The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA, ) is an independent civilian oversight body that considers complaints against the
New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...
and oversees their conduct. It derives its responsibilities and powers from th
Independent Police Conduct Authority Act Under section 12.1 of the Act, the Authority's functions are to receive complaints alleging misconduct or neglect of duty by police employees; or concerning any practice, policy, or procedure of New Zealand Police and to take action as contemplated by the Act. It may also investigate any police incident involving death or serious bodily harm and make recommendations to th
Commissioner of Policebased on those investigations.
The Authority also monitors conditions of detention and treatment of detainees in police custody. In this respect, the IPCA is one of several 'national preventive mechanisms' designated in 2007 under an amendment to the
Crimes of Torture Act
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
. Other agencies with responsibility for monitoring places of detention include the Human Rights Commission, the Children's Commissioner and the Ombudsmen. Together, these agencies including the IPCA, have joint responsibility to uphold New Zealand's commitment to the
Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment (
OPCAT).
History
Prior to 1989, complaints against the police were investigated internally by police. Following several years of debate about police accountability, sparked in part by the role of Police during the
1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offens ...
, the Police Complaints Authority was established on 1 April 1989.
[History](_blank)
IPCA website The Police Complaints Authority was made up by a single investigator and a small support staff. The first Authority was High Court Judge Peter Quilliam. Because of its reliance on police to investigate themselves, the Authority was perceived as not being independent.
Allan Galbraith, was appointed as the Authority's first Manager of Investigations in 2003 and held that position until 2010. He had been a member of the New Zealand Police for 37 years.
In 2004, a number of historic sexual misconduct allegations dating from the 1980s were made against both serving and former police officers. During that year, Prime Minister
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...
announced a Commission would be established to carry out an independent investigation into the way in which the New Zealand Police had dealt with allegations of sexual assault. The investigation was conducted by Dame
Margaret Bazley
Dame Margaret Clara Bazley (née Hope, born 23 January 1938) is a New Zealand public servant. She began her career as a psychiatric nurse and rose through the ranks to senior leadership positions at psychiatric hospitals and district health bo ...
and took three years. It reviewed 313 complaints of sexual assault against 222 police officers, including 141 that Dame Margaret said were credible enough for legal action.
[Police get 'culture change' hurry up](_blank)
NZ Herald 7 January 2011
Dame Margaret's inquiry identified the inadequacy of police investigations into misconduct by their own officers and recommended that a more independent investigative body was needed. In November 2007, the Independent Police Conduct Authority was established as a Board of up to five members headed by a Judge. The new Authority was mandated to focus on conducting investigations independent from police.
Membership
At its inception, the new authority was headed by High Court Judge,
Lowell Goddard
Dame Lowell Patria Goddard, (born 25 November 1948) is a former New Zealand High Court judge, from 1995 to 2015. She is thought to be the first person of Māori ancestry to have been appointed to the High Court. In 1988, she was one of the fi ...
.
[Former cop's job on line after abuse claim](_blank)
''Stuff'', 4 April 2010 And in August 2010, parliament appointed three new board members to the authority: Angela Hauk-Willis, a former deputy secretary of treasury, with special responsibility for corporate governance, Maori responsiveness, and ethics and integrity; Dianne Macaskill chief executive and chief archivist at Archives New Zealand from 2001 to 2009; and
Richard Woods, who from 1999 to 2006, was the director of the
New Zealand Security Intelligence Service
The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS or SIS; mi, Te Pā Whakamarumaru) is New Zealand's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for providing information and advising on matters including national security (incl ...
, and from 2008 was chairperson of the Environmental Risk Management Authority.
[People and structure](_blank)
IPCA website
In April 2012, Judge Sir
David Carruthers
David Carruthers (born September 1957 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British businessman who was the CEO of online gambling company BETonSPORTS plc from July 2000 until July 2006. He was arrested in the United States on 16 July 2006 on charges ...
, former chairman of the
New Zealand Parole Board
The New Zealand Parole Board is an independent statutory body established in 2002 that considers offenders for parole. Its task "is to undertake an assessment of the risk that long-term sentenced offenders might pose to the safety of the communit ...
, was appointed chair of the Independent Police Conduct Authority for a term of five years.
Soon after he took over, he said he wanted to see more of the watchdog's work opened to public scrutiny.
[Editorial: IPCA must explain Parlane secrecy](_blank)
/ref>
In 2015 Parliament approved a Notice of Motion
reappointing Dianne Macaskill and appointing Simon Murdoch CNZM as part time members of the Authority for a term of three years.
