The purpose of this review was to examine and identify ways to improve the children’s sector identification of, and response to, abuse of children and young persons in New Zealand. New Zealand Police was one of the six children’s sector agencies that participated in this review, which was prompted by the tragic death of Malachi Subecz in November 2021. The final report from the Independent Reviewer, Dame Karen Poutasi, was publicly released on 1 December 2022 and can be found on Oranga Tamariki website along with Dame Karen’s press release and a joint statement from Chief Executives of the relevant agencies.
To assist the review New Zealand Police provided the Police Family Violence Death Review (PFVDR) which was completed following the death of Malachi Subecz in November 2021. A PFVDR is completed following the unnatural death of a person where the suspected perpetrator is a family or extended family member, caregiver, intimate partner, previous partner of the victim, or previous partner of the victim's current partner. The purpose of a PFVDR is ultimately to assist in the understanding and prevention of future family violence deaths and identify any required changes in policy, practices, and procedures.
Please be advised that PFVDR can contain graphic and sometimes distressing descriptions of an individual’s death and the circumstances around it. Please take appropriate caution before reading or sharing this PFVDR.
Note that this report has been redacted to protect the privacy of individuals.