Police on sexual act, report finds

A WOMAN escaped a drink-driving charge after two male police officers turned a blind eye to her breath test results when she agreed to perform a sexual act on one of them in the back of her car, the annual NSW Ombudsman report reveals.

The report said the Ombudsman received almost 3000 formal complaints about the NSW Police Force last year. Most were about police misconduct, inadequate investigations and excessive use of force.

Forty-nine officers were charged with 136 offences in the past year, 13 fewer than the year before, and 24 were sacked, including one of the officers who suggested the sexual favour, the report says.

The officer was dismissed and his colleague quit after an investigation found the men perverted the cause of justice.

The woman had been stopped early one Saturday for a random breath test. She was over the limit and one of the officers promised not to charge her if she performed a sexual act on his colleague.

After inviting him into her car, she was later allowed to leave without being charged.

The report also found that 65 per cent of the officers were charged with criminal offences as a result of complaints made by other police officers. There was a "noticeable decrease" in the officers charged with domestic violence and sexual assault.

"The fact that such a high percentage of complaints against police are generated by their colleagues indicates a healthy professionalism and intolerance for misconduct by serving police," the report says.

It also said the failure to pursue relevant lines of inquiry, such as interviewing key witnesses or reviewing security camera material, were the main reasons police investigations were identified as being deficiently handled.

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