Allegations of Abuse
in NZ |
|
|
|
Evidence relating to women who
have claimed they were raped by police officers is unlikely to be heard by a
Commission of Inquiry into police conduct until at least July, commission
head Justice Bruce Robertson said today. The commission was established
after Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas alleged in January she was pack raped and
violated with a police baton by three police officers in 1986, when she was
18. After Ms Nicholas went public,
Kataia woman Judith Garrett reiterated claims she was handcuffed and raped by
a police officer at Kaitaia police station in 1988. The commission is to look at
evidence relating to both cases and has indicated both women will get a
chance to tell their stories if they wish. However at a hearing today Justice
Robertson said it was extremely unlikely evidence relating to those specific
complaints would be heard in June. The evidential hearings were originally
planned for this month, but were rescheduled for June after delays. Justice Robertson said he and
fellow commissioner Dame Margaret Bazley wanted to hear evidence from all the
parties involved in specific incidents together. "There would be a real
injustice if we heard one aspect or account and then there was a lengthy
delay before hearing other parts of it." He said he and Dame Margaret would
meet tomorrow with lawyers for the various parties taking part in the inquiry
to try and establish a schedule, which would hopefully be announced later
this week. The commission has already
indicated it might struggle to meet its November 1 deadline. A commission
spokesman said yesterday staff were still collecting evidence from
complainants. Earlier in today's hearing, police
national planning and policy manager Dave Trappitt outlined police policy and
procedures relating to the handling of sex offence complaints and internal
investigations against other police officers. While rape inquiry and internal
investigation procedures had been streamlined over the 25 years the
commission covered, instructions relating to internal investigations had only
changed slightly since 1985, he said. Instructions from the commissioner
of police in the early 1980s specifically told police to treat criminal
complaints against police as they would other cases. Officers were instructed not to
warn complainants of the possible consequences of making a false complaint
against a police officer, and district commanders were instructed to notify
police headquarters of all serious criminal complaints against police in
their districts, Mr Trappitt said. Today's hearing was also behind
schedule after the commission's initial information gathering was delayed by
blanket secrecy provisions in the Police Complaints Authority Act that
protect the identity of informants. A law change has since been rushed
through Parliament to allow the commission to see the files. The commission is charged with
investigating police conduct, standards and procedures, but not establishing
the guilt of any police alleged to have committed crimes. Of the three officers alleged to
have raped Ms Nicholas, two -- Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton -- have since
left the police. The third, Former Rotorua CIB chief John
Dewar is accused of having failed to properly investigate Mrs Nicholas'
original complaint. Following the allegations, another
senior police officer, Kelvin Powell, has also been stood down on full pay
while police investigate complaints of sexual offences. He has denied any
wrongdoing. The officer alleged to have raped
Ms Garrett has left the police and is understood to be living in |