|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
|
Police policies and
procedures |
|
|
|
R1 |
New Zealand Police should
review and consolidate the numerous policies, instructions, and directives
related to investigating complaints of misconduct against police officers, as
well as those relating to the investigation of sexual assault allegations. |
Partially Complete |
• NZ Police continue to review and consolidate "all" police Corporate Instruments (all police administrative and operational policies and instructions)
• A number of instruments have been reviewed, updated and published to staff and the remainder, are under active review.
• A number of obsolete policies have also been cancelled.
• All Corporate instruments will be reviewed by 30 June 2009
• The publishing capability for the online library has been re-scheduled for delivery at the end of August 2008.
• Corporate Instrument staff continue to prioritise, review and consolidate those instruments related to investigating complaints of misconduct against police officers, as well as those relating to the investigation of sexual assault allegations is a priority (COI Recommendations)
• This work will be completed in conjunction with recommendations R2; R3; R10; R11; R16; R33; R39; R40; R52; R54. |
Policies, instructions and directives, relating to this recommendation, have been consolidated and converted to the new online library- completed June 2008. This online library will be published and available to staff on the 25 August 2008.
All instruments will be fully reviewed within 2 years, estimated to complete 30 June 2009. |
R2 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that general instructions are automatically updated when a change is
made to an existing policy. |
Completed |
• A new set of standardised instrument templates and instructions have been developed and implemented
online
• Formal development, consultation and approval
processes have been implemented to ensure that general instructions are
updated when a change is made to an existing policy
• This process will be applied to the Corporate
Instrument Document Management site as part of the “Corporate Instruments”
initiative noted in recommendation R1. |
Completed 2006 |
R3 |
New Zealand Police should
develop a set of policy principles regarding what instructions need to be
nationally consistent and where regional flexibility should be allowed. |
Partially completed |
• A set of policy principles for ensuring consistency
in national instructions have been developed
• The process on regional flexibility has commenced
through development and implementation of Memorandum of Understanding
templates and instructions
• These principles and guidelines will be applied to
the Corporate Instrument Document Management site as part of the “Corporate
Instruments” initiative noted in recommendation R1.
• New policy around local instructions being generalised to encompass the new Police Act. |
National phase completed April
2007. Regional phase expected to be completed in the next quarter. Delay is to take into account the new Police Act.
|
R4 |
An enhanced policy
capability should be developed within the Office of the Commissioner to
provide policy analysis on sound data, drawing upon the experience of
front-line staff and upon research from New
Zealand and beyond. |
Completed |
• All the necessary appointments are made, the policy
team was established in June 2007 and a work plan has been drawn up
• As part of the policy process, relevant research and
front-line staff will be involved to varying degrees in the development of
all operational policy. |
Completed June 2007 |
|
Police policies and
procedures for complainants |
|
|
|
R5 |
New Zealand Police should
develop an explicit policy to notify the Commissioner of Police when there is
a serious complaint made against a Police officer. This policy and its
associated procedures should specify who is to notify the police commissioner
and within what time frames. |
Partially complete |
- An explicit policy was developed and published in June 2007 that specifies:
- that the Commissioner of Police must be notified of any serious complaint made against a Police officer or any Police staff member
- who is to notify the Police Commissioner and within what time frames.
• As part of Recommendation 8, a technical solution has been reviewed and a business case is being prepared. This solution may be utilised to improve the current process of notifying the Commissioner of serious complaints.
• The Early Warning system in recommendation 47 will also provide a robust and more effective system for reporting.
|
Phase 1 relating to the policy completed in June 2007
Phase 2 - Ongoing improvement - the timeline will be determined by Recommendation R47
|
R6 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that members of the public are able to access with relative ease
information on the complaints process and on their rights if they do make a
complaint against a member of the police. |
Underway |
- Access to information on the complaints process will be dealt with as part of an initiative for reviewing complainants rights
- Preliminary meetings have been held with the Editorial and Publishing Section of NZ Police. This is around enhancements to Police websites and other publications including pamphlets and the like for distribution across New Zealand.
- A national Service Charter documenting the process for making a complaint, including your rights as a complainant is currently being developed as part of the Service First Project. Once complete this charter will be made readily available via police station public counters, websites and the like.
|
This recommendation is dependant on the Service First Project's deliver of the Service Charter - estimate December 2008. |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R7 |
New Zealand Police should
undertake periodic surveys to determine public awareness of the processes for
making a complaint against a member of the police or a police associate. |
Underway |
• NZ Police have contracted Gravitas Research and Strategy Ltd, a research company, to undertake a Citizens' Satisfaction survey on its behalf through the Service First Project. This survey replaces the previous satisfaction research that NZ Police have used as a performance measure over many years and is conducted by telephone.
• The questionnaire was tested during February and early March. The survey commenced on 12 March and will continue until June. This will give NZ Police a baseline to compare future results against as an ongoing measure of NZ Police performance and citizens' satisfaction with Police.
• The survey uses questions from the Common Measurements Tool. NZ Police is piloting the Common Measurements Tool (CMT) for the State Services Commission. SSC has obtained the CMT under a licensing agreement with the Canadian government. NZ Police and other agencies using the CMT will be able to benchmark results against results for citizens' satisfaction with Canadian public sector organisations.
• A question from the CMT is being used to determine whether citizens who had a problem with NZ Police service delivery or NZ Police staff knew what they could do about it in accordance with Recommendation 7.
