The ABC for good or evil?

Seemingly great attainment?

Reported by the ABC's Australian Story: THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL

The program was based on Dr Lynne Milne as the only forensic palynologist in the country who was the focus of the Australian Story.

The media drew viewers in because of her seemingly great attainment that had previously never recognised until she met superintendent Haydn Green who heads up the forensics division of the Western Australian police force.

He had a suspect that he wanted to find guilty based on the chances of a spouse killing a spouse which were greater in anycase, at least more likely than that of a stranger.

Michael Bodsworth - who was Samantha's de facto and father of her two children - was the prime suspect.

The only problem was that the suspect de facto lived in another State and they could not place him at the crime scene.

For about 3 seconds the show mentioned that after the forensic palynologist evidence was discovered and the accused was told about it he then gave a statement to police admitting to the crime. [?]

But no evidence was reported along those lines on Australian Story. [?] Whether that was true needs to be investigated because the forensic material is also a bit of a worry. [?]

Is this a new scientific way of solving crime or a scientific way of framing people for a crime? Did any other scientists investigate the methods used by Dr Milne for their validity?

The real shonkiness in forensic palynology is that there has not been anywhere near enough work done on the distribution and variability of different pollens to be able to know what - if any - significance can be placed on a match.

If the crime was committed in the victim's exotic plant nursery and the suspect who denies he was ever there has pollen on his clothes from an incredibly rare plant found only on Sumatran mountaintops or in the victim's greenhouse then you've got some evidence. But cases like that only come up on TV.

The real scenario is likely to be someone like Dr Milne takes the stand and swears that microscopic traces of pollen on the suspect's shirt matches that produced by one or two flowers near the murder scene - the judge and jury nod their head and the defence lawyer, who failed high school science, looks worried and mounts an ineffective cross examination.

Questions never asked is how common pollens matching those might be, whether those flowers might also be grown in the front yard of the suspect's neighbour's house, how far the pollen can spread from source due to wind and insects, etc, whether police from the murder scene also came into contact with the suspect - possibly inadvertently or otherwise transferring traces of pollen or even how many other people's clothes were tested to see if they too had traces of matching pollen (which might imply that it is fairly widely distributed).

It reminds me a bit of some dodgy evidence the notorious South Australian forensic scientist, Colin Manock, gave about seeds allegedly found in mud on the suspect's car that matched seeds from the murder scene. [?]

What the jury didn't hear is that those kinds of seeds are extremely common on SA roadsides at that time of year and could be expected to be found on the cars of almost everyone who drove in the countryside.

Firstly, she only checked for the presence of the wattle at the suspect's home and the murder scene - nowhere else. Those wattles may be as common as muck all over the rest of QLD and could have ended up in the suspect's car as the result of driving almost anywhere - not necessarily to Noosa where the body was found.

Secondly, her own problems with static electricity etc showed how easy it is for that sort of pollen to spread and stick to things - demonstrating how incredibly easy it would have been for the evidence to be contaminated. [?]

Thirdly, she *dropped* the evidence (a tiny speck of pollen) on her own carpet and hunted around on the floor until she found a speck of pollen she *assumed* was the same one she dropped. [?]

The incriminating evidence could have come from her own garden or been tracked in on her kids shoes.

Fourthly she says "I look at them not as I'm trying to prove somebody guilty or innocent but it's I'm doing the science and the result will then tell me whether the person is guilty or innocent".

This is a classic example of what Professor William Thompson causes 'forensic examiner bias' and is a leading cause of wrongful conviction with expert evidence. [?]

The 'science' does *not* tell anyone whether someone is guilty or innocent - it simply provides evidence that a *court* is supposed to use to determine guilt or innocence.

There could be dozens of reasons she got the result she did which are still consistent with the innocence of the suspect (e.g. she made an error, the evidence was contaminated or planted, the pollens matched by chance).

