Victoria Police chief Graham Ashton has thrown his support behind a decorated senior officer charged with leaking sensitive material, who was also the inspiration for the police protagonist in the Underbelly series.
The anti-corruption watchdog last week charged Commander Stuart Bateson with three counts of unauthorised disclosure of “restricted material”.
Mr Bateson, the head of the force’s priority communities division and African-Australian Community Taskforce, is the most senior police officer to face charges in a decade.
Mr Ashton said on Wednesday he held Mr Bateson, who has been suspended with pay, in “high regard”.
“He’s got issues now in relation to those charges … it’s really important I do demonstrate we’re there for his welfare and reiterate the high esteem in which he’s held.”
Mr Ashton said the allegations relate to disclosing information about an Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission case.
“The charges relate to an IBAC matter. Not a police matter. It’s not police secrets or anything, but they relate to an IBAC case,” Mr Ashton said.
The charges have sent shockwaves through the force. Mr Bateson, earmarked for future promotion, was seen as the face of modern policing. The main police character in the originalUnderbelly series was based on his work during Melbourne’s gangland war.
The Age reported on Tuesday that IBAC began scrutinising his dealings with a civilian police employee in 2018, although the nature of its investigation was a closely guarded secret.
Mr Bateson has also been listed to appear as a witness next week in the royal commission investigating the force’s dealings with former barrister Nicola Gobbo, who was recruited as a police informer despite the risk she may reveal legally privileged information about her criminal clients.
Mr Bateson is listed to appear in court in early July. theage