Opening doors of a closed culture

By RENEE KIRIONA

The search for truth is on but putting the police force under the microscope will be very difficult.

Inquiries, which include looking at allegations by Louise Nicholas that she was gang raped in 1986 by three police officers, have begun.

And according to some retired officers, rape crisis experts and academics those heading the inquiries are likely to face difficulties.

Victoria University criminologist Professor Philip Stenning said that at the centre of both the government and criminal inquiries was a very "closed organisation".

"In the police there's a culture of solidarity and loyalty. In this inquiry their code will be put to the test," Mr Stenning said.

"If there is any kind of resistance from senior staff then there will most likely be problems. The ability of this inquiry will depend on the attitude of those staff members."

One advantage though, he said, was that the inquiries did not have to start afresh and there was a paper trial the new investigators could go back to.

Police Commissioner Rob Robinson agreed.

"I think it is reasonable to accept that in any criminal inquiry the passage of time does cause greater difficulty in determining all the facts.

"But that is not necessarily a significant impediment of all cases," Mr Robinson said.

Retired Detective Superintendent Peter Ward, of Auckland, said the reality was that "cold cases" were always very difficult to deal with.

"Any historic inquiry would be difficult whether it happened 18 or five years ago," Mr Ward said.

"There's also the aspect of trial by media which could prejudice the chances of [stood down Auckland district head Clint] Rickards and the other two past police officers receiving a fair trial in court. But then that's the environment we live in, isn't it."

Mr Ward also believed the "I can't remember" line should not be used as an excuse by anyone involved as the case was last investigated only five to six years ago.

Sheryl Maung, of Rape Crises, envisaged a lack of understanding about rape and its effects on victims as being a challenge for the inquiries.

"It's not uncommon for people to not disclose that they have been raped until years later because of fear of not being believed and having to deal with the emotional and psychological effects from having been assaulted," she said.

"As a result of being raped many survivors suffer post traumatic stress like loss of memory and may seem dissociative.

"Sometimes in reporting and in court proceedings this can be viewed as the victim not being credible when really it is the effects of what they've been through."

Rape, murder and assault charges can be laid years after the event because they are so serious.

A senior Auckland lawyer said the limitations that applied to more minor offences - traffic, customs and tax cases, for example - did not apply to rape, murder and so on to protect victims.

"You can't take refuge in the simple passage of time ... you wouldn't want people committing serious crimes getting away with it after a certain amount of time."