Negligent investigation by police : can a duty of care be found using the existing negligence principles in Australia?

摘要

The Supreme Court of Canada, by majority, has found a tort of negligent investigation. The reasons for the decision were that there was a sufficiently close relationship between the investigating police officer and the particularized suspect for there to be a duty of care owed and there was no compelling policy reason why this duty of care should not be found. However it was decided that this duty of care was not breached. It will be considered in this paper whether courts can find a duty of care owed by police officers to suspects using the existing negligence principles in Australia, in accordance with the reasoning of the High Court in cases like Sullivan v Moody and Tame.