Clint Rickards called Operation Austin "a shambles". The Independent Police Conduct Authority released its review yesterday and chose a different term: "ground-breaking".
The authority assessed Mr Rickards' 15 complaints, his public comments and other aspects of the unprecedented investigation into police sex crimes that began with Louise Nicholas' allegations against then-assistant commissioner Clint Rickards and his former police colleagues Clint Rickards, Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum and John Dewar.
The 36-page review by its head, Justice Lowell Goddard, has not one bad word to say about Operation Austin, referring instead to the way "it left no stone unturned to try and rectify the damage done to the victims and to the police's reputation by a very few rogue elements in its ranks".
THE BEGINNINGS
Detective Superintendent Nick Perry, then heading the Southern police district, was called in to investigate the claims by Mrs Nicholas just as they were about to break in the Dominion Post newspaper in early 2004.
The authority review says Mr Perry thought it would be completed "within six months or less". Within six weeks he was aware it would take much longer.
SCOPE
The review reveals Operation Austin was "almost overwhelmed by new issues and allegations virtually every week, many similar to the Louise Nicholas case" and almost came to the point of turning away victims.
"At one point the question arose as to whether the police should draw a line because there were so many new matters every week," the review says. "It was decided to address each and every new complainant without exception."
The review gives an example of the scope of the operation as on March 1, 2004, soon after the Louise Nicholas story broke, there were six separate investigation objectives. Only eight days later there were 14 objectives, "reflecting several new complaints".
THE OTHER WOMEN
The review says Operation Austin investigations led them from Mrs Nicholas to contact 50 women. Some were hearsay, as a result of tip-offs.
It says "more than half of them" - at least 25 - made allegations against Shipton, Schollum, Rickards and Dewar. Operation Austin investigated these 25 in detail.
Three were found to be "significant" and led to charges: a former Rotorua officer, who alleged she was raped by the Waikato District Commander Kelvin Powell (who was acquitted), a former Mt Maunganui woman who said she was raped by Shipton, Schollum and others (convicted), and a former Rotorua woman who was identified through a "milk bottle" nickname in Shipton's police notebooks that led to allegations of indecent assault with a bottle and kidnapping against him, Schollum and Rickards (all acquitted).
Mrs Nicholas' rape claims led to charges against Rickards, Shipton and Schollum (acquitted). Dewar was found guilty of perverting the course of justice over her original complaint.
THE VICTIMS
The review says of the 50 women approached by police, some denied any knowledge of the alleged offending; others acknowledged "consensual sexual relationships"; some said there was criminal offending but did not want to lay a complaint; others made a formal complaint.
SECRECY
All the complainants were given a "victim's code", and were filed under this rather than by name to ensure security. Staff from police IT ensured there could not be any unauthorised access to the Operation Austin server.
VICTIM LIAISON
Each victim was given her own liaison officer. The report says victims were kept informed every step of the way and given access to their own legal advice. "Is excellent and goes beyond what has been the norm in the past," the review says.
LEGAL SECOND OPINIONS
The police chief legal adviser was used throughout. The Crown Prosecutor who was to take the cases, Christchurch Crown Solicitor Brent Stanaway, would often fly in to assess progress with the formal complaints.
Mr Stanaway gave an opinion on the charges against Shipton, Schollum, Rickards and Dewar, considering "sufficient evidence against high public interest". This was then peer-reviewed by the then deputy Solicitor-General, Nicola Crutchley.
Former deputy Commissioner Steve Long, who had oversight of Operation Austin, told the review this "solid" legal opinion gave him the confidence to go ahead and lay the charges. An Operation Austin member described Mr Stanaway and fellow Crown counsel Mark Zarifeh as "the voice of calm, legal reason throughout".
ONGOING
The review says 25 of the women also had issues involving police that Operation Austin decided needed to be dealt with by the authority.
The authority has decided 10 needed "further scrutiny and follow-up" and referred them back to Operation Austin. The review says the authority has assessed four of the 25 cases and will now focus on the rest.
POSSIBLE RESURFACING
The inquiry said some of the victims could surface again: "Historical sexual complaints have a propensity to emerge sometimes years later, often as a result of post-traumatic stress and the need to talk about these things as part of the rehabilitation process."
LEADERSHIP
Mr Perry's leadership was universally described as "first class" and helped give Operation Austin "sheer investigative grunt". Former Commissioner Rob Robinson said Mr Perry "had detail at his finger tips throughout".
Former deputy commissioner Steve Long said Mr Perry's leadership was "first class, [as] was his management of the investigation, his problem-solving and HR skills".
Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Haughey, the Operation Austin file manager, described Mr Perry as an "outstanding" boss. "This was one of the best, if not the best, I have worked with in my time with the police [34 years]."
Senior officer Detective Inspector Mike Clement was praised for being "fanatical about detail" and Detective Inspector Steven Vaughan was singled out for his specialist knowledge in dealing with sexual assault victims.
THE TEAM
The 48-strong Operation Austin team included 30 sworn officers and 18 non-sworn staff. The sworn component were mainly experienced detectives, with expertise as analysts, criminal investigators, child abuse and adult sexual assault investigators, complex file management, use of technology and covert operations. The non-sworn component were also highly experienced, some of them hand-picked by Mr Perry from his Southern district.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Mr Perry is in the high-profile role of police liaison officer at the High Commission in London. Another became the police liaison officer to Indonesia at the New Zealand embassy in Jakarta.
Another assumed command of the New Zealand Police Centralised Monitoring Centre and is now area commander in the Bay of Plenty. The inquiry says these promotions are an indication of the group's potential.
BIAS?
The review looked closely for "any suggestion of bias towards a preconceived outcome" and found none. There was "not the slightest evidence at any time or by any individual [of a] 'hidden agenda'."
RICKARDS
The review found Rickards' comments about Operation Austin - including that it was a "shambles" - were "entirely at odds with and not supported in any way" by what it found.
It noted a "particular thread" in Rickards' complaints - that he was "over-selective" in his material and had "a tendency to overstate some issues to the point of exaggeration".
"It appeared to the authority that while [Rickards] has accused others of bias, he has on occasions engaged in precisely the same behaviour."
INCOMPARABLE
Operation Austin was so "unprecedented" in terms of its scope and duration that the review found it "not very helpful" to compare it against the police best practice manuals.
THE FUTURE
Justice Goddard says the Operation Austin method of dealing with victims was "ground breaking" and should be adopted as police best practice.
Emergency services were called to the scene about 8.20pm.