[iaeT] AFPRT 5 IN THE FEDERAL POLICE ) ) No. FPDT 8 of 1986 DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL ) THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE against JOHN WILSON HEBRON DECISION TRIBUNAL: Mr B-.R. Maguire, Q.C., Member. DATE: 18 March 1987 PLACE: Canberra THE TRIBUNAL FINDS: ls That the Respondent, JOHN WILSON HEBRON, a member of the Australian Federal Police, is not guilty of the disciplinary offence alleged in Notification No. AFP 2/8687, the charge therein being that on or about 6 September 1985, he did use the fact that he was a member of the Australian Federal Police for the purpose of obtaining a personal advantage, namely, the issue to him of free promotional tickets to the 1985 JAMES HARDIE 1000 motor race. AND THE TRIBUNAL ORDERS THAT: Ave The said charge be dismissed. 2. The Commonwealth pay the Respondent's costs. 3s There be liberty to apply. By the Tribunal 4 So IN THE FEDERAL POLICE ) ~~ No. FPDT 8 of 1986 DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL ) THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE SSS ee See UE PULLCE agairst JOHN WILSON HEBRON REASONS FOR DECISION Tribur.al: Mr B.R. Maguire, Q.C., Member Date: 18 March 1987 The responder.t, Johr Wilsor. Hebron, is a sergeart ir the Australian Federal Police ard for some years has beer the officer-in-charge of the driver training school conducted by the Australiar. Federal Police. Or. 3 September 1985 at the invitation of the public relations officer of the Jaguar Drivers Club, Canberra, ara virtually at the directior. of ore of his superiors the resporder.t attended a meeting of that club in Canberra where he gave a talk as the guest of the club. Whilst he was at the meetirg he learned that Jaguar Rover Australia ("JRA"), which orgarizatior. was to be involved in the Hardie 1000 Motor Car Race at the track at Bathurst or. the lorg weeker.d ir. October, was interested in irvitirg persors with a sufficiert interest in their products to atterd the race as their guests. Sergear.t Hebror had a lorg-stardirg interest in the products of that compary as well as havirg a professional interest ir. high performarce drivirg ard motoring. He obtained at the meeting the idertity of the promotiors marager of JRA, Mr Kemp who has giver. eviderce before the Tribunal. Or. the morrirg of 6 September, that is three days after the meetirg of the Jaguar Drivers Club, he telephoned Mr Kemp at JRA at Liverpool, N.S.W. ard had a corversatior. with Mr Kemp about the possibility of his - that is Hebror.'s - beirg included as ore of the guests of the compary at the Bathurst weekerd. Both mer. have given evidence about that cornversatior. ard there are some conflicts betweer. the accourts they give. I do rot regard any of those corflicts as beirg of ary particular materiality in the resolution of the matter before the Tribural, but I find it necessary to say that Mr Kemp's recollection of that cornversatior ard other matters surrounding this matter is not always to be relied upon. It is clear that he, wher asked to cast his mird back, has corfused that which was said in the corversation with that which was put in a letter, to which I will refer in a momer.t. It is also clear that his appreciatior of the very identity of the Australiar. Federal Police was imperfect in that ir. the absence of the original letter he felt corstrained to tell me or his oath that he thought the letter had come from the Commor.wealth Police or it was or. some police letterhead. I do rot criticise Mr Kemp. Matters of that kird were rot importar.t to him, ther or row, but they serve to illustrate that his eviderce is rot to be accepted ertirely without question. Following that cor.versatior the respordert, Sergeant Hebror, wrote or the same day to Mr Kemp a letter which is ro lorger extart. There is, however, in eviderce (Exhibit A), a carbor. copy of that letter which Sergeant Hebror. preserved ar.d made available to his superiors volurtarily after the irvestigatior. of this matter commerced. The carbor copy is or. plair. copy paper jard the sergeart's eviderce is that the original was. or. Australiar. Federal Police letterhead ard I accept that evidence. The letter speaks for itself and was simply Sergeart Hebror.'s resporse to Mr Kemp's indication to put his application in writirg, which irvitation had been issued to Sergeant Hebron by Mr Kemp in the telephore conversation that morning. I shall return to the text of the letter ir. a short time. Following that letter ard at some time before Saturday, 5 October, the sergeart received for himself ard for three of his colleagues, whose rames "sa beer. included ir. the letter, documer.tation some of which orgirnated in the Australiar. Racing Drivers Club, which apparently was running the race, ard some of which originated from JRA who car. be taken to have provided all of the documertatior that Sergeart Hebror. and each of his three nomirees received. I pause to interpolate that rothing turns in the resolutior of the matter before the Tribunal or the fact that other members of the police force were the guests of JRA or received ary advartage from JRA. Or. Saturday 5 October - Sergear.t Hebror. ard the other three mer. proceeded very early by road from Carberra to Bathurst and they were admitted to the public area of the racing track. I am ir. some doubt as to whether they paid to get ir. the gate, or whether they took advartaqe of tickets which had beer