An internal investigation last year revealed that the state police had falsified 258463 breath tests in the past five and a half years (Daily Mail photo).
In a new independent investigation into false breath tests, Victoria police (Victoria Police) was accused of "a lack of professional ethics," the Daily Mail reported.
An internal investigation last year revealed that the state police had falsified 258463 breath tests over the past five and a half years. After that, retired police commissioner Comri (Neil Comrie) launched an independent investigation called Taskforce Deliver, which was released on Tuesday.
Police falsified breath tests were "totally unacceptable" and "morally deficient," the investigation said.
The report noted that senior police officers had instructed new recruits to forge breath tests. In addition, police officers also manipulate breath devices to increase the number of breath tests performed.
The number of breath tests performed across the state rose from 3.2 million in 2017 to 4.5 million in 2018.
The report criticized the police for increasing the number of breath tests not based on credible scientific evidence, but on the number of people holding driver`s licenses for the time being.
However, the report also states that no driver was fined for the error in Victoria, and there is no evidence that police actions are illegal.
Gart (Wayne Gatt), secretary of the Victoria Police Association`s (Police Association), said the police had forged breath tests because of pressure to meet unrealistic quotas. When completing the breath test quota becomes more important than finding drivers drinking driving, the system needs to be reformed.