If she wrote her reports and took the stand while believing that 'science' had already 'proved' the suspect guilty it would have affected the way she reported her procedures and results and how she gave evidence. After all, in her mind, unless she could convince the jury that science had fingered the guilty man then a murderer would walk free - maybe to kill again.

Most people trained in science are consequentialists - they believe that outcomes determine whether or not a particular behaviour is ethical (lawyers are trained to be proceduralists - if they follow the appropriate procedures they are being ethical, regardless of what the results of doing so might be). To a consequentialist it is OK to lie, if by doing so you are getting the 'right' result in the end (e.g. the conviction of a guilty person).

So if Milne is a consequentialist who sincerely (and mistakenly) thinks that science had 'proved' that Bodsworth was guilty, she would have had few qualms about exaggerating the evidence and hiding any possible errors she had made if it would increase the chance of a guilty verdict.

Australian Story:

When Dr Lynne Milne was asked to help solve the murder of Samantha Bodsworth, her only previous dealings with police had been blowing into breathalysers and receiving speeding tickets.

However the single mother and PhD student, who was just recovering from her own personal tragedies, got drawn into the world of forensic science and crime.

Through her knowledge of microscopic pollen, Dr Milne was able to apply her skills to smashing the alibi of a murderer, and in the process change the course of her own career and of criminal investigation in Australia.

Her evidence in the case of Samantha Bodsworth resulted in the conviction for murder of Samantha's former de facto husband Michael. As the only forensic palynologist in the country, Dr Milne is now in demand by police forces in several states.

Her new work takes her far from the stuffy confines of the laboratory. Though she never planned to get involved in the human side of crime, she has become close friends with the grieving family of Samantha Bodsworth.

Australian Story tells the tale of one woman's mission to bring forensic palynology to the forefront of Australian crime fighting.

The Garden of Good and Evil - Transcript

SNR SGT JULIE ELLIOTT, PRESENTER: Hello, I'm Senior Sergeant Julie Elliott from the media office of the Queensland Police. Tonight's Australian Story is about a scientist and a single mum. She's helped develop a whole new field of forensics based on her expert knowledge of pollen. Recently, she's helped solve some serious crimes in Western Australia, but it all began with a murder investigation in Noosa a few years ago. This is Lynne Milne's story.

Interview with Dr Lynne Milne

Dr Lynne Milne has brought forensic palynology to the forefront of Australian crime fighting after helping to solve the murder of Samantha Bodsworth. She tells Australian Story about her journey through personal tragedy to professional triumph.

Interview with Superindendent Haydn Green

Superintendent Haydn Green heads up the forensics division of the Western Australian police force, as a former student of Dr Lynne Milne, he is excited by the way palynology is used to help solve crimes.

DNA leads 'CSI' cold-case squad to first arrest?

Frozen case? I don't really know what to say about them until they come up with their case. They say it involves DNA evidence but that's the only stuff we know.

By Just Us 24 August 05

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ARE YOU INNOCENT?
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Is the Westminster System flawed?
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Murder charge first for DNA data bank link, but not the same as solving the murder
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DNA yours or mine?
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DNA - A Shadow of Doubt
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2nd Renaissance -15 The Rabbits And The Wolves [180]
Historically, there have been periods when legal distinctions between animals and humans have been blurred. For instance, in medieval Europe, in the 14th and 15th centuries, numerous trials and executions of animals occurred. One source identifies 34 recorded instances of pigs having been tried and cruelly put to death. Besides pigs; rats, chickens, goats, and bees were similarly tried. Some of the pigs were fully dressed in human clothes at the time they were, inevitably, found guilty. In one case a vicar excommunicated a flock of sparrows that infested his church. All this happened despite the theological stance that animals had no soul, and no morals or conscience. They could not really be guilty of transgressing the Rule of Law.

Victorian Cops Set-Up Carl Williams?

I'll chop up cop's girl: Williams? But when you know you're being bugged words are not deeds unless police are dogs and liars?

