Chapter 14 argyle - State Law Publisher

FINAL REPORT
It was, however, Dalton’s view that this investigation had to be watched closely. He put in
place a monitoring process in relation to the investigation, because Thoy had suggested
initially that this matter would require a task force arrangement. He believed that Thoy was
inclined to over-exaggeration. There was a need to monitor resources under his command.
Dalton said that it was not unusual for him to be involved in decisions about investigators’
travel or whether further testing should be done. He stated that, at the end of the day, if
there was some need for expenditure, the request would come to him. He did not see his
involvement in the Argyle investigation as being different from the amount of involvement
he had in other investigations.
Scott was an Assistant Commissioner at the relevant time. He was aware that Thoy had
been allocated the investigation, because he had discussions with Corfield about the
possibility that Argyle could bear some of the costs. In evidence, Scott made the comment
that he did not have concerns about Thoy’s fitness to be a police officer, but rather his
ability to conduct an investigation such as Argyle. He said that he would not have given the
inquiry to Thoy in the first place.
When asked why he did not arrange to have the investigation moved to someone else,
Scott responded that he could not see the logic in doing that, and that Thoy had proceeded
with the investigation for some time before he became aware of it. Scott also commented
that more was needed than just what he “felt” in order to justify taking a person off an
investigation of this nature.
It appears that several senior officers, at least Trewin and Scott, had reservations about
whether Thoy was an appropriate choice for this investigation. Those reservations appear to
have been based more on perceptions of Thoy’s character than on his ability. The
perception was that Thoy would unnecessarily magnify the amount of work and the
importance of an investigation he was given. The difficulty with such views is, if they were
held at the time, why Thoy was permitted to continue with the investigation. There is a
degree of vagueness and self-contradiction in this management approach. It raises the
distinct possibility that subsequent events, and in particular the fact that Thoy had made
allegations of corruption against senior officers, have coloured the views of those officers.
AN ALLEGED WARNING
Thoy said that, between the time he made the LD application on 14 February 1990 and his
meeting with Trewin on 21 February 1990, he had word that Scott was not happy that he
had the investigation. Thoy stated that this information was given to him in confidence, and
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