• Participation in the survey is voluntary, and the information provided is confidential. The sample is made up of a random sample of the general population and a smaller targeted sample of people who have called the NZ Police Communications Centre. |
As at the end of June the field work for the first periodic survey has been completed and the results will be reported in the next quarter.
The next quarter will also see the continuation of the ongoing research. |
R8 |
New Zealand Police should
develop its database recording the number of complaints against police
officers to allow identification of the exact number of complaints and the
exact number of complainants for any one officer. |
Underway |
This database exists currently and will form part of an Early Intervention solution.
• A prototype of the Early Intervention system (American software solution) has been trialed across three Districts and one Service centre
• This system and associated processes will require further development and consultation before national implementation
• A business case is currently being prepared to enable the procurement of an appropriate system to meet NZ Police requirements.
• This recommendation will be delivered in conjunction with recommendations R47 and R48 |
The estimated date to complete in June 2008 is unlikely due to the timeframe required for the procurement process and implementation.
A revised timeline will be provided in the next quarter. |
|
Adult Sexual Assault
Investigation Policy |
|
|
|
R9 |
New Zealand Police should
review the implementation of the Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Policy to
ensure that the training and resources necessary for its effective
implementation are available and seek dedicated funding from the Government
and Parliament if necessary. |
Underway |
• Stock of the NZ Police District implementation of the ASAI Policy is being finalised. This will provide a further monitor of this implementation and promote ways forward for further work.
• Continued work around the revision of the ASAI policy within the new NZ Police Manual and the involvement of the ASA Core Reference Group (ASA-CRG), and then wider consultation.
• Continued promotion of the Policy by way of the 12 ASA Investigators Courses held in 2007/08. |
Estimated to complete in the next quarter. |
R10 |
New Zealand Police should
incorporate the Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Policy in the “Sexual
Offences” section of the New Zealand Police Manual of Best Practice for
consistency and ease of reference. |
Underway |
• Work has commenced on the new Police Manual structure and framework. Existing material has been placed within the structure for updating and aligning of Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Policy
• Adult Sexual Assault Core Reference Group assembled and introduced to Police Manual format. Also the requirement for ASAI Policy to be revised.
• New framework for ASAI Policy started and disseminated for consultation and feedback.
• Review of the ASAI Policy with the Police Manual has been undertaken. |
Estimated to complete in the next quarter. |
|
Communication of
policies and training |
|
|
|
R11 |
New Zealand Police should
strengthen its communication and training practices by developing a system
for confirming officers have read and understood policies and instructions
that affect how they carry out their duties and any changes thereto. |
Underway |
• Requirements have been defined for providing an online facility for NZ Police staff, which will:
o Track the delivery of online publications
o Track the opening of the documents by staff
o Provide a facility for testing staff’s understanding by requiring each staff member to answer a series of questions on-line, from the content of the policy or instruction
• These requirements will be incorporated in the document management system as part of the “Corporate Instruments” initiative noted in recommendation R1.
• Two technical options to deliver the functionality have been examined but deemed unsuitable. A further solution is now being considered.
|
Progressively to June 2009 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R12 |
New Zealand Police should
strengthen its communication and training practices to ensure the technical
competencies of officers are updated in line with the new policies and
instructions. |
Underway |
As a result of the identification of the key linkages and dependencies within the Commission of Inquiry Programme of work, Training is now in a position to implement any training programmes required as a result of the development of policies and instructions.
• Identification of interdependencies between recommendations has also enabled NZ Police to effectively communicate key changes to policies and instructions.
• Design and development of mandated ethics training is underway.
• Principles of "conflicts of interest" and "report and be protected" will be incorporated in the training.
|
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
R13 |
Bearing in mind the mobility
of the workforce, New Zealand Police should conduct a review of what training
should be mandatory at a national level and what should be left to the
discretion of the districts. |
Partially completed |
Nationally mandated training is determined annually, reviewed, prioritised against a set criteria by the Training Governance Committee, and approved by the NZ Police Executive.
• The process for determining mandated and discretionary district training has been confirmed by Police Executive Committee (PEC). This process allows for approximately 50% of training hours to be mandated nationally and the remaining 50% left to the discretion of the districts.
• Nationally mandated annual and cyclic training is determined by PEC in March or April each year. |
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
|
Consistency and
transparency in complaint processes |
|
|
|
R14 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that the practice of providing investigating officers with a reminder
of the standards for complaint investigation is applied consistently
throughout the country |
Underway |
• The instruction to complaint investigators on the standards required for complaint investigations forms part of a generic template that is forwarded to investigators following receipt of a complaint against police.
• Ongoing dialogue continues with the investigations and review team at the Independent Police Complaints Authority in order to better categorise files and investigations and to streamline systems and processes.
• The workshop with key senior professional standards managers and policy staff to review national standards and policies has yet to be convened and will now be held in the next quarter.
• The technical phase of the national implementation plan has been completed.
• The business implementation phase will be completed once the workshop has been convened.
|
The estimated completion date will be determined by the outcome of the workshop. |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R15 |
New Zealand Police should
improve the process of communicating with complainants about the
investigation of their complaint, particularly if there is a decision not to
prosecute. Complainants and their support people should be given
a) realistic expectations at the
start of an investigation about when key milestones are likely to be met
b) the opportunity to comment on
the choice of investigator
c) regular updates on progress, and
advance notice if the investigation is likely to be delayed for any reason
d) assistance in understanding the
reasons for any decision not to prosecute |
Underway |
• The continued implementation of Adult Sexual Assault Investigation policy (R9) by way Adult Sexual Assault Investigation training in Districts and RNZPC as well as Work around the improvement and promotion of Police form POL1060.
