Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams has today publicly released the final report of the Weiss Independent Review into former police officer Paul Reynolds.
In October 2023 Commissioner Adams appointed Ms Regina Weiss, a highly regarded Tasmanian barrister with extensive experience leading independent reviews, to undertake an Independent Review into Reynolds as well as any allegations of child sex abuse by any other police officer.
“This independent review was instigated by Tasmania Police and was not a recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry. This was a self-initiated disclosure of every piece of information we have on file to ensure the matter was reviewed as comprehensively as possible,” Commissioner Adams said.
Commissioner Adams said that a total of 84 people, chose to engage with the Independent Review. This included 15 victim-survivors of Reynolds.
“Based on the voluntary disclosures of participants and material uncovered by this review, it is evident that his grooming and sexual abuse of teenage boys covered a time period of more than 30 years,” she said.
“It is incredibly distressing to learn the full extent of his offending and the impact his abhorrent behaviour had on the victim survivors, their families, and the wider community.
“It is challenging and confronting, as it lays bare the failing in our systems to respond to victims, protect the community from harm by him, and our failings as an organisation in relation to our own staff.
“I want to commend the bravery and resilience of all victim survivors, those who chose to come forward and share their lived experience for the review, and those who chose not to.
“I am deeply sorry for the pain and trauma you experienced and how it continues to affect you, your families and loved ones. I am deeply sorry we failed to protect you from harm because we didn’t see an abuser among us.
“His crimes were an unforgiveable breach of your trust. It is my commitment to you that we can and will do better.
“I also thank the current and former Tasmania Police officers who chose to come forward and detail their experiences – some as direct victims and others in relation to our agency’s systemic failures.
“You have been heard and I am focussed on re-building the trust of both our community and our own people.”
Key findings of the review include:
- Up to 52 young boys were at minimum groomed by him over a 30-year period, with some resulting in sexual abuse. Two of these victim survivors have made formal statements to police, post his death.
- He utilised his connections in sport, namely football and basketball, to groom young boys.
- There is no evidence of him sharing the explicit images he solicited from his victims with other adults, or of him being involved in a paedophile ring.
- There is no evidence of misconduct from any other officers in relation to his offending.
- There is no evidence of him abusing Ashley Youth Detention Centre detainees, either privately or during the course of his duties as a police officer.
- There is no evidence that he manipulated any prosecution matters, police investigations or coronial investigations.
- Seven referrals have been made to Tasmania Police that relate to other former or serving officers.
- There is no evidence of any sexual offending involving a child by any current serving police officer.
- Another referral was made to an external organisation in relation to a person who is not a police officer.
Commissioner Adams said that while significant change had been made to improve our systems and responses to victims of sexual abuse in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry, the review highlighted that Tasmania Police must continue to focus on organisational improvement in this area.
“The review has made five recommendations and Tasmania Police accepts them in full,” she said.
The review recommendations are:
- A redress scheme for victim survivors of his grooming and/or abuse.
- A restorative engagement framework for people who have experienced grooming and/or sexual abuse by Tasmania Police officers.
- To strengthen community engagement and build trust between Tasmania Police and Tasmanian sporting organisations for the purpose of preventing, identifying and reporting grooming, sexual abuse and unacceptable sexualised conduct in sport.
- Tasmania Police establish a dedicated victim management team which operates separately of the Professional Standards Unit to support victims of reported police offending or misconduct.
- That Tasmania Police make a recommendation to the Tasmanian Government for amendments to the Integrity Commission Act 2009.
“Whilst I support these recommendations, two will require advice to be provided to the government for consideration.”
Commissioner Adams said that her leadership team is focussed on ensuring we have an organisation that is trusted by the community, that victims are treated with respect and dignity, and their reports are appropriately and sensitively investigated.
Changes that have been made in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry include:
- Major changes to the Tasmania Police Manual to include very clear guidance and direction when dealing with child sexual abuse.
- Mandatory training, Child and Youth Safe Awareness, has already been rolled out. This training includes information on how to identify grooming behaviours.
- The Office of the Independent Regulator delivering information sessions to all organisations across the state in scope of the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Act. During August 2024 the OIR will be providing further training opportunities for Sport and Recreation groups across the state.
- Annual proactive release of complaints data (occurred in March 2024).
- Changes to the Tasmania Police Manual to include a requirement for the Commissioner of the day to consider any current Professional Standards matters as part of the decision-making process for holding a police funeral (occurred in October 2023).
- Proactive discussions with the Integrity Commission – prior to the release of the independent review – regarding changes to enable the Integrity Commission to investigate matters involving police officers.
- New independent Arch centres across the state, designed to create a safe space for victim survivors of sexual abuse to come forward and be supported in the way they choose.
- Introduced dedicated Sex Crime Investigation teams within our newly established Family and Sexual Violence Command.
“What is also important is the commitment to our values of Accountability, Integrity, Respect and Support, which were shaped by our staff, for our staff, last year. These values are the cornerstone of Tasmania Police as an organisation and guide our actions and decisions.”
“Since receiving this report, I have also implemented an additional requirement that any Professional Standards investigation files that relate to sexual abuse will be proactively sent to the Integrity Commission.”
“We will continue to make the improvements needed to better protect children and support victim-survivors and ensure the values and behaviour of Tasmania Police meets the high standards expected by the community,” she said.
Commissioner Adams said she continued to encourage anyone with information about child sexual abuse to come forward.
“Every piece of information, no matter how small, can help build a picture for investigators,” she said.
“There are several different options for reporting.”
“People can report directly to police on 131 444, or by visiting a police station. You can also report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestopperstas.com.au.”
“Anyone can report concerns or incidents involving police at our Child and Youth Safe web page: https://www.dpfem.tas.gov.au/childsafe/. Information can be provided anonymously.”
“Matters can also be reported directly to the Integrity Commission or the Office of the Independent Regulator.”
“Support for victim survivors is available through Arch, and people have the choice of reporting this way too – if they want to.”
More information, including the Weiss Independent Review final report and actions Tasmania Police has implemented since the Commission of Inquiry, is available at https://www.police.tas.gov.au/commission-of-inquiry/weiss-independent-review/
The Tasmanian Government’s Keeping Children Safe website is available at https://keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au/
Support services are available via https://keepingchildrensafe.tas.gov.au/get-support/