The Un-Australian: " IT was the height of Melbourne's gangland war and accused underworld 'murderer'? Carl Williams was out drinking with a mate at Crown casino."

" Late in the evening, he put in a call to his wife, Roberta, and aside from arguing about what time he would be coming home, he threatened to kill a Purana Taskforce detective."

Tongue and cheek: Words.........are not deeds!

Williams: "If a c..ksucker breaks in there or (Detective-Sergeant Stuart) Bateson comes lookin' for me, you know what to do, don't ya?" Williams said to his wife. "Grab the gun from under the mattress and shoot them in the head." A sleepy Roberta appeared to see the funny side. "You're a f..kin' idiot," she replied with a laugh."

The Un-Australian: The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard yesterday that nine hours later, on the morning of November 15, 2003, Williams took a call at home from his friend Victor Brincat, who was in jail.

Empathy for mate in jail, Jail camaraderie not un-common

The Un-Australian: "Brincat complained of being "punished" by prison officers, prompting Williams to threaten to "chop up" Sergeant Bateson's girlfriend.

Williams: "If he (Bateson) wants to f..k with my mate, I'll f..k his missus," Williams told Brincat, who had been charged three weeks earlier with the murder of drug dealer Michael Marshall?

"Whatever you need done, just tell me what to do. If you want Bateson's missus, I'll just chop her up."

Remember Williams knows he's being bugged by police and especially if he's in contact with the jail who monitor all calls? Not just that but some slimy dog cop wants to set him up for a murder? Why? Because that takes the heat of some slimy dog cop who's corrupt, no doubt!

The Un-Australian: "Both phone conversations were intercepted by police, and two days later Williams was arrested on the main street in the beachside suburb of Port Melbourne."

What, because his phone was taped? Carl knew it? Then decided tongue and cheek to give the cops some therapy of their own, on the phone, they charge him with two counts of threatening to kill that carries 10 years?

Bad cop knew how to use his power

The Un-Australian: In a statement to police, Sergeant Bateson said he was immediately notified by his colleagues about the content of Williams's phone calls, and that he in turn informed his girlfriend of the threat.

Get the violin out for the Jury?

The Un-Australian: "She immediately broke into tears," Sergeant Bateson said. "I have taken these threats extremely seriously. I have taken precautions in relation to our security both at home and at work.

"The impact of these threats on my personal life has been substantial." ?

But it makes you wonder why this cop set himself up for a fall? Bateson "I have taken these threats extremely seriously". When indeed he really knew that this was by his own creation? Together with the tongue and cheek of Williams, knowing his phone was taped, and just giving the cop some therapy, because the cop wanted some of Carl Williams 'socks and undies'.

If the cop were to be sticking his nose in my undies I would drop a big shit in it, what would you do?

The cop now passes on his stupidity to his girlfriend

The Un-Australian: His girlfriend told police she was "extremely scared and shocked" by the threats. Sergeant Bateson and his girlfriend have since split up"

"Yesterday, 16 months after the incident, Williams faced a one-day committal hearing, charged with two counts of threatening to kill."

But would these additional charges make the other charges against Carl stick better? You bet! The one's the cops set themselves up to receive? The tongue and cheek from Carl Williams that the police allegedly believed was true? So much so that the cop's love for his girlfriend must be very shallow indeed to burden her with his stupidity whilst on the job!

What if it was the cop's dog? Or even his mother in law?

Makes you feel glad that you're not related to the cop. He wants to frame Williams for other murders, cover up for either himself or his mates, and also put his own hand into the girlfriends $60,000 dollars victims comp payout after Williams goes down for the set-up.

The other thing that worries me is that this is what cops do to cover-up for crooked cops and I smell a rat big time!

Come out you rat cop, we have some cheese!

The Un-Australian: "His lawyer Nick Papas told the court that Williams, 34, had been joking and his comments were "entirely stupid" and "off the cuff", not serious threats to kill."

