Allegations of Abuse
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Prime
Minister Helen Clark today announced the terms of reference for the
Commission of Inquiry into recent allegations made against members of the
Police with respect to sexual conduct and investigations of it. Commissioners
Justice Bruce Robertson and Dame Margaret Bazley will inquire into police
conduct, standards and procedures when receiving and investigating
allegations of sexual assault and abuse made against the police. They
will also investigate police standards and codes relating to police personal
behaviour, including sexual conduct. The
commission will not determine the guilt or innocence of police officers
involved in alleged sexual assault or other alleged criminal offences. The
commission will not review Police Complaints Authority’s investigations
because of secrecy provisions in the authority’s governing statute, but it
will be able to review the investigations carried out by Police which formed
the basis for the Authority’s reports. Helen
Clark said a number of women have made complaints about sexual assaults by
police officers or their associates, and the manner in which the Police
handled those complaints. It is important that these complaints are
thoroughly investigated. “The
Police hold a critical role in society in upholding law and order and it is
vital that there is strong public confidence in and respect for the Police,”
Helen Clark said. “The
public must be assured that the Police will thoroughly investigate any
allegations of criminal behaviour by their own personnel. If the allegations
that have been made indicate that there are systemic problems, they will be
identified and dealt with.” The
Commission of Inquiry will announce the dates and venues for commission
hearings, and outline how members of the public can make submissions as soon
as possible. It will report to the Governor-General by 1 November. Commission
of Inquiry into Police Conduct SILVIA
CARTWRIGHT, Governor-General
To
all to whom this order shall come, and to: The
Honourable JAMES BRUCE ROBERTSON of Wellington, a Judge of the High Court of
New Zealand; and
Recitals
WHEREAS,
in 1993-94, Louise Nicholas made a complaint to the Police at Rotorua
alleging that she had been sexually assaulted in the mid-1980s by three
members of the Police: And
whereas, following an investigation by the Police, and a further
investigation by the Police on behalf of the Police Complaints Authority,
none of the three members of the Police was charged with any offence and none
of them was subject to any internal Police disciplinary action: And
whereas, when charges were preferred against a fourth member of the Police in
relation to sexual assaults against Louise Nicholas, which were alleged to
have occurred in the early 1980s, that member of the Police was, after two
mistrials, acquitted: And
whereas, in February 2004, The Dominion Post reported allegations by Louise
Nicholas of defects in the investigations made by both the Police and the
Police Complaints Authority into the complaints against the three members of
the Police above-mentioned: And
whereas concerns have been raised about the conduct of members of the Police
involved in the investigation of allegations about the fourth member of the
Police above-mentioned: And
whereas, in February 2004, Judith Garrett also alleged that the investigation
carried out by the Police into a complaint that she made that she had been
sexually assaulted by a member of the Police in Kaitaia in 1988 was
inadequate: And
whereas it has also been alleged that investigations carried out by the
Police into other allegations of sexual assault by members of the Police or
by associates of the Police or by both have been inadequate: And
whereas these various allegations raise questions about (a)
the adequacy and impartiality of the investigation by the Police into
complaints in relation to sexual assaults alleged to have been made by
members of the Police or by associates of the Police or by both, including
the complaints made by Louise Nicholas and Judith Garrett; and (b)
the extent to which the behaviour that gave rise to those original complaints
was subject to disciplinary action; and (c)
the prevailing attitude or tolerance of the Police, both in the past and now,
in respect of complaints alleging sexual assault by members of the Police or
by associates of the Police or by both; and (d)
the general propriety of the conduct of members of the Police in respect of
sexual matters: And
whereas the truth of the allegations against the Police and the questions
raised by those allegations are matters of public importance: Appointment and order of reference
NOW,
THEREFORE, pursuant to the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, I, Dame Silvia
Cartwright, the Governor-General of New Zealand, acting on the advice and
with the consent of the Executive Council, appoint you, the Honourable James
Bruce Robertson and Dame Margaret Clara Bazley, to be a Commission to inquire
into and report upon the conduct, procedure, and attitude of the Police in
relation to allegations of sexual assault by members of the Police or by
associates of the Police or by both, the extent (if any) to which
unprofessional behaviour within the Police in the context of such allegations
has been or is tolerated, and the manner in which such allegations have been
or are investigated and handled by the Police, whether directly, or on behalf
of the Police Complaints Authority, and, in particular, to inquire into and
report upon: (1)
the standards and procedures
established by the Police as a matter of internal Police policy for the
investigation of complaints alleging sexual assault by members of the Police
or by associates of the Police or by both, and, in particular, but not
limited to, (a) whether, as a matter of internal Police
policy, there have been, and are now, adequate standards and procedures in
place regulating the handling of such investigations by members of the
