Auckland Police accept the findings of an Independent Police Conduct Authority report released today regarding failings in the care of a young child, and say steps have been put in place to address the issues raised.
Richard Chambers, Acting Assistant Commissioner said while the Authority found Police had generally taken complaints from the child's mother seriously, Police accepted they had not provided the child with an adequate level of care in this case.
“It is our responsibility to ensure that vulnerable children get the highest level of care and protection from Police and we are disappointed that in this case we let the child, the family and ourselves down.
"We are committed to ensuring that these sorts of incidents do not happen again and have already put a number of proactive measures in place to ensure that these matters are managed efficiently and effectively .
"These measures have included further training for Auckland frontline staff to improve service delivery and to ensure that Police follow correct processes around both Adult Sexual Assault and child protection reporting.
"Digital visual aides have also been provided to staff to ensure that they have a quick reference guide on what to do in such cases. These include posters for front counter staff and information for Intelligence screens.”
Counties-Manukau Police have also accepted the findings relating to their handling of the complaint.
Mr Chambers said child protection issues were often complex and typically involved interaction with a range of agencies and areas within Police.
"This is why it is critical that we continue to communicate effectively across the organisation and with our agency partners so that we provide the best level of response we can for vulnerable children and families."
ENDS
Media contact: Tracie Simpson 021 949 731