• Revision and enhancement of Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Policy into the Police Manual by way of Adult Sexual Assault Core Reference Group (ASA-CRG) subject matter experts. The specific suggestions within the recommendation are to be included within the new manual. |
Estimated to complete in the next quarter. |
|
Independence of investigations |
|
|
|
R16 |
New Zealand Police should
develop a consistent practice of identifying any independence issues at the
outset of an investigation of a complaint involving a police officer or a
police associate, to ensure there is a high degree of transparency and
consistency. The practice should be supported by an explicit policy on the
need for independence in such an investigation. In respect of the handling
of conflicts of interest, the policy should, among other things,
• identify types and degrees of association
• define a conflict of interest
provide guidelines and procedures
to assist police officers identify and adequately manage conflicts of
interest (including in cases where cost or the need to prompt investigation
counts against the appointment of an investigator from another section or
district)
• ensure that the risk of a conflict of interest
involving investigation staff is considered at the outset of any
investigation involving a police officer or police associate. |
Underway |
• Work on the 'conflict of interest' component of this recommendation continues with draft guidelines prepared for refinement
• The workshop with key senior professional standards managers and policy staff to review national standards and policies has yet to be convened and will now be held in the next quarter.
• The technical phase of the national implementation plan has been completed.
• The business implementation phase will be completed once the workshop has been convened.
• This recommendation is linked to recommendations R14 and R20.
|
Commence 07/08 and estimated to complete June 2009
|
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R17 |
New Zealand Police should
expand the content of its ethics training programme to include identifying
and managing conflicts of interest, particularly in respect of complaints
involving police officers or police associates. |
Partially completed |
• The original national ethics training package has been revised and incorporates material on conflicts of interest involving complaints against, or observed offending by, members of NZ Police
• The revised supervisors' ethics training package includes material on identifying and managing members who may be subject to such conflicts of interest.
• Phase 2 is subject to the promulgation of two draft policies: "Report and be Protected" and "Conflicts of Interest". Training will be modified and updated accordingly.
• The underlying principles of the draft policies will be included in the National Ethics Training programme with the detail of the content to be added once the policies have been confirmed.
|
Phase 1 completed.
Phase 2 ongoing |
|
Support for sexual
assault investigations |
|
|
|
R18 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that training for the Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Policy is
fully implemented across the country, so that the skills of officers involved
in sexual assault investigations continue to increase and complainants
receive a consistent level of service. |
Underway |
• Ongoing consultation between Training Service Centre and Nat. Coordinator: ASA around oversight and coordination of RNZPC and District Adult Sexual Assault Investigation Courses.
• With ongoing roll-out of District and RNZPC ASAI Training courses, 292 investigators were trained in the 2007/08 financial year.
• Formation of an ASA Core Reference Group (ASA-CRG), which includes internal and external. ASAI Policy tabled as in need for revision and placement into new Police Manual. |
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
R19 |
New Zealand Police should
initiate cooperative action with the relevant Government agencies to seek
more consistent Government funding for the support groups involved in
assisting the investigation of sexual assault complaints by assisting and
supporting complainants. |
Ongoing |
• Continued promotion of Sexual Abuse Assessment and
Treatment Service (SAATS) which is promotes a medical/forensic model jointly
funded by Police, ACC and Ministry of Health.
• Continued work with Doctors for Sexual Abuse Care
(DSAC) in providing workforce development training and expertise for creation
of critical mass of providers for SAATS implementation.
• Continued work with DSAC in seeking consistent and
sustainable government funds for ongoing sector expertise and contributions.
• Continued work with the Taskforce for Action on Sexual
Violence where Crisis Support agencies will look to be better funded via
Ministry of Social Development.
• Continued work in identifying gaps around NZ where
tripartite services are not in place, or are in place and need supporting. |
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
|
Management assurance |
|
|
|
R20 |
In relation to
investigations of sexual assault complaints against police officers or police
associates, New Zealand Police should have in place systems that
• verify that actual police practices in investigating
complaints comply with the relevant standards and procedures
• ensure the consistency of practice across the
country, for instance in the supervision of smaller and rural stations
• identify the required remedial action where practice
fails to comply with relevant standards
• monitor police officers' knowledge and understanding
of the relevant standards and procedures |
Partially completed |
• The verification of compliance of police practices
in investigating complaints, ensuring consistency of practice, identifying
remedial action and monitoring of Police understanding of standards and
procedures is a process that exists in Police
• In relation to the investigation of all complaints
against Police, there is a three step review process
o First review of practice takes
place at District level and a report with recommendations are sent to the
national manager professional standards
o Second review takes place at
Police National Head Quarters by or on behalf of the national manager
professional standards
o Third review will be completed
by the Independent Police Conduct Authority
• These reviews check that the relevant standards and
procedures have been applied
• As a result of the process, police officers’
knowledge is evaluated
• In order to ensure consistency and to comply fully
with this recommendation, the applicable practice note will be reviewed and
updated
• A workshop with key senior professional standards
managers and policy staff to review national standards and policies has yet to be convened and will now be held in the next quarter.
The technical phase of the national implementation plan has been completed.
The business implementation phase of the plan will be completed once the workshop has been convened.
Ongoing work with the IPCA to develop and agree on categorisation and standards continues.
