Evidence spycop John Dines worked at heart of Australia’s intelligence-gathering community

A document (see below) shows that for several years UK spycop John Dines worked at the heart of Australia’s intelligence-gathering community (including undercover ops). The man who infiltrated protest groups in the UK and who abused a woman over two years by concealing his true identity has also received an award by the Charles Sturt University in Australia for ‘Professional Excellence’. Dines hoped to escape the London-based inquiry into undercover policing, but last Sunday was spectacularly outed by Helen Steel, an activist with London Greenpeace and the woman whose life he abused, when she confronted him at Sydney airport as he was waiting to greet a contingent of police officers from India, who he is training as part of the course he runs at the University. The university’s executive dean of the faculty of arts, Professor Tracey Green, stated that Dines works only in an ‘administrative capacity’, but another document, referred to below, shows Dines playing a far more active role that merely ‘administrative’…   

A. Dines’ ‘administrative’ role

The course which Dines is currently running is called “Indian Police Service Phase III Mid Career Program 2016”. The program is conducted on behalf of the Australian Graduate School of Policing & Security (phone 0061299326212; email mctp1@csu.edu.au). The program recruited Indian police officers with the help of the Australian High Commission (a department of the Commonwealth of Australia) at New Delhi. The course is a three year course and comprises two components: a 4-week academic programme (which will be delivered at the SVP National Police Academy Hyderabad) followed by a 7-day study tour to Australia visiting police sites and facilities in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Dines was at the airport in Sydney to meet those officers who were to commence the Australian tour, which would, of course, have been arranged with the NSW police service and the AFP (Australian Federal Police). 68 Indian police officers are listed for the tour. Mr Dines’ official contact details are quoted in the program prospectus as: jdines@csu.edu.au; telephone +61 2 993 25212.

In 2012 Dines received an award for ‘Professional Excellence’ for his part in running the Mid-Education program for the Indian Police.

B. Dines’ intelligence-gathering role

Dines’ academic work in Australia goes back a number of years. Indeed an Australian Crime Commission document shows that as far back as 2006/7 he was referred to as ‘Associate Professor John Dines’. The ACC covers organised crime and intelligence-gathering (including political intelligence). According to the document “The ACC has a range of statutory functions centered around intelligence collection and dissemination…”.

The ACC works collaboratively with state and territory police forces and Commonwealth agencies such as the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), Australian Federal Police (AFP), Australian Customs service (Customs), the Australian securities and investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AuSTRAC) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO). In other words, the ACC has access to all intelligence-gathering agencies in Australia.

On page 15 of this document, Dines is shown to have headed the section responsible for Financial Crimes. Dines, of course, would have been well suited in his work with the ACC, given he was working in a frontline undercover role, spying on political protest groups in the UK. Dines was a member of a secret Metropolitan police undercover unit, the Special Demonstration Squad, that was tasked with spying on political groups.

C. Dines confronted

According to The Guardian Dines “was resettled in Australia by British police who feared Steel was on the verge of finding him”. The British police paid the bill to resettle him, according to a police source with knowledge of the operation.

On Sunday – International Women’s Day – Steel finally, albeit briefly, confronted Dines (a man who fled the scene of his crimes – the UK) at Kingsford Smith Airport, Sydney. The UK spycop apologised to Steel, but added, by explanation, that his job had been to target ‘extremists’ – i.e. political protesters. But given the high level police intelligence work Dines has been involved with over the past ten years, his off-the-cuff apology can only be described as disingenuous.

Steel later commented on Dines’ current role: “When I found out he was a course director and that the course included leftwing extremism I was very concerned about what tactics they were being trained in and whether they were going to be trained in many of the discredited tactics that were used in the UK which have been now acknowledged to be human rights abuses. John was part of the … special demonstration squad which spied on trade unionists, anti-racists and environmental campaigners.” She said. “I was extremely concerned that he might now be promoting the kind of tactics that have been used on us in the UK. I felt it was important to come here to expose what happened in the UK in case these discredited tactics are being promoted in other countries.”

This week a statement was made by David Shoebridge MLC to the NSW Legislature re the policing program Dines rus at Charles Sturt University:

“This program is intended to provide senior level guidance to police officers. The learning outcomes of the unit include providing students with advanced knowledge in areas including:

Identifying and sharing good practice
Human Rights
Gender Sensitivity

It is offensive in the extreme that John Dines can be involved in teaching these matters to police in this State. This is a man who professionally and systematically abused human rights as a police officer in the UK and showed a culpable lack of gender sensitivity. He has no place teaching police in NSW or in any country that says it respects human rights.”

For more on Dines and his undercover work in the UK, see: http://campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/tag/john-dines/