"He said that Williams's threat to "chop up" Sergeant Bateson's girlfriend did not necessarily mean he intended to kill her."

"At an earlier court hearing, Williams had apologised for his comments to Sergeant Bateson and his family, Mr Papas told the court."

Corrupt cops

The Un-Australian: " But the police officer said yesterday that he had been unaware of the apology".?

"Mr Papas said the fact Williams knew his conversations were being taped was evidence the threats were not serious."

Did the cop deserve it?

The Un Australian: " However, prosecutor Andrew Tinney told the court Williams made the comments knowing police were intercepting his phone calls and that the threats would inevitably be relayed to Sergeant Bateson, who at the time was investigating Williams's links to several underworld murders.

"He knew who his audience was," Mr Tinney said.

So he had a shit!

The Un-Australian: " Magistrate Paresa Spanos dismissed the charge over the threat to kill Sergeant Bateson, finding there was no evidence to support the charge based on "the simple meaning of the word 'threat"'.

" However, she committed Williams to stand trial over the second charge of threatening to kill Sergeant Bateson's partner, saying a reasonable jury could convict the defendant, given the evidence." ?

"When Williams was asked yesterday how he pleaded to the charge, he said confidently: "I am not guilty. There's one win and there will be plenty more to come."

But unfortunately for Carl the Magistrate Spanos kept one charge live so that it will stick. The uninformed Jury will find him guilty especially feeling sorry for the girl. Unless the jury are well informed that the cop was setting Carl up and involved his own girlfriend second hand because of the vindictive thin blue line that runs into the Department of Corrective Services by setting upon the prisoner Victor Brincat his friend.

Because the police are involved in the gangland killings they need someone else to take the fall? A demon like Carl Williams will do?

The Un-Australian: "Last week, he was ordered to face a Supreme Court jury over the murders of underworld figures Jason Moran, Pasquale Barbaro and Michael Marshall. He will face a pre-trial hearing in relation to the threat-to-kill charge in June."

Watch this spot!

By Entrapment and The Un-Australian 16 March 05

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A corrupt way to treat the community?

Detective Sergeant Steve Leach: Suicide

NSW: CH/9 Sunday: "The suicide of one of NSW's most senior investigators in August has underlined a crisis gripping the state's police service" [? police force.]

I seen the police bleeding on Nine's Sunday program arguing that promotion should depend on how many crimes police have solved and not how many brains they have and that was coming from police commissioner Ken Moroney and Police Minister John Watkins?

Because solving crime then becomes a reason to get a promotion? As had been the case prior the Wood Commission into police corruption that led to all the changes in the first place.

That means more noble cause corruption, verbals and load ups as well as lots of innocent people being framed.

Then those who have solved crime? get promoted and lead the police force at the highest levels of corruption? [Clive Small].

Sunday: "Detective Sergeant Steve Leach was one of New South Wales' finest detectives, having helped collar the notorious serial killer Ivan Milat"

[? But Milat was Framed for the Tourist Industry.]

FIRM Friends of Ivan Robert Milat

Sunday: "He also cracked the 15-year old mystery of the disappearance and murder of Sydney schoolgirl Samantha Knight. Later he worked as a war crimes investigator in the former Yugoslavia.

Yet when he returned to Sydney, he was unable to gain a promotion to end his career as a commissioned officer.

He gave no reason for his suicide, but many of his peers in the police force identified with the shabby treatment meted out to him by his superiors."

[He never got promoted! Get the violin out?]

Sunday: "New South Wales, like many states and provinces in western nations, has reformed the fundamental principles of management and supervision of its police service. In the mid-1990s, the Wood Royal Commission highlighted corruption among the state's detectives and a lack of adequate supervision of police.

2,500 crooked detectives? Or a corrupt Government?

The Wood Royal Commission into police corruption. Where did the police learn their trade skills? Led by example perhaps?

Sunday: "The result saw sweeping changes to the structure of policing in NSW. In 1997, a new promotion system was established which no longer recognised the "primacy of experience" when assessing applicants."

