OZ police in racist and pornographic email probe

ABOUT 100 Australian police are being investigated for circulating racist and pornographic emails via the internal police email system, and one officer involved in the scandal has committed suicide, a top official said yesterday.

The investigation in Victoria state follows a citizens’ group report last week that police in Melbourne targeted, taunted and beat African teens, accusing the department of having a “culture of racism”.

Police chief commissioner Simon Overland acknowledged at the time that some officers were racist but said they were a small minority, and in announcing the email probe yesterday he noted the material involved offensive themes, including pornographic and sexist material. The officer who committed suicide was not responsible for racist material, Overland said.