KEY POINTS:
Submitter A
A woman accused the police of failing to investigate complaints, including of rape, made soon after two episodes of offending by an officer in 1982-83. At about the same time, allegations by the officer's partner concerning his two stepdaughters were similarly ignored.
In 1996 a
police assistant commissioner, after a meeting with the first woman's MP, ordered a Rotorua-based detective inspector to head an investigation. The inspector found police had been initially reluctant to accept there might have been wrongdoing, that the woman was profoundly affected by the rape, and that this had been compounded by the lack of action.
The police acknowledged to Dame Margaret that their handling of the woman's complaint represented a "serious dereliction of duty".
The offender eventually received a nine-year prison term.
Submitter B
A teenager placed in the foster care of a police officer and who later bore his child accused him of abusing a position of trust.
She was 15 when the alleged abuse, including indecent assault, began in 1983. After repeated denials, the policeman eventually admitted being the father of her child.
Although an apparently consensual relationship continued for several years, there was a regular pattern of complaints of assaults and threats.
Dame Margaret expressed concern at an initial response of an investigating inspector, who told the alleged offender that if the paternity issue could be rectified, the complaint could be resolved without "becoming official".
She said that a failure to pursue disciplinary charges over the sexual relationship was unfortunate but she found that eventually the investigation - though flawed - complied with police standards.
Submitter C
A Victim Support worker claimed to have accompanied a woman when she lodged a complaint of being raped by an on-duty officer in 1989.
The woman herself could not recall complaining, but the police began an investigation after rumours that the officer boasted of having intercourse with her in a police car.
The woman denied the encounter, but later said she was frightened what would happen as she was in possession of cannabis on the night of the incident.
Dame Margaret said the police decision not to charge the officer was understandable, given the lack of evidence, but he was "a good example of someone who appears to have engaged in the sort of behaviour that, although it may fall short of criminal offending, was entirely inappropriate".
Submitter D
A woman who had a relationship with a police officer in 1995 after his professional intervention in domestic difficulties between her and her former husband claimed the officer raped her.
Dame Margaret said the investigation into the woman's complaint was conducted professionally and the officer concerned did not return to work.
Although he phoned the investigating officer with the clear intention of influencing the inquiry, Dame Margaret was pleased he was told that the investigator would play his task "straight down the middle".
But she was concerned at the impact of the investigation on the woman, including that caused by an alleged failure of police to return private journals.
She said investigations should be sensitive to the many forms of disability or impairment that might affect complainants.
Disciplinary action was taken against the officer.
Submitter E
A man complained in 2003 that he was sexually violated during an incident in 1986, in which he alleged at the time that he was physically assaulted by several police officers.
Dame Margaret said there was a misunderstanding in that the man thought the police would approach him in response to his complaint, and he waited for four months before writing to them.
But the police provided a statement from the man's lawyer in which he said his client was very distressed during a discussion of the incident and he advised him to reflect on matters before deciding to take them further.
Dame Margaret said a detective sergeant who reviewed the 1986 file went to considerable lengths to find a witness, and travelled overseas to interview the two alleged sexual offenders.
Submitter F
A woman complained of being raped in 1997 by a recently retired police officer while she was on assignment with colleagues who included two serving police members.
She told Dame Margaret she was so devastated she did not immediately lay a complaint, although she was approached about the incident later by a detective sergeant who had heard rumours of it.
She eventually told her story, with a lawyer's help, but complained to the commission of being intimidated and treated inappropriately when interviewed by police - an allegation rejected by those concerned.
The woman complained to the Police Complaints Authority that the detective was a friend of the alleged offender, and had discouraged her from taking action, but the PCA found he acted appropriately.
A Crown solicitor reviewed the evidence and advised the police that a conviction would be unlikely.
Submitter G
A woman complained of an inappropriate and very intimate body search while she was in custody in 1997.
The police acknowledged the incident was unfortunate but said the officers concerned had no improper motive in trying to eliminate what might otherwise have been a serious danger in the cellblock.
A senior sergeant who ordered the search was counselled, but Dame Margaret found it "surprising" no sanctions were taken over those who conducted it.
Submitter H
The partner of a police officer complained to the police in 2001 that she believed he had indecently assaulted a child.
She told the commission that, against the recommendation of a police child abuse unit, her partner was interviewed by a detective based at his own station after receiving six weeks' warning.
She claimed her complaint was not taken seriously and that she and her family had no assistance from local police when the alleged offender harassed them for some time afterwards.
Dame Margaret said he had been aware of the woman's complaint from the outset, as she had told him about it, and that the investigation into it was in general conducted appropriately.
She also said the police appeared to have taken the complaints of harassment seriously, including issuing warning and trespass notices, although the woman told the commission she did not receive copies.
Other incidents
* Two constables alleged in 2002 that the officer in charge of a station in a small town used his position to gain sexual favours from women, especially solo parents, to the extent that the community lost confidence in him. The allegation was not proved, but it was decided to transfer the officer to another station. His area controller expressed disappointment that the situation had festered for so long and said a delay in reporting concerns did "not reflect well on the members involved, or the supervision process".
* Three officers complained in 1996 of sexual harassment over 19 months by the officer in charge of a station in a small town. A similar previous complaint had been dealt with through mediation, but the officer declined an offer of sexual harassment training, promising he would modify his behaviour. Dame Margaret said his offending was known by the police hierarchy in December, 1995, yet he was able to continue unsupervised until the following September, when the subsequent complaints went to a tribunal hearing.
* Nineteen charges of sexual misconduct were laid against an officer after complaints by eight people, of which 11 were proven before a disciplinary tribunal.
* An officer faced disciplinary charges over 17 complaints of sexual harassment from 17 different people, including one who accused him of raping her, although that complaint was later withdrawn.
* An adverse report was lodged against a police officer for having sex in a public place. A complainant alleged he had sexually violated her, but the officer said the sex was consensual.
* An officer was reprimanded after being accused of having consensual intercourse with an intellectually disabled woman.
* An officer was counselled after removing a cigarette lighter from a woman prisoner's vagina.
* A woman complained of being subjected to indecent exposure while being held overnight in 1984 in police cells. The police acknowledged that an officer responded to her complaint with a grossly insensitive remark, but argued that because of her earlier bizarre behaviour it was not immediately apparent that her allegation was genuine.
* A police officer whose estranged wife accused him of indecently assaulting their children poured out some of his domestic problems in the Police Club to the investigator of her complaint.
