Disclosure

Question 1

What are the 5 principles that the disclosure manager should be guided by

Answer 1

• the governing principle of disclosure is relevance. all relevant material is discoverable unless withholding or deleting under S16, 17, 18
• no obligation to acquire for the purpose of satisfying disclosure obligations
• disclosure is an ongoing process
• process must be auditable, accountable and record disclosure decisions made in relation to a particular document
• effective file management

Question 2

On appointment to the role the disclosure manager must…..

Initial action

Answer 2

• read the disclosure managers desk file
• access the current serious crime template for use
• report to the 2IC for briefing, tasking, establishing what information is/is not discoverable

Question 3

What are the 8 key responsibilities of the disclosure manager

Answer 3

1. all RELEVANT and DISCOVERABLE material is provided to defence counsel
2. all relevant and NON-DISCOVERABLE material is identified, listed and defence advised
3. continually asses the RISK to ensure non-discoverable material is not disclosed
4. continually review to ensure that ongoing LAWFUL JUSTIFICATION to withhold documents exists
5. ensure ROBUST AUDITABLE systems are employed to record disclosure decisions/actions
6. manage disclosure TIME FRAMES
7. retain/file all correspondence with defence counsel in 50,000 series
8. create NIA record of disclosure against the charge and of delivery

Question 4

What methods can be used to provide disclosure and what determines the method selected

Answer 4

Electronic or Hard copy

1. actual and anticipated scale of investigation
2. resources available
3. technical ability of disclosure manager
4. investigation file electronic or hard copy
5. number of persons charged
6. scale of file/amount of material to disclose
7. sensitivity of material
8. agreement reached with defence to receive in a particular format

Question 5

Exact copies of disclosure should be…….

Answer 5

Produced and retained (either electronic or hard copy)

Provided to the crown (should also view un-edited copy where appropriate)

Question 6

What are the 4 pre-formatted disclosure letters

Answer 6

1. Initial disclosure
2. further initial disclosure
3. additional disclosure
4. full disclosure

Question 7

The disclosure index must be maintained to record what

Answer 7

• Dates and details of all requests made by defence

- Dates the requests were responded to

Question 8

What are 10000 and 50000 series documents

Answer 8

10000 - no justification for withholding s16, 17, 18

50000 - maybe withheld pursuant to s16, 17, 18

Question 9

Examples of 10000 series documents

Answer 9

1. FWS, brief of evidence witness statements
2. visually recorded interview, transcripts
3. convictions of prosecution witnesses relevant to credibility
4. summary of facts
5. notebook entries
6. job sheets
7. specialists reports
8. expert evidence in possession of the prosecution

Other discoverable material which has not been assigned a document number must still be accounted for. Examples of such documents

1. chain of custody sheets
2. documentary exhibits
3. area canvass documents
4. photographs
5. DVDs, CDs, CCTV

Question 10

Examples of 50000 series documents

Answer 10

1. search warrant applications
2. CHIS reports
3. analytical material eg. charts, schedules
4. operations orders/briefing material
5. conference notes
6. covert investigative technique notes
7. surveillance device warrant applications
8. commercially sensitive material
9. material regarding alibi enquiries
10. internal police reports and instructions

Question 11

What are the 4 standard descriptions that should be used when listing 50000 series documents in the index

Answer 11

1. investigative techniques
2. analytical and evaluative material
3. operation orders/briefing/conference material
4. not relevant to this matter

Question 12

What should be done when redacting sensitive CHIS information from documents

Answer 12

1. text blacked, printed, blacked, photocopied then repeated till edited material is unreadable
2. peer review by experienced investigator. Not to be disclosed until checked by D/S/S
3. highlighting text black and printing original document is a risk. repeated blacking and photocopying must be done
4. not be disclosed electronically without authorised redacting software (adobe 9 pro). redact, print, scan

Question 13

Are emails sent to or from the crown, crown law or police legal section disclosable

Answer 13

No it is privileged communications

Question 14

What is the 5 rational for applying sequential page numbers to disclosed material

Answer 14

1. facilitates effective auditing of disclosed material
2. provides a reference for material which does not fall within the numbering system
3. court process is expedited because court, jury, crown and defence can refer to material by unique page reference
4. any illegitimate claims by defence that particular material was not disclosed can be resolved promptly
5. enables accurate records to be maintained

Question 15

What are the statutory provisions providing grounds to withhold information

Answer 15

S16 Victims Rights Act 2002
S23 Victims Rights Act 2002
S179 Serach and Surveillance Act 2012
S20 Financial Transactions Reporting Act 1996

Question 16

What statutory powers are there to require information

Answer 16

S17 tax administration act 1994
S274 and 275 immigration act 2009
S161 customs and excise act 1996
S11 social security act 1964
S5 serious fraud office act 1990
S66 CYPFs act 1989
S62 health and disability commissioner act 1994