Corrupt NSW police officer sacked

Posted Fri Nov 19, 2004 8:08am AEDT

New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has sacked an officer who confessed to being involved in corrupt activities over the past eight years.

At the Police Integrity Commission (PIC), Christopher John Laycock admitted he tipped off a target of a child pornography investigation, proposed to kidnap and extort money from criminals and took bribes.

The former detective worked at Burwood police station in Sydney's west and last month was issued with a "show cause" notice which gave him three weeks to indicate why he should keep his job.

He was sacked this week.

Crooked cop sacked

Photo: Bob Pearce

November 19, 2004 - 11:58AM

Sacked ... Christopher Laycock.

A detective who admitted extorting money from criminals and tipping off a suspect in Australia's biggest child pornography crackdown has been sacked from the NSW police force.

Christopher Laycock, a Sydney detective sergeant, was caught out by a Police Integrity Commission surveillance operation.

He told the commission that he and a gang of associates, including a career criminal and a former police officer, had door-knocked criminals.

The group would present fake search warrants and "stamp" their victims for cash, letting them go without charge if they paid up.

The 33-year-old father of four children is the son of recently retired assistant police commissioner John Laycock.

Christopher Laycock and a known criminal also approached a suspect in the national internet child pornography investigation, Operation Auxin, in September and tipped him off that his property would be searched, the PIC was told.

The man handed over almost $4,000 in exchange for the tip.

Mr Laycock told the PIC he had been extorting money from criminals, particularly drug dealers, in Sydney's Burwood and Five Dock areas since 1996.

Last month he was given three weeks to show why he should remain in the police force.

Police today said Commissioner Ken Moroney signed off on Mr Laycock's removal from the force on Monday.

The PIC's investigation into Mr Laycock and his associates is continuing, and more public hearings in the commission are expected in early December.