KEY POINTS:
The Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, which was launched after allegations of police rape came to light three years ago, is expected to be submitted to the Governor-General by the end of this month.
The inquiry was established in 2004 after Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas claimed she was raped by three police officers in the mid 1980s and that her complaint was not properly investigated.
The commission was tasked with investigating the way in which police dealt with allegations of sexual assault by members of the police and associates of the police.
In 2005 the mandate was changed so the commission could continue its work without prejudicing the criminal investigations and the criminal proceedings that were already under way.
The commission, led by Dame Margaret Bazley, will not be considering any of the cases that are, or have recently been, before the courts. It will instead focus on policies and procedures and will not include findings on individual submitters' complaints.
The inquiry's terms of reference are to examine:
* The conduct, procedure, and attitude of the police in relation to allegations of sexual assault by members of the police or by associates of the police or by both.
* The extent [if any] to which unprofessional behaviour within the police in the context of such allegations has been or is tolerated.
* The manner in which such allegations have been or are investigated and handled by the police, whether directly, or on behalf of the Police Complaints Authority.
Police conduct is also being looked at as part of the review of the Police Act. An issues paper titled Conduct and Integrity, was released in December.
Part of it includes a section on grounds where officers can be removed from the police force for behaviour that is incompatible with policing.
