Victorian Judge declares that forged character references "strike at the heart of the criminal justice system"
In June 2009 a former Victorian police officer, Stephanie Beattie, was found to have forged character references relied upon in a court case. The initial case related to two minor driving offenses to which she submitted four character references to the court.
The court held that Beattie had written the references herself and had forged each of the signatures. One of the forged signatures was that of a former colleague in the police force.
Judge Paul Lacava expressed sympathy for the 23 year old, saying that Beattie was "a very good young woman" who had inadvertently ruined her own career in the Victorian police force through a fatal lapse of judgement.
Whilst expressing his concern for her future employment, particularly in relation to the vulnerability of her current position at the Department of Human Services, ultimately Judge Lacava announced that the Victorian "police force can not have members in its ranks that fabricate evidence put before a court."
Stephanie Beattie received a 6-month sentence wholly suspended for 12 months.
No comments:
Post a Comment