Sign Here To Make the Police Complaints Authority A Separate Organisation  Not Run The By Police

More and more police officers seem to be ending up on the wrong side of court cases.

JAN CORBETT investigates if - and why - standards are slipping.

When it's the cop who turns out to be the bad guy, it's usually the plot of a Hollywood movie or a newsclip from Queensland or the United States.

But in this country it cannot be long before police who have broken the law are the subject of a documentary, funded, no doubt, by New Zealand On Air.

The opening scene could be a cascade of newspaper clippings from the past year about policemen being charged with assault, theft, fraud, drink driving, drug offences, and rape. Significantly, because this is occurring with increased regularity, the stories would not always be found on the front page.

Such a documentary might show flashes of 37-year-old Mangakino senior constable Colin McLean, convicted of rape and assault, or 38-year-old Rotorua constable Wiki Waru, who took $595 from a tourist's wallet that had been handed in.

There might be a mention of a story reported briefly this week of a Whakatane sergeant charged with perjury. Two other serious cases are still before the courts. We report today that more then 30 police officers have been arrested for drink driving offences since 1995.

It all adds up to an apparently shocking trend of the people who are there to uphold the law and protect us, instead breaking the law and violating us.

It is not only a betrayal of the trust society places in its police force, but a crack in a structure that protects us from slipping into a corrupt tyranny.

Why aren't the sirens squealing louder about this?

Last year 20 police officers were charged with these types of criminal offences - down on the high of 27 in 1997, but almost double the 11 and 12 charged in 1998 and 1999 respectively. This year the number charged has already reached 12.

There are two clear views about what is going on, but only one to which people want to put their names .

The other view, on which people are not willing to be quoted, has it that by dropping the starting salary in 1992 and widening the selection criteria to include a wider socially-representative mix, the calibre of person entering the force during the 1990s was not what it had been.

So anxious was the police department to fill its recruitment wings, that it was accepting people with convictions for assault, theft and driving over the alcohol limit.

Says one insider: "I suspect some of the people getting into trouble nowadays wouldn't have been considered when the applicant pool was bigger."

He talks of new recruits who either lack the intelligence or judgment to do the job or who have close family associations with gang members.

But although Assistant Commissioner Steve Long, who is in charge of police discipline, says they pore over the details of every instance of a police officer turning criminal, they have found no discernible pattern of either age or recruitment period or previous record.

People with criminal, drink driving or other serious driving offence convictions have not been accepted into the police force for close to three years. The police say this is not a toughening up of the conviction policy, more a clarification of one that was unevenly applied.

They say there has always been a discretion to admit people who've been on the wrong side of the law in the past.

Youthful mistakes, the argument goes, should not preclude otherwise good candidates from being accepted.

According to the police brochure about "joining the team that makes a difference" the department will tolerate less serious convictions that "will be assessed on a case-by-case basis."

You don't need to have School C to be a police officer. But you do have to pass the police's own academic and psychological assessment tests and in the first two years complete two university papers on criminal law and problem solving, and understanding human behaviour.

Police National Headquarters was unable to produce figures of educational standards across the force, but claims more are tertiary educated than ever before.

Of course you also need to be able to run, swim, keep good health, provide six references and also have your family assessed.

You can take a year-long polytechnic course to get you up to speed to pass the entry test - but that is also derided by critics as a sign the police are accepting people who are intellectually challenged.

But again, no evidence has been flushed out that it is the dim who are breaking the law on or off-duty.

What the police do admit is that they are finding it more and more difficult to recruit. That cannot help but mean fewer people whose qualities far exceeded the police entry threshold than there were when policing was a more attractive career.

Starting salaries were raised again in 1997 and are now the equivalent of $27,979 a year for the first 18 weeks of training, rising to $46,125 on graduation. But this is still not enough to lure enough mature applicants from Auckland, where high property prices have lumbered people with high mortgages and there is a greater range of career options.

While Assistant Commissioner John White admits recruitment came under pressure when the politicians decided to increase police numbers - the John Banks 900 and the Coalition government's 500 - the entry bar has not been lowered, he insists.