• This recommendation will be reviewed in conjunction
with recommendation R16, independence of investigation. |
This estimated to completion date will be subject to the
outcome of the workshop. |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
|
Handling of complaints by the Police Complaints
Authority |
|
|
|
R21 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should improve its accessibility to people who may
wish to make a complaint, for instance, by publicising its newly established
website and by wider distribution of its information pamphlet. |
Underway |
A planned substantial revamp of the Authority’s website must await final agreement between the Authority and the Police on the mechanics and criteria governing treatment of complaints of varying levels of seriousness. It is intended that such decisions will be reflected in a public information pamphlet on the web and for physical distribution.
Work on the call-centre proposal is well-progressed. The unit will be known as the Service Centre and will be responsible for receiving all complaints, including oral and historical, and managing the processing of the complaints as appropriate (viz investigate itself, direct Police to investigate, conciliate, etc)
|
The website revamp is planned to commence in August 2008 subject to agreement with the Police on complaint processing protocols.
Staff are currently being recruited and the Service Centre is on track to commence operations on 1 November 2008 or earlier.
|
R22 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should, in conjunction with Police, the Ministry of
Justice, and other relevant agencies, develop a communications strategy to
increase awareness of the [Independent Police Conduct Authority] and its
work. |
Underway |
A draft communications strategy will shortly be available for discussion with stakeholders.
|
30 September 2008
|
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R23 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should actively facilitate the reception of
complaints by accepting oral statements on the basis that the complainant
will confirm the [Independent Police Conduct Authority’s] written record of
the complaint. |
Underway |
The Authority receives and actions oral complaints in the same way it processes written complaints
|
|
R24 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should ensure it has more regular communication
with those people whose complaints are under consideration. |
Underway |
More focused effort is being made in regard to more
regular contact with complainants. This is resulting in reduced complainant
anxiety and frustration levels.
|
New performance
measures and the installation of a new database are expected to result in
improvements to communication with complainants in 2008.
New appointments
may be made under the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988 depending
on the availability of resources. |
R25 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should seek feedback from complainants by way of
random sampling on their experience of the complaints process. |
Underway |
The Authority has recently had the opportunity to assess the success of the Northern Ireland model in a recent visit to that jurisdiction. Consideration is now underway to determine the most cost-effective way of doing similar in New Zealand
|
The Authority will consider the financial and operational implications arising from surveying complainants with a view to implementation in 2008/ 2009
|
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R26 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should develop strategies for addressing its
current backlog of complaints, including seeking additional resources as
appropriate. |
Underway |
The Authority is making progress in implementing its initiative to meet this recommendation. The Service Centre will institute new processes to provide more efficient management of new complaints and facilitate the Authority’s ability to dedicate separate efforts to removing the file backlog. The Authority is presently recruiting staff for the new Service Centre.
|
The Service Centre will be operational by 1 November 2008, or earlier. Strategies will be in place before 1 November 2008 to ensure the file backlog of old complaint files will be eliminated by 2009/ 2010 year end
|
R27 |
The [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] should be encouraged to exercise its discretion in
favour of accepting historic sexual assault complaints. If there is any
doubt about this matter, a further legislative amendment should be included
in the Independent Police Complaints Authority Amendment Bill. |
Completed |
The Authority accepts historical sexual assault complaints |
The Independent Police
Conduct Amendment Act came into force on 29 November 2007.
Formal policies to be
established with Police by May 2008. |
|
The Police Complaints Authority and legislative
requirements |
|
|
|
R28 |
The requirement
for the police to notify the [Independent Police Conduct Authority] of any
complaints received by them “as soon as practicable” (section 15 of the
Police Complaints Authority Act 1988) should be amended by adding the words
“and in any case no later than 5 working days after receipt of he complaint”,
and compliance with this requirement should be monitored by the Professional
Standards section of the Office of the Commissioner. |
Completed |
An amendment was included in the
Independent Police Conduct Authority Amendment Act 2007. |
The Independent Police
Conduct Authority Amendment Act came into force on 29 November 2007.
|
R29 |
The discretion
in section 29(2)(a) of the Police Complaints Authority Act should be removed
so that the [Independent Police Conduct Authority] is required to notify the
Attorney-General and Minister of Police if, within a reasonable time the
Authority makes a recommendation to the police under section 27(2) or 28(2),
the police fail to take action that seems to the [Independent Police Conduct
Authority] to be adequate and appropriate. |
Completed |
An amendment was included in the
Independent Police Conduct Authority Amendment Act 2007.
|
The Independent Police
Conduct Authority Amendment Act came into force on 29 November 2007.
|
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R30 |
The Ministry of
Justice should review the secrecy provisions in the Police Complaints
Authority Act, and make such recommendation as may be appropriate for those
provision to be repealed or amended (through the Independent Police
Complaints Authority Amendment Bill) to ensure that the Act
• encourages the [Independent Police Conduct Authority] to provide a reasonable level of communication with
complainants on the progress of complainants; and
• does not inappropriately prevent
the [Independent Police
Conduct Authority] from investigating
complaints that may results in criminal or disciplinary proceedings being
taken against a member of the police. |
Underway |
Cabinet has
agreed to six proposals to enhance the role of the Authority, which will:
• allow the Authority to undertake
its own investigations of complaints about Police misconduct in defined
circumstances
• allow the Authority to conduct
own motion investigations into serious incidents or incidents of significant
public interest
• amend the current secrecy and
privilege provisions so that information gathered during the Authority’s
investigations can be used in subsequent proceedings
• give Authority investigators the
necessary powers to carry out their enhanced investigatory role.
