Australian police vetting delays report on racism
A university research paper revealing new findings on racial attacks on Indian students here was reportedly delayed for over two months as Victoria Police vetted its findings.
The police was given 60 days to review the report's findings, delaying its release from November to February 16. The project was launched in June last year in what the university termed at the time as a fast-track attempt to gather survey and interview evidence from students and community stakeholders.
The delays were seen as frustrating for some researchers targeting an early December release, 'the Australian' newspaper quoted a source as saying.
However, Victoria University (VU) said its decision to wait for police approval was important as police participation had resulted in a more comprehensive and detailed report. VU acting vice-chancellor Linda Rosenman said the university would have preferred to release the report earlier but felt it was important to have the police participate .
"There was never any pressure on Victoria University to amend or alter our findings," she said. Senior Sergeant Simon Foster of the Victoria Police research co-ordinating committee said the report was 210 pages long and had to be reviewed by a number of different areas of the organisation.
"When Victoria Police agrees to provide information, data or access to interview members for external research projects, they are given a 60-day period to review the draft report and provide feedback," he said.
