Authority investigates claims of sexual harassment by Northland officer

A complaint of sexual harassment has been laid against a senior police officer in Northland.

A woman's complaint she was sexually harassed by a senior Northland police officer is being investigated by police authorities.

The allegation over historic sexual harassment by a detective came to light when it was posted on the website of the New Zealand Police Conduct Association, which is a public watchdog group, this month.

The woman claimed a detective sexually harassed her and molested her when she was in a vulnerable state.

She said she was the victim of domestic violence at the time which was known to police and the officer had previously arrested her partner.

The woman claims the officer became inappropriate with her, he started calling her, became hostile when she wouldn't answer his calls, he began visiting her house, touching her and rubbing himself on her.

On the New Zealand Police Conduct Association website it reported the matter was historic as the woman had always been too scared to speak out until now.

She had filed a formal complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

Inspector Donna Laban, Senior Police Professional Conduct Manager based at police headquarters in Wellington, said in a written response to questions by the Northern Advocate police were aware a complaint had been received by the Independent Police Conduct Authority last week in relation to the matter.

"There is now a formal process that will need to be completed by the IPCA and police," Ms Laban said.

"We are unable to make any further comment at this stage."

Police would not comment on when or where the alleged incident happened, or if the officer was continuing to work while there was an investigation under way. It's believed the officer is still working in the Northland police district.

The IPCA confirmed it had received a complaint and preliminary investigations had been launched.

The IPCA is an independent body that considers complaints against the New Zealand Police and oversees their conduct.

The Authority's functions are to receive complaints about police employees, practice, policy, or procedure and investigate those complaints and make recommendations based on their investigations.

The IPCA website says when the Authority receives a complaint, it may carry out its own investigation, or refer the matter to the police for investigation under the Authority's oversight.

If a complaint is referred to the police for investigation, the Authority will take steps to ensure that it is properly resolved.

This may include directing or actively overseeing the police investigation, or reviewing or auditing the police investigation once it is completed.