And in answer to the theory that going for social diversity has eroded standards, he says that a deliberate policy of recruiting more women, Maori, Pacific Island and Asian police officers, so that the force better reflects the society it is policing, has not made for an unethical and ill-disciplined force.

Indeed, despite these efforts the police force is still a white man's preserve. Only 15 per cent of the force are women, 9 per cent Maori, 1.5 per cent Pacific Island and the Asian representation is too small to register.

But it was not just a drop in starting salaries that made it less attractive. Two things happened in the 1980s that changed the police. One was the 1981 Springbok tour, which saw normally law-abiding people turn hostile to the police force, and others, who liked the idea of picking up a baton against their fellows, develop an attraction to it. The theory is that the force began attracting too many of the wrong kind.

Then came the introduction of the Police Early Retirement Fund (Perf). Not only did it encourage an exodus of talent and experience, but suddenly joining the police force looked like a short-term job you did for 15 years before going out into business as a private investigator or security manager. No longer was it a desirable life-long career. All up, this line of argument goes, good solid people looked for jobs elsewhere.

The other view on this apparent upsurge in cops turning bad is that our police force has always harboured its share of thugs, thieves, liars and rapists, but they are no longer quietly tolerated or silently disposed of.

Criminologist Greg Newbold attributes our newfound awareness of rogue cops to the zero-tolerance of police misconduct introduced by former police commissioner Peter Doone, who was, ironically, snared by those same standards.

Commissioner Rob Robinson is said to be equally determined to run a clean force. Unlike average citizens, cops caught drunk in charge of a vehicle, are sacked.

Victoria University senior law lecturer Neil Cameron suspects that social changes that have made us less tolerant of drink drivers and have made women more confident about reporting rape, even by a policeman, may have also helped flush police offenders into the spotlight.

Certainly Newsweek has reported that US police are subject to a similar phenomenon, with a spate of sexual abuse claims against cops surfacing across the country.

The magazine attributes it to "debates in the workplace and on college campuses, [giving] sexual harassment and date rape a place in our national dialogue. At the same time high-profile cases of police misconduct ... have offered stark reminders of how police can cross the line."

Neil Cameron points out the average age of new recruits has increased to 28 years, meaning they may be less intimidated by peer pressure and less likely to pull the blue veil over their colleagues' misdemeanours.

Trevor Morley, a policeman in the 1970s who now runs a thriving security and investigation firm, remembers in his day "a couple of police convicted of drink driving who kept their jobs."

Back then, police found drinking and driving, might get a warning and be driven home by a colleague. These days they face court like anyone else. And when their police mates get caught trying to smuggle them through a back door, they face a reprimand from their superiors.

He says in the old days if a police officer "biffed a guy in the ear" during an arrest "they'd be told to apologise." These days they face suspension and a Police Complaints Authority Investigation.

In the case of policeman Chris Moore, convicted and discharged of an assault on a 71-year-old man, the Employment Court ruled that the police department's decision to sack him, went too far.

When you ask the police hierarchy why there suddenly appears to be so many police officers facing criminal charges, the answer is invariably that there are no more than usual.

However the figures the department supplied to the Weekend Herald, go back only four years. Earlier figures are trapped between databases, and could not be retrieved before our deadline, according to media liaison officer Jon Neilson.

Which is why Police Association national vice-president Richard Middleton, is able to say, "Until we do an in-depth study of the figures, we don't actually know if there is an increase in the number of police up on charges."

However a search of newspaper clipping files shows only the occasional story of police facing criminal charges before 1997.

Nevertheless, says Richard Middleton, the Police Association "accepts a vigorous investigation of all alleged offending by officers as part and parcel of maintaining the integrity of the police."

The good news, according to Long, is that "we're confident that if there is offending going on, we get to it and deal with it."

Internally, he says, "we look at each case and take stock of the management of the police officers around it. We're learning we have to be ever vigilant about policing and have to be on the pace about maintaining police discipline."

Whistleblowers, he says, will be congratulated.

