In the three years since a Victoria Police assistant commissioner was exposed as a racist, homophobic online troll, another 120 complaints have been made about the social media use of officers.
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The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission on Tuesday released its report into corruption and misconduct by former head of ethical standards Brett Guerin.
Mr Guerin quit the force in early 2018 after being linked to racist YouTube comments and inappropriate remarks about former police chief commissioner Christine Nixon and ex-Victorian Police Association boss Paul Mullett.
While IBAC found Mr Guerin had made "racist and homophobic" posts on social media under pseudonyms, no criminal charges were laid over the conduct.
It also found while the posts were generally offensive, they did not appear to reflect his personal views.
Mr Guerin used three pseudonyms - Vernon Demerest, Clive Howlett-Jones and Grange Callendar - to make hundreds of posts over two years, at least 70 of which could be deemed offensive, according to IBAC.
In one incident, he posted "inflammatory comments" on a Facebook page set up by the family of someone being investigated by police.
He also replied to a Facebook comment that an officer under investigation would not lose their job, where he said, "I wouldn't bet on that, cocko" under a pseudonym.
Mr Guerin later signed a disciplinary charge notice against the officer, who was ultimately dismissed.
He trolled people while "both on and off duty" and at times did it using Victoria Police's information technology systems.
His trolling extended to commenting on Victoria Police matters, sometimes with knowledge obtained in his role as assistant commissioner of its Professional Standards Command.
When commenting on police matters IBAC found "these posts were often favourable to Victoria Police".
The commission recommended Victoria Police overhaul its social media policies and recruitment systems.
However, as of June 2021, IBAC said it had received 120 allegations related to police use of social media since 2018.
Further, Victoria Police did not finalise its updated policy until June this year.
IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich said while police policies, systems and practices had been strengthened, "unauthorised information disclosure, including through social media, remains a serious and enduring misconduct risk for Victoria Police".
"This is demonstrated by the complaints IBAC continues to receive, and a recent prominent case that has resulted in charges being brought against several officers for their roles in distributing police information relating to a person in custody," he said.
Mr Guerin's seniority within the force was found to be "an aggravating feature" in the misconduct, however there was no evidence his decision-making as assistant commissioner was compromised.
IBAC recommended Victoria Police consider psychometric testing as part of the process for promotion for senior leadership roles, as well as reviewing Professional Standards Command investigator training.
Mr Guerin accepted the findings and said the trolling was a "salutary lesson for others" that there is "no anonymity on the internet and nothing posted should be considered temporary".
"Venting on social media is an unhelpful and, ultimately, destructive way to deal with the stresses one faces," he said in a statement within the report.
He said the report "may provide a measure of confidence" that he was not influenced by "latent racism or homophobia" in carrying out his duties, and apologised to Victoria Police.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force "acknowledges the findings and will consider the recommendations".
Australian Associated Press