Police: (b) whether, if so, any standards and
procedures regulating the handling of such investigations by members of the
Police have been, and are being, adequately communicated to all members of
the Police: (c) whether there have been, and are now,
Police procedures adequately supporting and encouraging members of the Police
who know of allegations that sexual assault has been committed by Police
colleagues or by associates of the Police or by both to report the
allegations to an appropriate senior member of the Police (or other
appropriate person): (2)
irrespective of the existence or
adequacy of standards or procedures as a matter of Police policy, the
practice of Police in the investigation of complaints alleging sexual assault
by members of the Police or by associates of the Police or by both, and, in
particular, but not limited to, (a) the practice of Police in relation to
the investigation of the complaints alleging sexual assault by members of the
Police or by associates of the Police or by both in Kaitaia and Rotorua (or
other relevant localities) at the material times: (b) the current practice of Police when
investigating complaints alleging sexual assault by members of the Police or
by associates of the Police or by both: (c) whether police practice has met and now
meets the applicable Police standards and procedures (if any): (d) what requirements (if any), both at a
local level and at the level of Police Headquarters, have been in place, or
are now in place, to ensure that Police practice complies with any relevant
standards and procedures: (e) whether disciplinary action has been
and is taken against members of the Police who engage in sexual activity that
gives cause for concern or complaint or both, and, if not, why not: (f) whether the attitude of the Police has
been, and is now, conducive to the effective and impartial investigation of
complaints alleging sexual assault by members of the Police or by associates
of the Police or by both: (g) whether Police practice that has been
in place, and is now in place, adequately supports and encourages members of
the Police who know of allegations that sexual assault has been committed by
Police colleagues or by associates of the Police or by both to report the
allegations to an appropriate senior member of the Police (or other
appropriate person): (3)
the adequacy of any
investigations which have been carried out by the Police on behalf of the
Police Complaints Authority and which have concerned complaints alleging
sexual assault by members of the Police or by associates of the Police or by
both, and, if any of those investigations have not been adequate, the
respects in which they were inadequate: (4)
the standards and codes of
conduct in relation to personal behaviour for members of the Police and, in
particular, but not limited to, (a)
whether the applicable standards
or codes of conduct within the Police in relation to personal behaviour,
including sexual conduct, have been and are adequate and effective, and, if
they have not been or are not adequate and effective, the respects in which
they have been or are inadequate or ineffective: (b)
whether action has been or is
taken if standards or requirements of codes of conduct are not met: (5)
any other matter that may be thought
by you to be relevant to the general or particular objects of the inquiry:
And
it is declared that, in this order, unless the context otherwise requires, associates
of the Police, means persons who are not members of the Police but who,
whether in the capacity of friends or in any other capacity, associate with
members of the Police member of
the Police means the
Police means the Police of New Zealand; and includes all members of either
sex appointed to the Police under the Police Act 1958: Exclusion from inquiry And
it is declared that you are not, under this order, to determine the guilt or
innocence of any particular individual in relation to any alleged sexual
assault or other alleged criminal offence: Appointment of chairperson And,
on that advice and with that consent, I appoint you, the Honourable James
Bruce Robertson, to be the Chairperson of the Commission: Power to adjourn And,
for the better enabling you to carry this order into effect, you are
authorised and empowered to make and conduct any inquiry under this order, in
accordance with the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908, at such times and places
as you consider expedient, with power to adjourn from time to time and from
place to place as you think fit, and so that this order will continue in
force and the inquiry may at any time and place be resumed although not
regularly adjourned from time to time or from place to place: General provisions And,
without limiting any of your other powers to hear proceedings in private or
to exclude any person from any of your proceedings, you are empowered to
exclude any person from any hearing, including a hearing at which evidence is
being taken, if you think it proper to do so: And
you are strictly charged and directed that you may not at any time publish or
otherwise disclose, except to me in pursuance of this order or by my
direction, the contents or purport of any report so made or to be made by
you, or any evidence or information obtained by you in exercise of the powers
conferred upon you, except such evidence or information as is received in the
course of a sitting open to the public: And
it is declared that you have liberty to report your proceedings and
recommendations under this Commission from time to time if you judge it
expedient to do so: Reporting date And,
using all due diligence, you are required to report to me in writing under
your hand, not later than 1 November 2004, your findings and opinions on
these matters, together with any recommendations that you think fit to make
in respect of them. Given
in Executive Council under the hand of Her Excellency the Governor-General
this 18th day of February 2004.
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