Angry victims kept in dark over 111 inquiry

The victims of the botched 111 calls that sparked a major police review are angry they were not contacted about the inquiry or given more time to make submissions.

Police received more than 85 submissions into the New Zealand Police Communication Centres External Review - but less than a quarter came from the public.

Most were from police and other community and industry related organisations. The deadline was December 10, although the last submissions arrived on Friday.

One of the strongest submissions has come from the Police Association which has criticised everything from staffing numbers to technology at the call centres.

Maggie Bentley, who spent nearly an hour on the phone to a 111 call operator when her home was invaded and her husband Peter was viciously bashed in October, said she knew nothing of the review.

"It's appalling. My case was one of the ones that led to this. I feel gutted they would do this and not even inform me," she said.

"This is what I was scared of - that they [the police] were trying to sweep it under the carpet and because they got no response from us [the families] they can. It's so political, but it's got nothing to do with politics. They've lost the plot."

Her sentiments were echoed by Betty Asher, the mother of missing part-time model Iraena Asher, whose distress call resulted in police sending a taxi rather than a patrol car to her rescue.

"I think that we have just been devastated about what has happened and haven't had time to go through the process," she said.

"We probably would have [made a submission] but we're too much in grief, we're devastated and we can't think straight to do it."

Gordon Frew, the father of slain Wanganui teenager Jeremy Frew, whose death may have been prevented if police had attended an incident they were called to earlier in the night involving Jeremy's alleged killer, agrees with Mrs Asher.

"I can't [make a submission], I've got a lot of shit ahead of me," he said.

Police spokesperson Jon Neilson said a three-week time period was given for submitters but that did not "preclude further interactions with the public" for the duration of the review.

Mr Neilson said no "individual invitations" were given to make a submission because it "is an issue affecting all New Zealanders".

He said the review would incorporate "results of investigations" into the Asher, Bentley and Frew cases, and that the review panel would contact "stakeholders whose input will be critical to the review".

The review will examine how the call centres operate compared to their objectives, and how they compare to overseas best practice. It will review the demands on police staff, technology and resources and the centre's interactions with policing districts. It will check various health and safety and management criteria. A report is expected to go to Commissioner Rob Robinson by February.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY