The Dominion Post
April 10, 2004
Police lawyers call for limits on rape inquiry
by Paul Mulrooney and NZPA
A commission of
inquiry into historic rape allegations against police has been told it should
only deal with police conduct where there was a suggestion of criminal
activity.
Lawyers representing both the police and its union, the Police Association,
told the inquiry that its terms of reference should be limited to allegations
of criminal sexual activity by officers and it should not be concerned with
matters which were not unlawful but might be considered immoral or unethical.
The commission of inquiry was launched after allegations by Louise Nicholas
that she was pack-raped in 1986, when she was 18, by three police officers.
Two, Bob Schollum and Brad Shipton, have since left the police and the third,
Clint Rickards, now
The men have said the sex was consensual and have denied rape.
Lawyer Susan Hughes, representing the Police Association, used the example of a
cross-dressing officer who performed his duties effectively and with integrity
and confined what might be regarded as unusual behaviour to off-duty hours.
"They should not be part of the inquiry," she said.
High Court judge Bruce Robertson, who is heading the inquiry, repeated several
times on the second day of public meetings on Thursday just what the scope of
the inquiry was.
"The commission will operate on the basis of activities that happened, how
and why they happened, and will not become immersed or enmeshed in theoretical
possibilities," he said.
Police lawyer Kristy McDonald asked the commission to define
"unprofessional behaviour"; restrict its time frame to January 1,
1979, through to the commission's inception earlier this year; and say which
locales it might look at other than Rotorua and Kaitaia,
where the historic allegations originated.
But Justice Robertson said it would be wrong to restrict the scope of the
inquiry, which next meets on May 24, or have a cutoff
date.