In the old days police trainees would be warned they were at greatest risk of breaking the law when they were dealing with the three p's - property, prostitutes and that other word for alcohol.

Long says there are strict internal auditing procedures to ensure attractive property does not go missing. And because there is always a risk in the rough handling of prisoners, they are putting cameras and recording equipment in police cells to not only protect detainees from assault but to also protect police officers from false accusations.

The blue veil is perhaps being penetrated by the new technology. Where would Rodney King have been without an amateur with a video camera?

The one thing that everyone agrees on, is that New Zealand still enjoys one of the least corrupt police forces in the world.

One officer talks of only ever been offered one $50 bribe. He managed to raise it to $200, saw the colour of the money, and took it - as evidence.

* To lay a complaint against a police officer you suspect of committing a crime or breaching police regulations, contact either the senior sergeant at the station concerned, the area controller, the District Commander or see the procedure on the police website. New Zealand Police. You can at the same time lay a complaint with the Police Complaints Authority.

Police have been told to rethink their use of weapons and other methods of force.

PATRICK GOWER reports.

Police officers should stop relying on pistols and make better use of rifles and new alternative weapons, such as the Taser stun gun, says an internal report.

Otherwise, it warns, the regular use of guns could spread throughout the force, which effectively will become armed - despite an official no-guns policy.

The 35-page report was prepared after a series of incidents, notably the Waitara shooting of 23-year-old Steven Wallace in April last year.

It was written in June by Auckland Detective Superintendent Peter Marshall and Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Ray Shuey, who worked unpaid.

Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Steve Long yesterday described it as a low-key "stock-take" of the police approach to use of force.

The report makes 14 recommendations, including:

* The armed offenders squad

The review suggests a name change to Tactical Response Groups or something similar would add a "positive dimension" to the elite group. The squad is "somewhat underutilised" and should be given broader responsibilities to support frontline staff, rather than just where firearms are involved. They should have access to a greater range of "less-lethal" weaponry. The report suggests the Taser and guns that fire balls of pepper spray powder.

It notes the commanding officer of the Auckland squad, Ray Van Beynen, has been asked to consider the merits of a full-time squad in Auckland. It says police should consider letting members keep weapons and police vehicles at home to be ready for immediate deployment.

* Police criminal liability

Any "significant incidents" where police force is used against a member of the public or an officer is injured should be investigated by a detective from outside the relevant district.

* Blood and breath testing of police who use force

The report recommends compulsory blood and/or breath testing for any police involved in the injury or death of a member of the public.

The authors believe this would help the public and the police because it would end speculation around critical incidents. But they add: "The mere presence of alcohol on an officer's breath could become an issue of national interest and detract from the central issues."

It expects opposition from the Police Association and the Police managers' guild, but says the idea is still worth considering.

* The sleeper hold

The report describes the sleeper, or carotid, hold as "deliberate, aggressive rather than reactionary" and "potentially lethal" and says its suitability should be reviewed.

Mr Shuey said that in an "adverse outcome" (such as a suspect being killed or seriously injured by use of the hold) the police would be "highly exposed". The hold must be used in defence of life but anecdotal evidence suggests it is in widespread operational use and not as a last resort.

However, police personnel told the reviewers "in the strongest terms that its withdrawal would be met with a great deal of resistance".

While the hold has been used in New Zealand without significant problems and has been subject to medical reviews, police chiefs say "it will be looked at again".

* Glock pistols

The report lists limitations with the 9mm Glock pistol and recommends the introduction of the 10mm Glock as a more powerful weapon.

"What is clear is that the events of Waitara in April 2000 [and other shootings] seriously question the appropriateness of the Glock pistol as a primary weapon for police in emergency situations. To put it bluntly, its 9mm 'stopping power' in dire circumstance is questionable on occasions."

It says police officers are routinely given the Glock in circumstances where it is unsuitable to achieve desired results. For some reason, although it is less suitable than the .223 Remington rifle, it appears to be the weapon of first resort for staff, who instinctively arm themselves with it.

