NEWS > 04 April 2007

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The Nelson Mail - Nelson,New Z
04 April 2007

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Police chief disturbed by repo

For the first time in 38 years, the Tasman police district's top policeman thought twice about putting on his uniform today following a "gutting" report on police conduct.

"I echo what the commissioner said, it makes awful reading," Superintendent Grant O'Fee said of the damning report.

"They (misconduct details) made me think twice about putting my uniform on in the morning," he said.

"I've found it a deeply disturbing experience.

"I can't just shrug this off and move on, and I know a lot of my staff feel the same way."

However, Mr O'Fee said while the report "has put a slant on us all", it was also clear the misconduct detailed in Dame Margaret Bazley's Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct did not characterise the police as a whole, many of the incidents were historic, and police officers now had to move on.

"That's not to excuse them but we should be making every effort to ensure these things never happen again.

"We've got to take this as a real rude awakening and be really vigilant.

"If these little pockets of the police still exist, we have to leave no stone unturned to get them out," Mr O'Fee said.

He was proud of the credibility of the 330 staff in the Tasman police district, which covers Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast. While there had been allegations of sexual offending by police in the district in the seven years he had been commander, they had all been investigated and no charges or disciplinary action resulted, he said.

Mr O'Fee, who worked on a national police integrity project in 2005, said several of the project elements had relevance to the recommendations in the new report.

One was the formation of an early intervention system, which would alert police bosses to questionable behaviour by officers and which was now being implemented in Tasman and other police districts.

Under that system, officers would have to report all instances where they used pepper spray or more than trivial force, or where they presented a firearm at someone. Those reports, along with instances of police missing work or training, or getting speeding tickets, would be held on a computer system, which would eventually trigger an alert to supervisors. The officers would be spoken to about their conduct.

Random alcohol and drug testing of officers, followed by disciplinary action for those who failed, was also being recommended by the project team. It suggested offering rehabilitation to officers seeking help for substance abuse, Mr O'Fee said.

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Article sourced from

The Nelson Mail - Nelson,New Z04 April 2007

Police chief disturbed by repo

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The Nelson Mail - Nelson,New Z
04 April 2007