• enable the Authority to decide
whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a criminal prosecution, in
certain circumstances
• allow the Official Information
Act 1982 to apply to the Authority.
The Authority, Justice,
Police and SSC have been working steadily on these issues and are largely in
agreement on principles and suggested mechanisms to give effect to these
proposals. A Bill will be introduced later this year. |
Cabinet agreed to six
proposals on 10 December 2007.
A Bill will be introduced
this year. |
R31 |
On the enactment
of the Independent Police Complaints Authority Amendment Bill, the Government
should ensure that the majority of members of the [Independent Police Conduct Authority] are from outside the legal profession. If
this is not possible with a three-person Authority (if the Authority and the
deputy are both lawyers), the Government should give consideration to
promoting further legislative change to enable a five-person Authority to be
appointed. |
Underway |
Work is progressing in this area.
|
The Board appointments will be completed by the end of 2008/ 2009
|
R32 |
The Government should adopt a policy that those
appointed as members of the [Independent
Police Conduct Authority] reflect
community diversity and strengthen the community’s perception of the [Independent Police Conduct Authority’s] independence.
|
Completed |
The Crown Entities Act 2004 requires that
consideration be given to the desirability of promoting diversity in the
membership of Crown entities. |
The Ministry of Justice
will provided advice to the Ministers as appointments are considered. |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
|
Police disciplinary system procedures |
|
|
|
R33 |
Those provisions of the
Police Regulations 1992 that establish the disciplinary tribunal system be
revoked as soon as possible to enable a more efficient system to come in
force. |
Complete |
• The Social Development Committee, on 15 August 2007,
instructed the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO) to draft the Regulations
• Police were able to provide the PCO with draft
Regulations that had already been through a rigorous consultation process
with the service organisations, allowing the PCO to complete their instruction by 21 September 2007
• New Regulations have been gazetted and
took effect
1 February 2008
• Government sign off of new regulations will also
allow the implementing of a number of other recommendations from the report,
which are recommendations R34; R35; R37; R38; R39; R40; and R49. |
New Regulations came into effect on 1 February 2008 and therefore
this recommendation is complete |
R34 |
New Zealand Police should
implement a best practice State sector disciplinary system based on a Code of
Conduct in keeping with principles of fairness and natural justice as part of
the employment relationship. |
Partially Complete |
• The implementation of the new Regulations and the Code of Conduct, will bring NZ Police's employment and disciplinary processes more into line with the general employment framework operated by Government and private sector employers in New Zealand
• The new Regulations that have been gazetted include the principles of the disciplinary processes
• Procedure and guidance notes for supervisors have been developed and distributed
• The Code of Conduct was distributed to all staff on 18 January 2008.
• The Code of Conduct is currently being implemented within NZ Police
• Disciplinary policy that reflects the new processes will be incorporated in collective agreements.
• Business implementation phase has come to an end with outstanding actions such as training to be completed
• Collective agreements will incorporate that the Code of Conduct applies to all police employees
• Next steps to review outcome and determine ongoing status of recommendation
|
Phase 1 complete - The new disciplinary process came into effect with the Regulations on
1 February
Estimate to complete within the next quarter
|
R35 |
The new disciplinary
process should allow independent investigation of alleged misconduct where
necessary or appropriate (in accordance with section 5A and 12 of the Police
Act 1958) but should not include the use of a formal disciplinary tribunal. |
Partially Complete |
• The disciplinary process allows clear separation of criminal matters from disciplinary matters
• The process also allows for serious misconduct, whereby matters are referred to an independent disciplinary hearing that will undertake an inquisitorial role to inquire into the misconduct
• This work has been done in consultation with the team that is working on the new Police Act. Introduction coincides with the new regulations.
• New disciplinary process is operational including disciplinary hearings for serious misconduct rather than tribunal.
|
Phase 1 complete - The new disciplinary process came into effect with the Regulations on
1 February
Phase 2 - complete
|
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R36 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that the human resource and professional standards functions are fully
integrated in all aspects of their operations and systems. |
Underway |
• Joint working between Human Resources and Professional Standards has started on consolidating and implementing policies and changes, including joint working on disciplinary processes under the revised regulations.
• HR and Professional Standards employees have co-located within NZ Police. This co-location will assist these groups to work more closely together and enable the integration of processes and systems to commence.
|
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
R37 |
The Commissioner of Police
should invite the State Services Commission to review the police approach to
performance management and discipline to ensure their systems and processes
are adequate, standardised, and managed to a standard that is consistent with
best practice in the public sector. |
Ongoing |
• The first phase of implementing this recommendation was completed and the report delivered to the Commissioner in November 2007.
• The second phase was due to commence June 2008 following Police implementation of the Code of Conduct and when the new Police Regulations were due to be in place.
• Planning for the second phase is underway and the review approach has been finalised. Progress will be measured against five key elements, namely comprehensive infrastructure, culture of performance, attitudes and skills of leaders, integration with day to day work and integration with other HR processes.
• The review will assess progress based on a Police self-assessment, Police focus groups and interviews, independent survey results including the Health Audit findings and analysis of a review of desk top and internet documentation.
|
Phase One complete. Phase Two planning has commenced. The review will now include the Health Audit findings which are scheduled to be available in the 2nd Quarter..
Police are treating this as an ongoing initiative - estimated to complete by 2017
|
|
Code of conduct for
police officers |
|
|
|
R38 |
A Code of Conduct for sworn
police staff should be implemented as a matter of urgency. Subsequently, the
existing Code of Conduct for non-sworn staff should be brought in line with
the new code for sworn members. |
Partially complete |
• A Code of Conduct now exists within NZ Police for both sworn and non-sworn staff.
