Lori Paris Reports on Reaction to the Ombudsman's Report

Response to the scathing report in the Special Investigations Unit has been varied.

Praising the report for identifying the flaws in the SIU, lawyer Julian Falconer says this does open up the possibility of lawsuits by people whose cases were investigated.

"The standards that apply to police investigations apply to these investigations. So for example, our courts have recognized that people can sue for negligent investigation, our courts have recognized that people can sue for abuse of public office. Suffice to say that the SIU is not immune to that."

However, Attorney General Chris Bentley shrugged off comments that the report claimed the SIU was biased towards police.

"The Ombudsman did not find any objective evidence that any of the decisions were made on an improper basis."

And outgoing SIU director James Cornish emphasized that during his tenure, the SIU has made many positive steps. However he did somewhat acknowledge the criticism.

"The Ombudsman noted that there have been some investigative flaws in isolated cases. This of course reminds us that we must always strive to do better."

Cornish added that while the Ombudsman had suggested he might recommend re-opening some SIU cases, no such recommendation was ever made.