Judge Sir David Carruthers retired in August 2017 and was succeeded b
Judge Colin Doherty
as chair of the authority for a term of five years.
Investigators
The IPCA employs 25–30 full-time staff including investigators, analysts, legal advisors, communications and support staff. The official website indicates that its current and former investigators have backgrounds in police and other investigative work in Australia, Canada, England, Scotland, New Zealand and other jurisdictions. Their collective experience includes investigation of homicides, organised crime, drug enforcement, fraud and corruption, terrorism, war crimes, and a wide range of other criminal conduct.
The Authority's team-approach to its work ensures that no one person is solely responsible for the decision-making processes around investigations and their outcomes and that the appropriate expertise and level of independence is applied in every case.
IPCA Chairpersons
*Hon. Justice Sir Peter Quilliam
Sir James Peter Quilliam (23 March 1920 – 17 February 2004) was a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as Chief Justice of the Cook Islands and a judge of the High Court of New Zealand.
Early life and family
Born in New Plymouth on 23 ...
(1989 – 1992)
*Hon. Justice Sir John Jeffries
John Jeffries (5 February 1744 – 16 September 1819) was an American physician, scientist, and military surgeon with the British Army in Nova Scotia and New York during the American Revolution. He is best known for accompanying French invent ...
(1992 – 1997)
*Judg
Neville Clarke Jaine
(July 1997 – June 2000)
*Judge Ian Borrin
Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...
(2000 – 2007)
*Hon. Justice Lowell Goddard
Dame Lowell Patria Goddard, (born 25 November 1948) is a former New Zealand High Court judge, from 1995 to 2015. She is thought to be the first person of Māori ancestry to have been appointed to the High Court. In 1988, she was one of the fi ...
QC (2007 – 2012)
*Judge Sir David Carruthers
David Carruthers (born September 1957 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British businessman who was the CEO of online gambling company BETonSPORTS plc from July 2000 until July 2006. He was arrested in the United States on 16 July 2006 on charges ...
KNZM (April 2012 – August 2017)
*Judg
Colin Doherty
(appointed August 2017 for a five-year term)
Resolution of complaints
The Authority receives about 2500 complaints and incident reports every year,[Suspect's death prompts review](_blank)
/ref> After gathering information an assessment is made on the appropriate resolution approach to be adopted.
Where considered appropriate, the Authority will independently investigate a complaint or incident; however a number of matters are referred to police each year for either investigation or resolution by way of mutual agreement with the complainant. The IPCA oversees the police handling of these complaints, usually by conducting a review or audit of the police investigation after it is completed.[Independence](_blank)
IPCA website
In cases involving fatalities or allegations of serious misconduct, the Authority conducts its own investigations. It may also investigate incidents in which there is a significant public interest in having an independent investigation, for example when allegations are made against a senior police officer.[What happens to your complaint?](_blank)
IPCA website If a complaint may lead to an officer being charged with a criminal offence, the police are required to conduct an investigation, as the IPCA does not have the power to lay charges. However, the IPCA can conduct a parallel investigation, oversee or directing the police investigation, or reviewing the police investigation once it is completed.
Police Association President Greg O'Connor in 2013 said the reason most complaints to the IPCA weren't investigated was because they were "frivolous" and made by "perennial complainers who complain about everything to everyone".
Independence and effectiveness
The IPCA is independent from the New Zealand Police
The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...
. It is not part of the police and is required to make its findings based on the facts and the law. It does not answer to the police or anyone else over those findings and in this sense, its independence is similar to that of a Court. The Authority's status as an independent Crown entity means that there is no political involvement in its operations. Chair, Judge Sir David Carruthers
David Carruthers (born September 1957 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a British businessman who was the CEO of online gambling company BETonSPORTS plc from July 2000 until July 2006. He was arrested in the United States on 16 July 2006 on charges ...
stated that he believes the IPCA should be able to conduct "own motion" investigations, similar to those conducted by the Ombudsman. He said there were stories in the media about police conduct and behaviour where the IPCA does not necessarily receive a formal complaint, meaning no independent investigation is conducted.[Police watchdog wants ability to launch its own inquiries](_blank)
/ref>
The IPCA has no ability to prosecute police, and can only make recommendations, which the police are not obliged to follow. In 2013, Sir David Carruthers, who had just been named the IPCA's head, said that he was considering supporting new powers of arrest and prosecution for the Authority. In does not make all its findings public. After an IPCA investigation, following a complaint from Mii Teokotaia of Tokoroa after she was arrested in the 2005, before the charges were dropped, the IPCA "deemed them not of sufficient public interest" to release the report, despite senior Police involvement.[Shamed cop given plum London job](_blank)
Stuff website 23 October 2010 The IPCA chairman said in February 2013 that the IPCA is "now likely to reporting on all investigations unless there's an overwhelming private interest that's paramount."