issued by Australiar. Racirg Drivers Club and provided to them by Mr Kemp as part of the package of documer.tatior. previously sert. But I do not think I need to resolve that doubt ir order to determine the issues before the Tribur.al. It is clear that the resporder.t spert the Saturday, the Saturday right ard the Sur.day at the race track. By reasor. of some of the documents that had beer. provided to him by Mr Kemp or. behalf of JRA, he had access to parts of the race track which were rot available for morey or otherwise to ordinary members of the community. He was to that extent in a privileged position as the guest of JRA. He was able by reasor of his preserce in those parts of the arena to make a close observation of the vehicles, their compor.er.t s ard the way in which they were driven by the racirg drivers. He was also able to corverse with members of staff of JRA about driving ard other technical matters of vehicle compornerntry. Ir. additior. to that, he received the hospitality of his host ir that food, drirk ard shelter were provided to him. Following the race, he wrote a letter, a copy of which is Exhibit 1. That letter does rot bear ary date but I fird that it must have beer. writter. shortly after the lorg weeker.d of the Hardie 1000 race. I shall returr. to the text of that letter shortly. Followirg that race at Bathurst, the resporder.t pursued at least two contacts that he had made as a result of his atterdarnce there. He met a Mr Peak ard a Mr Walkir.shaw, who both appeared to be associated with JRA ard he thereafter maintained cortact with them havirg discussiors with them about certair techrical matters. In February 1986 the respordert was interviewed by Irspector Leonard of the Internal Investigatior Divisior of the Australiar. Federal Police. That interview was recorded and subsequertly transcribed ard a copy of the trarscriptior is Exhibit E in these proceedings. Quite some time after, namely on 8 October 1986, the presert proceedirgs were instituted by notificatior. under the hand of Deputy Commissiorer Johr.sor. The gravamer. of the offer.ce alleged is that the respondent did use his membership of the AFP for the purpose of obtairing a personal advar.tage, ramely the issue of free promotioral tickets to the 1985 James Hardie 1000 motor race. The respor.der.t has corntiruously maintained that his purpose ir. atterding the race ir. the circumstarces ir. which he did was primarily directed towards improvirg his expertise and skills as a driver ard driving irstructor ard ir advar.cirg the stardirg of the school that he rurs. Ir. the letter that he wrote to Mr Kemp (Exhibit A) on 6 September he had this to say: Our purpose for the visit to Bathurst this year is to give targible support to your team ard also by way of ar. ir.formal study visit for our own training purposes. Our training irvolves high speed pursuit as well as the more basic trainirg. Ir. the letter of tharks that he wrote to the maragirg director, Mr Hovell, shortly after the evert, (Exhibit 1) - he said: The above opportunity allowed myself ard = my colleagues to view at first hard the work that was in progress ir. the JRA ard other team garages. It also allowed me to meet ard speak with many representatives of the trade as well as team managers ard the like. This sort of opportunity is not always readily available. The sort of liaison merntior.ed above helps immeasurably ir my work as the AFPs chief drivirg instructor ir maintaining my expertise, the cor.squer.t benefits to our members ar.d ultimately the gereral public. Wher. interviewed by Inspector Leonard orn 3 February 1986 he was asked about his motivation for atterdirg the race at Bathurst. Question 164: Did you actually regard it as a private visit to the furctior. to Bathurst, semi official or official. He replied: Well I regarded it as semi official. Car. I go ary further? Ar.d wher. ir.vited by Irspector Leor.ard to do so, he said this: Semi official ir that ever. though the job was rot paying me to attend and I was going or my owr. time at my owr expesre, I enjoy motor racirg ard would watch it or. televisior anyway but because I was actually there ard in the paddock area, it gave me access to engineers etcetera as I have previously mer.tior.ed, which is of benefit to my work. So it was rot official in that I was not actually sent there, it was semi official in that the reason, the primary reasor. for goirg, instead of watching it on television, was to be more involved, you might say, and to be able to meet a few people that could be of ber.efit to us and consequertly the AFP. The respordent has giver. sworr. evider.ce before the Tribural to the like effect, ard which I am unable to quote verbatim because the transcript is not available. It is sufficiert to say, that throughout he has maintained that what he was doing was primarily directed towards benefitirg the quality of the way in which he was able to discharge his duties as chief instructor of the drivirg school. He said at one stage "If I make a mistake, a policemar. might be killed." Now what has to be looked at in determining this charge is a questior. of degree or a balarcirg, ard both Mr Erskine for the commissiorer and Mr Purrell for the respor.der.t have invited me to approach it ir that way, although they have used a differer.t form of words, Mr Erskire has said it is a questior of balancing the berefits ard Mr Purr.ell has said it is a questior. of the