police ranks and appealed for anyone with “concrete information” about such conduct to contact Taskforce Salus. A police spokesperson said: “We cannot comment on individual matters, however it is not uncommon for investigators and the AC Professional Standards Command to have differing views on appropriate sanctions and outcomes.” “As part of an independent process, it is important that investigators are not judge and jury on the cases they personally investigate to ensure objectivity.” The spokesperson also said the complaint sent to Mr Ashton “was referred to IBAC at the time.”

The case is the second in which concerned police have contacted IBAC to raise concerns about the handling of misconduct matters by more senior officers. Police have alleged that conflicts of interest were not disclosed surrounding the relationship between a female civilian police employee and at least one high ranking policeman. When investigators sought to investigate this civilian police employee over a relatively minor criminal matter and seized her phone, they discovered its entire contents had been wiped via a factory reset. The civilian employee has insisted this was done not to undermine any investigation but because she wished to delete unflattering photos. The two cases raise fresh questions about the ability of the force to investigate its own, especially when it comes to complex or sensitive matters involving personal relationships between senior and junior police.

The Victorian Parliamentary committee which oversees the operations of IBAC on Tuesday released a report recommending the agency establish a separate, specialist police corruption unit to better investigate complaints. The committee made a series of sweeping recommendations to beef up IBAC's search and seizure powers and make it an offence to conceal information from the agency. "The current system in Victoria for the handling of complaints and disclosures about police is extremely complex. It is based on an intricate, overlapping, and sometimes fraying, patchwork of laws," the report concluded. Loading Got a tip? email The Age's investigative unit via this encrypted, secure online system