It says there is also a need to ensure the .223 Remington rifles are distributed adequately around the country. Police districts have been reminded of the need to use the .223 Remington rifles as "back-up" to officers armed with Glocks. Police chiefs say the reminder will be repeated.

* Side-handled batons

The report says that side-handled batons, which were withdrawn from regular use, are being carried by officers with "appropriate certification".

It notes that, while there has been criticism of their withdrawal, "there is considerable risk to the New Zealand Police if some incident occurs involving serious injury involving the baton, where the member is not fully trained and certified".

It says the baton has a legitimate place, citing the recent Invercargill waterfront violence, and recommends that police chiefs re-examine whether the side-handled batons will be reissued and officers retrained.

* 'Less-lethal' weaponry

Police chiefs are urged to act quickly on the findings of a soon-to-be-completed report on a trial of "less-lethal" weapons.

The report says many of the options are attractive, but singles out the Taser and a "pepper ball" system that fires hard, breakable projectiles filled with pepper spray powder up to 10m.

It also suggests a product not yet under consideration, called the Pratt device, which is used by police in Mr Shuey's home state of Victoria. This is a larger "fire-extinguisher" of pepper spray that can be fired up to 8m rather than the 3m of the hand-held canisters used here.

The police weaponry review, titled Project Lincoln, has been delayed because of difficulties in importing the hardware since September 11. A decision on any new police weaponry is expected in the New Year.

* National database of critical incidents

The report recommends "full support" for the introduction of a national staff safety database under development with a deadline of March or April next year.

This will require all police staff to make a computer entry for all uses of force either by or against police, use of firearms, police dogs, any Occupational Safety and Health matters and other related circumstances.

The reviewers want to ensure that incidents such as threatening to use batons, or aiming pepper spray or firearms without discharge are also recorded.

They add that "national oversight is imperative" - it is now done on an ad hoc basis at district level - because the database will point to "systemic problems" and ensure that national trends, training requirements and issues are identified quickly. It cites overseas experience where "difficulties with specific districts, specific stations and indeed specific police officers have allowed for timely intervention". Police may need to draw up protocols controlling the use of this information.

* Present firearms guidelines

Rules allowing police to fire warning shots in the air in some circumstances are criticised - "Any vertical shot must by necessity come straight down" - for defeating the use of the firearm as a last resort. The report says that, in the same vein, "stringent adherence to 'last resort' means the target area must be centre body mass with resultant consequences".

Police say these policies are based on New Zealand law and have stood the test of time, but a minor amendment may be needed to ensure it is "absolutely clear" when and how warning shots should be used.

* Critical incident debriefing

The reviewers encourage a more formal debrief after major incidents.

"This will determine what lessons can be learnt and what remedial action can be taken. There is little evidence to suggest that the circumstances surrounding the shooting events outside the Christchurch police station in 1998, the fatal shooting of Edwin Leo at Helensville in 1999 or the tragic circumstances of Constable Stretch's death at Mangakino (to name but a few) have been formally debriefed for the benefit of staff immediately involved or for the wider police audience."

Debriefs would be attended by the Police Complaints Authority and a senior member of police. The information should be passed on to police training.

* Unclear lines of command

The report says urgent decisions must be made and formally announced about the role of the three centralised Police Communications Centres established more than four years ago to handle all 111 calls and police radio traffic. "The vexing question of their incident command and control role has yet to be resolved [despite] numerous Police Complaints Authority investigations that have through necessity considered this area."

It says the roles and responsibilities of the Communications Centre and field supervisors is unclear and "New Zealand Police [are] exposed to risk if the present unclear policy continues. Command and control issues will be prominent with any event involving the use of lethal or potentially lethal force by police."

* Weapons training

The report says: "There is some disquiet being expressed at the number of police personnel who have not received training and who are accordingly not certified to carry such equipment as pepper spray, batons and firearms."

It recommends district commanders be made personally accountable for ensuring officers who carry weapons are certified to do so, that they keep up with training and that all police vehicles contain appropriate first-aid equipment.