• The Code of Conduct was distributed to all staff on
18 January 2008 and came into effect with the Regulations on 1 February 2008.
• It is now going through the process of being implemented within NZ Police and is expected to be completed by June 2008.
• All District Employee Practice Managers have now started with NZ Police. An induction conference has been delivered, with EPMs introduced to the new disciplinary practices. The provisional appointment of the remaining Employee Practice Manager is expected to be completed by the end of April 2008.
• Business implemented phase has come to an end with outstanding actions such as training to be completed
• Awareness sessions are being provided to staff
• Collective agreements and the Policing Act will incorporate the Code of Conduct and apply to all NZ Police employees
• Next steps to review outcome and determine ongoing status of recommendation
|
The Code of Conduct is complete and came into effect with the Regulations on 1 February 2008.
Estimate to complete within the next quarter
|
|
Police Sexual Harassment
Policy |
|
|
|
R39 |
New Zealand Police should
amend its Sexual Harassment Policy to include a requirement that any mediated
resolution of a complaint of sexual harassment be finalised in
writing and signed by both parties. |
Underway |
• The Sexual Harassment Policy has been re-written to apply to all forms of harassment and allows for parties to attend mediation where the harassment is at a low level and the remedies are within the power of the respondent e.g. apology
• Under the policy all mediation settlements will be signed by the parties and by the mediator so that they are full, final and binding
• The policy has been through initial consultation internally and with service organisations
• Extensive revisions were made that required further consultation and this process has started
• Consultation with union due to be completed in July 2008 |
Technical Implementation expected to be completed in the next quarter |
|
Police policy on inappropriate sexual conduct and
relationships |
|
|
|
R40 |
New Zealand Police should
develop standards, policies, and guidelines on appropriate sexual conduct
towards, and the forming of sexual relationships with, members of the
public. These should be incorporated into all codes of conduct and relevant
policy and training materials. The standards, policies, and guidelines
should be developed with the assistance of an external expert in professional
ethics and should
• specify actions and types of behaviour of a sexual nature that are inappropriate or unprofessional
• prohibit members of police from entering any
relationship of a sexual nature with a person over whom they are in a
position of authority or where there is a power differential
• provide guidance to members and their supervisors
about how to handle concerns about a possible or developing relationship that
may be inappropriate
• emphasise the ethical dimensions of sexual conduct, including the need for
police officers to avoid bringing the police into disrepute through their
private activities. |
Underway |
• The Professional Distance Policy covering those items listed within R40 has been drafted and aligns with the Code of Conduct
• The policy has been consulted on and feedback will be completed early July. |
Estimate to complete the policy within the next quarter. |
|
Police email and computer use policies |
|
|
|
R41 |
Directions given by New
Zealand Police management on what constitutes inappropriate use of police
email and the Internet should not allow for any individual interpretation of
appropriateness by police officers. |
Completed |
• A new policy that addresses this recommendation, was
introduced in 2006
• All users of Police computer systems are required to
acknowledge the new policy on computer use, including email and internet
usage, each time the user logs on
• The logon screen reads as follows:
"Use of this computer system is subject to statutory requirements and
Police policy - refer to General Instructions A400-406, C800-803 and
S600-603.
All usage of the system and information on it may be subject to review.
There should be no expectation of privacy of information or communication.
Proceeding with the logon, beyond this screen, is deemed to be an
acknowledgement of the conditions of use
Misuse of the system or information on it may result in disciplinary action
or prosecution.
To accept and continue press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and enter your QID and
password."
|
Completed 2006 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R42 |
New Zealand Police should
introduce a requirement that all staff sign a document to confirm that they
have read and understood the acceptable use policies for the Internet and
email. These requirements should be fully explained to all recruits during
their training. |
Completed |
• Each time a user logs on to the Police system they
are required to acknowledge the acceptable use policies for internet and
email
• In relation to recruit training, recruits are given
a full copy of the policy, which they must read. They are led through the
basic process of logging in and out of the Police IT systems and application
of the policy is discussed using examples. They are required to sign a
letter stating they have read and understood the policy. |
Completed 2006 |
R43 |
All police officers should
be required to acknowledge that they have read and understood any changes to
police computer use policies. These requirements should also be fully
explained to all recruits during their training. |
Partially completed |
• Each time a user logs on to the Police system they
are required to acknowledge the acceptable use policies for internet and
email. Completed.
• In relation to recruit training, recruits are given
a full copy of the policy and are taken through examples in training. They
then sign a letter stating that they have read and understood the policy.
Completed.
• These requirements for communicating and tracking
acknowledgement of changes have been defined with recommendation R11 and will
be delivered as part of the “Corporate Instruments” initiative noted in
recommendation R1. They will be deemed as critical instructions. |
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
R44 |
New Zealand Police managers
should receive regular reports on the use of the Internet by their staff.
This reporting requirement should be built into the early warning system that
the police are developing (see recommendations R47, R48). |
Partially completed |
• The successful implementation of the new gateway has resulted in the completion of this recommendation. Whilst regular reporting of Internet use had already been implemented by the time the COI report was released, this issue remained open pending the implementation of new technology significantly improving the organisations ability to monitor individual users Internet use and identify potential issues requiring early intervention.
|
Completed June 2008 |
|
Ethics training and ethics committees |
|
|
|
R45 |
All New Zealand Police
districts should implement a nationally consistent ethics training programme that all police officers are required to attend. Police officers
should also be required to attend regular refresher courses on ethics. |
Partially completed |
• The revised national ethics training package was mandated for all members for the year 2006/07 and in most Districts was rolled over into the 2007/08 year.
