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Allegations
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A police investigation and
commission of inquiry into historic rape allegations is set to be the most
expensive criminal inquiry in history. It is a year this month
since assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards and former policemen Brad
Shipton and Bob Schollum were accused of raping Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas
in 1986. The men deny the allegations. Police are in the final
stages of their investigation and police headquarters finance general manager
Bruce Simpson confirmed they were testing evidence with Crown Law solicitors.
He would not say when a decision would be made about whether charges would be
laid against the men, who have not been interviewed by investigators. The multiple
investigations stemming from Nicholas' complaint are already set to top $6
million, made up of police wages and investigation costs, and the $3m set
aside for the commission of inquiry into allegations of police misconduct
spanning 20 years. This compares with one
of the previous most expensive cases - the inquiry into the murder of
Blenheim friends Ben Smart and Olivia Hope on New Year's Eve in 1998. The
case cost taxpayers about $5.7m, and took over 50,000 hours' police work. The Nicholas case has
seen police spend almost $1.1m on travel and accommodation. The figure
includes the daily allowance of $74.89 every officer receives if they work
away from home. More than $125,000 has
been spent on professional services like technical experts and more than
$200,000 on renting office space, buying computers, vehicles, phone costs,
and other office equipment. The investigators, many
of whom are from "Yes, it's not a
cheap investigation," said Simpson. "But it's in the
public interest to be thorough. I do not think at all we've been frivolous
with the money". Simpson said it was a complex
investigation in which more than 2000 people had been interviewed, and others
re-interviewed, and over 40,000 of police hours worked. A team of about 20
officers have worked on the case, but as many as 59 police have had input. The Star-Times estimates
police wages, including Rickards' pay of an estimated $200,000 while he has
been stood down, would be at least $2m. Cabinet has committed $3m for the
commission of inquiry. Internal Affairs has
said the commission cost more than $180,000 for only several months' work
last year. It was put on hold five
months ago and will remain so until a police investigation decides if the
officers should face criminal charges. Rickards has been stood down on leave for a year, while Shipton is now a Tauranga councillor and Schollum a salesman in Napier. |