[And no longer recognised noble cause corruption as in assessing applicants for a promotion based on skills they said they had!]

Sunday: "Detectives of Steve Leach's era found they had little chance of promotion against a new breed of tertiary-educated cops, who understood and exploited the system" [Clive Small?]

"Sunday spoke with a number of Leach's colleagues who talked of their own bitter experience of trying to adapt to the new system. They told of the despair they felt at competing with younger, less experienced colleagues and failing to secure even an interview for positions up for grabs."

The headkicker!

"Former NSW detective Mick Kennedy is now researching trends in modern policing for a PhD. He believes the root of the crisis facing Steve Leach's generation is a lack of support for field officers. "...all of the time that you're dealing with those murky, dirty-hands areas of work, what you're doing at the back of your mind ... it needs to be constantly reinforced that you're dependent upon your organisation to support you in times of crisis or when things go bad."

"Former Assistant Commissioner Geoff Schuberg, who compiled a report for the NSW Government on the promotions system, told Sunday that the new approach had destroyed morale amongst police. He and other former police warned that many senior officers were not qualified for the roles they had been given. The handling of riots in Redfern this year highlighted a lack of experienced decision makers among the new breed of commanders"?

"Meanwhile in Victoria, detectives are also feeling the wind of change as Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon tries to rid the force of corrupt police. Those she cannot charge with criminal offences, she is prepared to name and shame through parliament or sack using discretionary powers.

Legendary former detective Brian Murphy, believes that some officers are being used as political pawns as the top brass tries to reassure the public of the integrity of the force. [?]

[When Nine's Sunday program aired this story it's not surprising either. Corporations back more corruption in the community, so they too, can get their own way by being let off or not named, like the case or the Bulldogs Football Players pack rape for example!

But let me tell you that you haven't broken from the chain unless you see the reality that's behind this cry from the heart that would only encourage more police corruption.

There may have been a time when police had responsibility but they let themselves down.

The reality is what you have perceived in front of you all that time is what was actually projected from behind you and that monster is sinister. Some of us have 'seen the light' even more than once!

Now the police want to get a promotion for solving crime or loading someone up? Opposed to the Wood Royal Commissions recommendations that promotion should depend on academic skills that have been "attained" as well as "police skills" not just when some cop "claims he solved a crime" and now because of that should be promoted?

I have a reference from the Director General of this state that puts him in bed with the devil and I guess it all starts from there, considering he's behind the scenes no matter what party is in power.

And if Bob Carr is a crook what about the alternative John Brogden the Neo- Liberal slayer? Makes me puke!]

No link provided to the Sunday program because it doesn't rate!

By Propaganda Monster 15 November 04

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SIMPLY NOT THE BEST AND DEFINITELY NOT BETTER THAN ANYONE, ANYONE I'VE MET.

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Lord Denning
Interesting how a member of the Police Board Mr. Tim Priest would hold grave fears for his safety from dangerouse senior police but fails to name them or have them sacked. Rather Priest resigns as if he had no powers. Could that mean what he was saying is that the Governments are also corrupt?

Black Nexus
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A legal battle spanning more than two decades ended today when two brothers accused of stealing more than $650,000 in gold bullion from the Perth Mint had their convictions quashed.

Fremantle police at centre of missing cannabis claims
One sunny day I was riding my bike, and smokin' a joint, 'cause that's what I like. A police man stopped me and began to stare and he said "hey sonny, whatcha smokin' there?"

Victorian Police

Gangland target? Or police decoy? Refuses protection
Victorian Assistant Commissioner of Crime Simon Overland says the man who was the target of an alleged planned gangland killing has refused police protection.

Vic police chief moves to sack officers
The Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Christine Nixon, has moved to dismiss two police officers as part of a crackdown on corruption and says up to 20 more dismissals could follow.

