Two more South Australian police officers have been arrested following investigations by the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption.
A 32-year-old Reynella man has been charged with receiving stolen property and a 38-year-old man from Goodwood has been charged with aggravated theft and abuse of public office.
One of those arrested currently serves with Sturt Operation Mantle and the other had recently served with them.
Four male and two female officers, from the Sturt local service area’s seven-person Operation Mantle unit, were charged on Monday with theft offences and abuse of public office.
The accused officers ranged in age from 27 to 53 and include one sergeant and a number of senior constables.
On Monday, SA Police Commissioner Gary Burns said SAPOL’s anti-corruption branch discovered “irregularities” in the plain-clothes unit’s operations early this year.
The officers charged on Monday allegedly stole alcohol, tools and electronics but Commissioner Burns stressed there was no indication of drugs being stolen, and other Operation Mantle units had not been implicated.
“The allegations are very disappointing,” he told reporters in Adelaide.
“But (they) shouldn’t be seen as a reflection on the other 4500 police officers who go out and do their work on a daily basis to the best of their ability.
“This is isolated to a small group of people.”
The two latest arrests come after South Australia’s Independent Commissioner Against Corruption says his first year of investigations has led to only a handful of arrests.
Former Federal Court Justice Bruce Lander QC was appointed in 2013 to lead the watchdog, which Premier Jay Weatherill said would strengthen the community’s confidence in public institutions.
The Commissioner’s annual report, which was tabled in parliament on Tuesday, reveals the Office of Public Integrity received 923 separate complaints and reports in its first year.
In the year to June 30, the Commissioner’s office investigated 71 corruption allegations.
A further 82 complaints were referred to SA Police or the Police Ombudsman, leading to three arrests.
READ MORE: More ICAC prosecutions imminent: report