Concerns have been raised that the ICPA is slow to release reports, however in response to these concerns the IPCA stated "the IPCA takes great care with its investigations and releases its reports once it is fully satisfied they are thorough, accurate, balanced and complete. Justice will always be our priority over speed."[Stress for police after 22 months and still no report](_blank)
/ref> In February 2013, IPCA chairman Sir David Carruthers said he hoped to speed inquiries up acknowledging that it is "very cruel on everybody, families, victims and police officers too when investigations dragged on over years".
Significant IPCA reports
The Authority regularly releases reports on its investigations and makes these publicly available on it
website
Historical reports are also available as is information about its operations includin
Annual reports, Statements of Intent and Statements of Performance Expectations
Deaths from police pursuits: In 2009, the IPCA released a report which found that out of 137 recent chases, only 31 were started because of known criminal activity. The IPCA recommended that the decision to pursue be based on known facts, rather than general suspicion or speculation about the offender and suggested police make "the risk to public safety from not stopping an offender" the main consideration, however Police have chosen not to implement this recommendation.[The chase is still on](_blank)
NZ Herald 25 November 2010 After the deaths of three people in a police pursuit in 2012, the IPCA recommended that pursuit policy would should require officers to "state a reason for beginning a pursuit." It also recommended compulsory alcohol and drug testing of police officers involved in fatal incidents.
Police involved shootings: The IPCA is required to investigate all police shootings and has found that in all seven police shootings in the past ten years, that Police were lawfully justified in using lethal force to defend themselves.
Child abuse cases: In 2011, the IPCA released a report on the outcome of it
Inquiry into Police handling of child abuse cases
which began in August 2009. This followed a Police report in 2008 which found widespread failings in management of child abuse cases in the Wairarapa District. Those failings included poor case management and workload management, poor supervision, and a lack of accountability and responsibility. Submissions were sought, and the Authority conducted an audit of child abuse cases throughout New Zealand, investigating individual complaints about police responses to child abuse allegations. The IPCA chairman, Justice Lowell Goddard, said the scale of the inquiry had been unprecedented for the Authority and concluded "there were serious failures in the Police investigation of child abuse, which must never be repeated". The IPCA made 34 recommendations. The police responded positively, and Commissioner Howard Broad established a Child Protection Implementation Project Team that has since led substantial changes to police policies, practices, and procedures.
Deaths in police custody: In June 2012 the IPCA released a comprehensive report o
deaths in police custody
between 2000 and 2010. The report revealed there had been 27 such deaths in the last ten years and raised serious concerns about inadequate risk assessment procedures used by police. Following their review, the IPCA made 20 recommendations, including better training being provided to officers about the dangers associated with restraining people in a prone position with their hands tied behind their back and that detainees who are unconscious or semi-conscious and cannot answer questions and/or physically look after themselves "must be taken to hospital".[Deaths in Police custody – lessons from a ten-year review](_blank)
IPCA 30 June 2012
Treatment of teenagers in police cells: In October 2012, the Authority issued a report on the treatment of teenagers held in police cells following reports in January 2012 about two young girls who were detained and strip-searched by Upper Hutt police. The IPCA launched a wider investigation which found that the number of youths being held in police cells has more than doubled since 2009. It said that "youths in crisis are being locked up in police cells and denied their human rights." Police practices that "are, or risk being, inconsistent with accepted human rights" include: being held in solitary confinement; having cell lights on 24 hours a day; family members being prevented access; and not being allowed to see the doctor when they have medical or mental health problems. The IPCA made 24 recommendations into how police can improve the detention and treatment of young people in custody.
Urewera raids: In May 2013, th
IPCA released its report
into police action during the Urewera raids which occurred on 15 October 2007. It said police were justified in undertaking the operation but police acted illegally when they entered the homes of people who were not suspects and gave them reason to think they were detained while their houses were searched. The road blocks established by police at Ruatoki and Taneatua used to detain and search people were also "unlawful, unjustified and unreasonable". Chairman Sir David Carruthers said: "The authority recommends that police re-engage with Tuhoe and take appropriate steps to build bridges with the Ruatoki community."Police acted 'unlawfully' during Urewera raids
NZ Herald 22 May 2013
See also
* Police corruption in New Zealand
References
{{authority control
Specialist law enforcement agencies of New Zealand
Organizations established in 1989
1989 establishments in New Zealand