Vic prosecutors to drop corruption case
The Office of Public Prosecutions in Victoria will drop drug-related charges against a suspended police officer tomorrow after an informer due to testify in the case was murdered last month.

Vic flop cop warns there's more corruption
Victorian Police Chief Commissioner, Christine Nixon, says Victorians should brace themselves for more evidence of police corruption.

Vic police corruption report tabled in Parliament
The Victorian Ombudsman's report on the Ceja Taskforce and drug related corruption in Victoria police has been tabled in State Parliament.

GIVE A DOG A BONE?
When the Ombudsman investigates police in most States and Territories of Australia they set about asking the police to investigate themselves to see if there is any validity to a complaint.

Victorian Ombudsman's power boosted
The Victorian Government has reacted strongly to continuing allegations of police corruption, with the Premier announcing a big boost to the State Ombudsman's power and resources.

Police silent on witness protection breach claim
Victorian police have been forced to defended the Witness Protection Program again, after an alleged incident involving a police informer.

Former Vic drug squad head working for NSW
It has been revealed that the former head of the disgraced Victorian drug squad is now a senior investigator at the New South Wales Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

Penalty given to police officer in corruption case under fire
The Victorian Opposition has criticised the penalty handed down to a Victorian police officer who tried to find the home address of an officer investigating corruption.

Bracks crime team 'not up to job'
Steve Bracks was "fiddling while Melbourne burns", a respected senior crimefighter said yesterday, as the state Ombudsman was attacked for being ill-equipped to tackle entrenched police corruption.

Vic corruption fighter tells of intimidation
A senior Victorian police corruption investigator says fellow officers have intimidated and threatened him.

Vic police corruption 'worst ever', former judge says
A former Federal Court judge last night described corruption in the Victoria police force as the worst ever.

Bullet threat won't stop corruption probe, police say
The Victorian police force says threats against internal investigators will not stop it from weeding out corrupt police and bringing them to justice.

Police corruption linked to underworld slayings
The chairman of Victoria's Ceja police internal corruption task force has admitted there is a link between police corruption and Melbourne's gangland killings.

Queensland police

Man framed for Stuttle murder to appeal
Bundaberg's Burnett River traffic bridge was the only witness to this crime?

Douglas Previte set-up for Stuttle murder
Australia: A 32-year-old man has been jailed for life for murdering British backpacker Caroline Stuttle in Bundaberg in south-east Queensland on alleged evidence possibly trumped up while he was in prison?

NT Police

Tourist dollar drives set-up for crime
The man alleged to have murdered English tourist Peter Falconio has been acquitted of rape and abduction charges in the South Australian District Court. Bradley John Murdoch, 45, was charged with two counts of rape, two counts of false imprisonment and two counts of indecent assault after an alleged incident in South Australia's Riverland in August last year.

Taken "A Dingo Took My Baby!"
They were the words that Lindy Chamberlain had screamed out into the blackness of the cold night in a camping ground close to Ayers Rock, Central Australia, on the night of August 17, when she discovered that her nearly ten-week-old baby, Azaria had been taken by a dingo.

Day set aside for Falconio forensic evidence
More than a day has been set aside in the case of the man accused of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio to hear evidence from a Northern Territory forensic scientist. Yesterday the Darwin Magistrates Court heard from mechanics and friends of the defendant Bradley John Murdoch.

Ch/9 News? Or Ch/9's Department of Public Prosecutions?
Channel Nine is thinking of taking over from the Department of Public Prosecutions in the Falconio case.

Supreme Court rejects Nine appeal
CHANNEL Nine lost a Supreme Court appeal today to have a suppression order on details of the case of missing backpacker Peter Falconio lifted. The Full Bench of the NT Supreme Court today ruled Magistrate Alasdair McGregor had the power to make the order banning from publication some details of the case.

South Australian Police

Bradley Murdoch committal, lawyer calls for fair hearing
The lawyer of the man accused of murdering British backpacker Peter Falconio has spoken to the media in Darwin.