• 105 members across all Districts have been trained over the past year to deliver this national training package within Districts and Service Centres
• A refresher training package has been developed and is being delivered to staff who have previously received the initial training
• A new national ethics training package is in the process of being developed for delivery in the 2008/09 year.
• Ethics training is proposed to be mandated as cyclic training at the March or April PEC meeting 2009. Completion of this recommendation has been pushed out to June 2009.
|
Ongoing and estimated to complete June 2009 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R46 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that the establishment of ethics committees is mandatory for all
police districts. There should be a national set of guidelines to guide
police districts on the purpose, operation, and membership of their ethics
committees. |
Underway |
• An assessment has been made of the current state of ethics committees across NZ Police and has identified that most districts operate ethics committees
• Draft policy has been prepared, submitted to PEM and distributed for consultation to districts. Significant feedback of varying degrees was received. These are now being considered, assessed and where appropriate taken into account in a further draft of the policy. Next action is to elevate to PEM again for further consideration.
|
Assessment completed.
Draft policy iterations and consultation continues. Expect to have definitive timeframes by next quarter.
|
|
Early warning system and performance management |
|
|
|
R47 |
New Zealand Police should
implement a nationally mandated early warning system in order to identify
staff demonstrating behaviour that does not meet acceptable standards and ensure
such behaviour does not continue or escalate. |
Underway |
• Working with IT to scope requirements and specifications for the Early Warning system that will be linked to the national database.
• New Risk Assessment position has been established to deal with systems and processes around early intervention.
• A panel to convene this month to assess applicants.
• This recommendation will be delivered in conjunction with recommendations R8 and R48 |
A revised timeline will be provided in the next quarter.
|
R48 |
The early warning system
should ensure that all relevant information, sufficient to give a complete
picture of an officer's full record of service, is captured in a single
database, and is accessible to police managers and supervisors when making
appointments and monitoring performance, as well as to complaint
investigators when appropriate. |
Underway |
• This recommendation has been identified as a
requirement of the Early Intervention system and is being evaluated as part
the trial noted in recommendation R47
• This recommendation will be delivered in conjunction
with recommendations R8 and R47. |
A revised timeline will be provided in the next quarter.
|
R49 |
New Zealand Police should review its approach to performance
management, including the training provided to supervisors and managers, the
performance appraisal process and documentation, and the methods in place to
ensure that the follow-up identified in the performance improvement plans
actually occurs. |
Underway |
• The performance and development appraisals process
will be reviewed as part of the introduction of the revised Code of Conduct
• This recommendation will also consider any findings
from the State Services Commission review of performance management as noted
in recommendation R37 |
Estimate to complete June 2009 |
|
Police Culture |
|
|
|
R50 |
New Zealand Police should
continue its efforts to increase the numbers of women and those from ethnic
minority groups in the police force in order to promote a diverse organisational culture that reflects the community it serves and to
enhance the effective and impartial investigation of complaints alleging
sexual assault by members of the police or by associates of the police. |
Ongoing |
•
• Pacific Fono held at the RNZPC
• Training Service Centre staff working with Sikh community
• First NZ Police Equity & Diversity report produced
• Asian Constable leadership Development programme started in Auckland
• Female targeted TV sponsorship tailored around trans Tasman netball competition
• Recruit presence at Girls Day Out event in Auckland
• Northland District second District to reach 20% sworn women
• Harassment support officer training held at the college 21/22 April
• Human rights working group meet to discuss embedding human rights throughout NZ Police
• Visit by Asian Advisory Group to Training Service Centre
• Recruiting seminar results
- Women 33% higher than same time in 2007
- Maori 20% higher than same time in 2007
- Pasifika 12% higher than same time in 2007
- Asian 33% higher than same time in 2007
• Hosted dinner at RNZPC for ethnic recruits
• Planning for launch of Equity & Diversity initiative - We are all the Same We are all Different
|
Ongoing |
R51 |
The Commissioner of Police
should invite the State Services Commissioner to carry out an independent
annual "health of the organisation" audit of the police culture (in particular,
whether the organisation provides a safe environment for female staff and
staff from minority groups). The need for the audit should be reviewed after
10 years. |
Ongoing |
• Health Audits are made up of findings of the engagement survey, additional specific questions, and other data.
• The results of the 2007 baseline survey have been rolled out to Districts and managers who are dispersing the information to all staff.
• The 2008 Health Audit will include results of an engagement survey of all staff and will look to better understand perceptions of organisational fairness to all employees, the tools and resources employees believe they need to do their jobs, and employees freedom from sexual harassment. |
Baseline audit completed.
Full 2008 Audit will commence in August and be reported on in Quarter 2.
Annual Health Audit to be carried out in August of each year through to 2017
|
|
Reporting of allegations of sexual misconduct |
|
|
|
R52 |
New Zealand Police should
review its current policies, procedures, and practices on internal disclosure
of wrongdoing, and actively promote a single stand-alone policy for all
disclosures, including (but not limited to) those made under the Protected
Disclosure Act 2000. The policy should ensure that proper inquiry is always
made where information received indicates that a police member or associate
may have committed a sexual offence. |
Underway |
• The workshop with key senior professional standards managers and policy staff to review national standards and policies has yet to be convened and will now be held in the next quarter.
