Police have identified a way that allows them to tip off racing industry about dody jockeys, trainers and owners POLICE have identified a way they believe allows them to tip off the racing industry about dodgy jockeys, trainers and owners without breaking the law. And the AFL yesterday made an appeal to police to also tell it of any intelligence it had about possible criminal acts or football code breaches by AFL players or officials, such as the use of illegal or performance-enhancing drugs. Victoria Police deputy commissioner Graham Ashton revealed in the Herald Sun yesterday several racing identities would be banned if the law allowed the force to reveal what they had been caught doing. He was referring to secret telephone tap material that reveals either criminal behaviour or breaches of various codes by people connected with racing and other sports. Mr Ashton said the force would like to be able to share that information with sporting bodies, but federal laws stopped it from doing so. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus yesterday indicated that the Federal Government had no intention of changing the law. "Telephone intercepts are a significant imposition on civil liberties," his spokeswoman said. While the Attorney-General has authorised agencies to undertake interception to deal with serious crimes, this information cannot be passed to sporting bodies to conduct in-house inquiries into disciplinary matters. Premier Denis Napthine yesterday vowed to push for the law to change. "We will continue to make representations to the Federal Government so when police collect information that would be of use to racing stewards and officials, that information can be passed on," he said. With a law change all but ruled out, Victoria Police is seeking legal advice on whether it can reveal incriminating material it has about racing identities that didn't come from bugging phones. The head of the force's intelligence and covert support unit, Doug Fryer, yesterday told the Herald Sun the unit had just completed an intelligence assessment into the Victorian racing industry. "There are some findings in the assessment that are not from telephone intercept material that will be relevant for the racing industry," he said. The AFL yesterday said the growing threat of corruption in sport made a strong case for police to be allowed to work more closely with approved sporting bodies. Racing Integrity Commissioner Sal Perna yesterday said it was vital for the good of the sport that police be able to tell him what dirt they had. "If there are criminal connections in racing, and common sense suggests there are, then we want them out of the sport," he said.