Police jailer accused of passing drugs between prisoners

A Rotorua police jailer is under investigation for allegedly passing drugs and a mobile phone from one prisoner to another.

The Daily Post understands the female jailer was nabbed after police set up an undercover sting in prison cells.

Bay of Plenty crime manager Detective Inspector Garth Bryan has confirmed an investigation is on but refused to go into details about how the matter came to light.

He said the jailer had been stood down while a criminal investigation and an employment-related investigation were carried out.

No decision had yet been taken about whether the jailer would be charged.

The Daily Post understands that the sting was set up following concerns about the way the jailer was doing her job.

Jailers employed by the police are non-sworn officers.

If convicted, the jailer faces the loss of her job, although police have the discretion to hire non-sworn staff members with criminal offences.

The vetting of non-sworn officers and security guards working in police stations has been investigated recently after NZ First MP Ron Mark alleged a gang member with a serious criminal record guarded a suicidal female inmate at Wellington central police station.

At the time, Mr Mark said the case highlighted a lack of standard procedures around the hiring and vetting of security guards and temporary non-sworn staff.

He told the newspaper yesterday that he would be watching the Rotorua case closely.

Mr Mark, who is NZ First's corrections spokesman, said a person with criminal convictions could still be employed as a non-sworn staff member if senior police were happy they had changed their ways.

"But the consequences of a bad judgment call are severe and it certainly undermines the credibility of the police force as a whole."

Mr Mark wondered if it was a risk worth taking or whether there should be a blanket ban for non-sworn staff, similar to sworn officers - if you have a conviction, you don't have a job with the police.

The Rotorua investigation is the second internal inquiry into the city's police staff in just over five weeks.

Police are yet to resolve an internal inquiry involving the leader of the Rotorua police dog section, Sergeant Keith Mitchell.

His silver mufti police stationwagon was found crashed into a power pole on Pukehangi Rd on July 1.

The crash happened about 5.30am and cut power to homes. The car had been reported stolen the same day as the accident.

Rotorua police area commander Inspector Bruce Horne said this week that the investigation was continuing.

Police had earlier said they were carrying out forensic tests of the vehicle and viewing security camera footage from the central city to try to identify the driver.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)