• The technical phase of the national implementation plan has been completed.
• The business implementation phase will be completed once the workshop has been convened.
• The writing and implementation of this policy will take cognisance of recommendations R53; R54 and R56.
|
The estimated completed date will be determined by the outcome of the workshop. |
R53 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that the policy and the approach of "report and be
protected" are well understood and implemented nationally.
|
Underway |
• This will be achieved as part of recommendation R52. |
Refer Recommendation 52 |
R54 |
New Zealand Police should
ensure that all other relevant policies, procedures, and practices are
consistent with the stand-alone policy on the reporting of serious wrongdoing
and the approach of "report and be protected". |
Underway |
• This will be achieved as part of recommendation R52. |
Refer Recommendation 52 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
R55 |
The New Zealand Police
ethics training programme should aim to foster a culture which encourages
reporting of allegations of wrongdoing by police members or police associates
and provide support to those who make disclosures, consistent with the
"report and be protected" approach. |
Partially completed |
• This is a key focus of the current ethics training programme
• The ethics training emphasises the responsibility of supervisors and managers in determining the culture that exists and the need for the culture to support members who make allegation of wrongdoing against other members or disclose such wrongdoing
• This training is delivered on all NCO and Commissioned Officer promotion Qualifying Courses as well as within Districts
• The revised policy on report and be protected, as identified in recommendations R52 and R54, will be incorporated into the national ethics training content once signed off.
• The underlying principles of the draft policy will be included in the National Ethics Training programme with the detail of the content to be added once the policy on "report and be protected" has been confirmed. |
Estimated to complete October 2008
|
R56 |
New Zealand Police managers
and supervisors should actively communicate to police members the expectation
that they will report any allegations of sexual misconduct made against a
colleague or a police associate. Police managers and supervisors should
encourage and support members to report such allegations. |
Underway |
• This approach for communicating this is being documented as part of the implementation of the "Report and be protected" policy identified in R52.
|
Ongoing |
|
Community engagement and
feedback |
|
|
|
R57 |
Each police district should
establish groups of community representatives, chaired by recognised community leaders, which meet regularly to provide comment and
feedback on police service delivery and policing issues throughout the
district. Relevant information obtained from the feedback from the community
should be incorporated into the police early warning system (see
recommendation R47, R48). |
Underway |
A stocktake of current mechanisms for community engagement occurring in Districts was carried out. Districts were also asked to provide suggestions on possible ways to engage with the community in line with Recommendation 57.
• This information was used to identify a proposed approach using current community engagement mechanisms and was presented to Police Executive Meeting (PEM) on 11 February.
• PEM has directed that a draft community engagement model for addressing Recommendation 57 with associated guidelines and implementation plan be prepared for them by 30 June 2008.
• Initial work on the requirements has been carried out and has identified they will require longer than anticipated to complete.
• A Change Request is being prepared to reschedule the date to 30 September 2008. This will not affect the overall June 2009 deliverable date. |
Estimated to complete June 2009 |
|
Recommendations |
Status |
Progress |
Estimated time to completion
|
|
Implementation and monitoring of police initiatives |
|
|
|
R58 |
New Zealand Police should rationalise the projects and initiatives currently in train (including those
started in response to this Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, and
the review of the Police Act 1958) and any further projects arising out of
the Government's response to this report, to ensure that overlaps between
projects are addressed, interdependencies are identified, priorities are
assigned, and adequate resources are made available to do the work. New
Zealand Police should address these issues in its annual statement of intent,
and consult with the Minister of Police in respect of the priority to be
given to projects. |
Ongoing |
• Interdependencies between recommendations have now
been identified and logical workstreams have been confirmed. Police will now
work through the process of identifying any dependencies external to the
recommendations.
• The reprioritisation of recommendations will take place in April 2008.
• The Commission of Inquiry Executive Dashboard that
provides visibility of risks, issues, and status reporting across all 48
recommendations to key stakeholders has now been implemented and is fully
operational. |
Estimated to complete by 2017 |
R59 |
New Zealand Police should
consult with and involve the State Services Commission and other public
sector agencies, where appropriate, to ensure that the projects and
initiatives of the type described in recommendation R58 take account of best
practice in the public sector. The Government should take steps to remove
any statutory impediment to such consultation and involvement. |
Ongoing |
• The State Services Commission’s initial review of the Police approach and progress to the implementation of the programme of work was completed and the final report delivered to the Commissioner in November 2007.
• The approach to combining the review of progress under R37 and R59 has been finalised. The wider work programme will be reviewed and the pace and success of change evaluated, including the extent to which the requirements for successful change management are in place
|
Initial SSC Review complete. Follow up review approach finalised and will be completed in Quarter 2, 2008.
Estimated to complete by 2017
|
R60 |
The Government should
invite the Controller and Auditor-General to monitor, for the next 10 years,
the New Zealand Police implementation of all the projects and initiatives of
the type described in recommendation R58, and also the police implementation
of the recommendations of this Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct as
approved by Government. The Controller and Auditor-General should report
regularly to Parliament on this matter during the ten-year period. |
Ongoing |
• NZ Police met with SSC and OAG and provided an overview of NZ Police's strategic direction, including key initiatives and priorities set out in the National Business Plan. This was to avoid duplication of effort by both SSC and OAG.
• OAG are determining their scope of work pursuant to this recommendation and R58 and to identify where and how best to provide a valued contribution to NZ Police. |
Estimated to complete by 2017 |
