Identities of the undercover police officers will remain secret during court processes to prevent reprisals

"The work of undercover police officers is critical to stopping some of the most lucrative and dangerous criminal activity in this state."Identities of the undercover police officers will remain secret during court processes to prevent reprisals from criminals they help to apprehend.
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who will introduce the legislation into Parliament this week, said the new laws would help police fight organised crime "from the inside".
"These laws will help expose drug trafficking, money laundering, illegal weapons trading and gang violence – including murder," he said.The Criminal Investigation (Covert Operations) Bill 2008 is aimed at facilitating the wider use of undercover police officers to combat organised crime in South Australia.
It is also the first new law in the second wave of legislative measures aimed primarily at combating motorcycle gang activities.The first wave included tighter firearms laws, riot and affray laws and measures to ban bikie gangs and stop members from associating.The new legislation will allow police to create and use false identities – including driver's licences and birth certificates – to investigate an offence or gather criminal intelligence."These laws will cover how false identity documents are applied for and on which grounds it can be granted," he said."The Bill also dictates punishments for the misuse of false identities. "It also provides greater legal certainty for covert operatives and agencies involved in undercover operations and delivers better police accountability than previous arrangements."
A significant section of the Bill allows undercover police to give evidence in court without disclosing their true identities and potentially exposing themselves and their families to harm.Under existing laws, an offender often learns the true identity of the undercover officer during the court process, even though the officer's name is suppressed from publication."Protecting our front-line fighters in the war against criminal motorcycle gangs is paramount," Mr Atkinson said.
"These brave and dedicated operatives need protection so that they can carry out dangerous but important investigations in the safest possible way".Under the new laws, false identities also will be recognised by interstate law enforcement agencies and cross-border recognition of witness protection certificates will be possible."Criminal bikie gangs don't behave themselves once they've crossed a state border," Mr Atkinson said."Sometimes they operate across different states to evade detection or capture. Cross-border recognition of South Australian undercover operations will make life easier for police and harder for criminals."The new legislation replaces and greatly expands the Criminal Law (Undercover Operations) Act 1995.Those laws primarily covered the approval for such operations and gave police officers legal immunity, but did not specifically authorise the measures now being introduced.