domirnart purpose. What the commissiorer is required to prove is that the respor.dert had as his purpose the obtair.irg of a persoral advartage. It is put by Mr Erskire for the commissioner that the food, drirk, shelter, conviviality, associatior. with other people, the improved opportur.ity to look at the race at close quarters, were all persoral advartages to the resporder.t which outweigh the ber.efit which Mr Erskine concedes did flow from the visit. It is corceded by Mr Erskire that there was an advartage in techrical expertise, knowledge, trairirg, skill and the like. It seems to me that this prosecutior. must fail. The respondent has cor.sistertly mairtaired that his primary purpose is as I have stated it above. He was rot seriously challerged or that aspect of his eviderce. It is quite clear to me that he was telling the truth about it." He bears a very good character ard character evider.ce was adduced before the Tribunal from three officers of the Australian Federal Police senior in rark to the respordert. Assistar.t Commissiorer Reilly, who as the assistar.t commissioner trair.ing.ir. 1985 and 1986, described the resporder.t as beirg very hor.est ard dedicated, ard totally committed to his task. Chief Inspector Bryar.t said that he rated the resporder.t very highly ard that he was extremely dedicated. Inspector Martir, who is the respordert's currert commar.dirg officer, described him as a very good policemar, very dedicated. He said that he was extremely erthusiastic ard he also used the word "exemplary" ir relation to the respordert. I am impressed by the eviderce of the resporder.t's expenditure of effort, time ard morey of his owr ir improvirg his skills. I r.eed refer orly to the trouble he took whilst in West Germary in recert years. Obviously, he gets a great deal of pleasure out of motoring ard motor sport, but I accept completely his evider.ce that the kird of exercises he engages in such as this visit to the paddock area at the Hardie 1000 at Bathurst in October 1985 redourd quite :ssubstarntially to the benefit of the Australiar Federal Police. I thirk it is idle to suggest that the quality of the hospitality provided to him or that occasior outweighs the benefit that flowed to the police force. The situatior plainly is that he was there from Saturday morrirg urtil Sunday right at a place where 10. there was ro permar.er.t accommodat ior. Ore krows from ore's owr. krowledge of Bathurst that this race is corducted or the further outskirts of that provincial city. He is there as the guest of a major commerical orgarizatior. seeirg things that could not be seer. by him ur.less he were the guest of such ar. organization. It is difficult to imagire a circumstarce like that, that would rot go hard in hard with the host providirg food, drirk ard shelter of ar appropriate quality ard volume. It was put to me or. behalf of the commissioner that somehow the fact that Sergeart Hebror had solicited the issue of these tickets to himself coloured the quality of his atterdarce at Bathurst in a differert light from what would have beer the case if the offer of tickets to him had beer. unsolicited. I do not understand what difference that circumstar.ce makes to the charge. At the erd of the addresses Mr Kemp was recalled to the witress-box to give some evidence which had emerged or.ly after I reserved my decision. He has said ir. his recert evider.ce that he was rot aware that the respondert was a member of the Australiar Federal Police at the time he took the iritial phone call from him or 6 September, ror when he received the letter of that same date or Australian Federal Police letterhead. The eviderce discloses that the two mer first met at Mr Kemp's office some time betweer. 6 September ard 5 October. Mr Kemp has rot said directly arythirng about his understardirg of the respordert's ll. status or. the occasior. of that meetirg. If my memory serves me, he did say that he first became aware that he was a police officer wher the respor.dert introduced himself at Bathurst or 5 October as Sergear.t Hebror. Two corsideratiorns arise in my mird. First of all, I have already poirted to the uncertainties of Mr Kemp's recollectior. without criticizirg him, ard I do not immediately accept what he has to say about this matter, particulary in the circumstarces in which it has ariser., but more importar.t than that, it seems to me that what has to be judged ir not Mr Kemp's ur.derstardirg of who the respondent was, but the respordernt's actions and to write a letter or. Australiar Federal Police letterhead ard sigr. it over a description of oneself as the officer in charge, driving training, I think is corduct which amounts to assertirg the fact that ore is a member of the Australian Federal Police. All that follows from that is that the charge does rot fall at that first hurdle ard I reject the submission most recer.tly put to me by Mr Purrell that it should. However, as I hope as I have made clear it seems to me that to be overwhelmingly plain that the purpose for which Sergear.t Hebron visited Bathurst in the circumstar.ces that he did was related rot to persor.al advar.tage but to improvirg his skills as a driver ard drivirg irstructor ard the Chief of the Australian Federal Police Driver Training. L2« I therefore fird the respordert rot guilty of this charge. I order the Commorwealth to pay the resporder.t's costs ard I give liberty to apply. B.R. MAGUIRE Q.c. MEMBER