Photo: RNZ
- Police will not discuss what work they have undertaken as a result of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
- The commissioners made several recommendations to police, including opening or re-opening criminal investigations arising from allegations of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment occurring in care, and establishing a specialist investigative unit.
- Police are refusing to answer whether they have reviewed or reinvestigated any cases, or opened any new investigations in response to the Royal Commission.
- The commissioners' final report outlined police failures and abuses of power, including occasions where officers themselves were the perpetrators of sexual abuse and violence.
Police are refusing to say what, if any, work they are doing as a result of the revelations of violence and neglect exposed by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
The inquiry outlined the systemic, extreme and prolific sexual, physical and psychological abuse carried out against at least 200,000 victims in state and faith-based institutions since 1950.
The Royal Commission's 3000-page final report outlined a litany of police failures and abuses of power, including the failure to investigate claims of sexual and physical abuse; returning children to abusive homes and care settings; holding children in police cells, in what amounted to solitary confinement; targeting of Māori and Pacific communities; interrogating children using violence; a negative bias against Deaf and disabled people, and those with mental distress; and police officers as the perpetrators of sexual violence against vulnerable children.
The commissioners made 138 recommendations to overhaul the care system in Aotearoa and, in some way, right the wrongs of the past.
Those recommendations included:
- The police commissioner should acknowledge and apologise to survivors, whānau and support networks for historical abuse and neglect in the care of the state.
- Police should open or re-open criminal investigations arising from allegations of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment occurring in care; and proactively and widely advertise the intent for such investigations.
- Police should review the police manual and other relevant material to ensure its guidelines reflect and refer to Aotearoa's international human rights obligations and other relevant international law obligations.
- Police should establish a specialist unit dedicated to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for historical or current abuse and neglect in state and faith-based care.
When approached by RNZ to explain what work police had begun in response to the Royal Commission, police only offered a statement from assistant commissioner: investigations Paul Basham, which exactly mirrored the statement issued on 25 July - the day after the report was tabled in parliament.
"Police acknowledge the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into abuse in state care. We also acknowledge the bravery of those who have come forward to share their stories and be heard," the statement said.
"Police will not be speaking about individuals or their cases, and survivors can be assured we will treat each investigation confidentially and with the care and attention it deserves.
"While investigation outcomes will identify organisations (churches, orphanages, etc) as enquiries progress, cases are currently not collated in this way.
"Police will now take time to assess the findings and establish what actions might be required."
In response to further queries, police included two lines addressing the Royal Commission's recommendation for the establishment of a specialist investigative unit.
"Specific recommendations are still being actively considered by ministers and we will be able to share more in the coming months.
"The Crown Response Unit are responsible for coordinating the actions of all Crown agencies in response to the RCOI findings and recommendations."
RNZ went back to police and asked for simple yes or no answers as to whether, as a result of the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission, police had:
- Reviewed any case files
- Re-investigated any case files
- Opened any new investigations
- Assigned any staff to specifically look at the findings and recommendations of the reports of the Royal Commission.
A police spokesperson said: "We have nothing further to add to our response."
Pressed again for yes or no answers to the questions, or an explanation for why police did not see fit to provide such answers, a spokesperson only re-emphasised two lines already contained in the original 25 July statement.
Sonja Cooper, right, speaks at the Royal Commission alongside colleague Amanda Hill. Photo: RNZ / Katie Scotcher
Lawyer Sonja Cooper, who specialises in abuse in care cases, said police should be transparent about how they were responding to the inquiry's recommendations.
"The police are one of the large number of organisations and public officials that have been told by the Royal Commission to apologise to survivors, and I think as part of the apology the police should be very upfront about what they are going to be doing moving forward to put it right. And also to make sure that for survivors in the future, that there are processes and procedures and properly trained police staff in place to deal with them," she said.
A dedicated specialist police unit investigating historical and current abuse cases was a good idea, Cooper said.
"They need to have specialist training, because dealing with survivors of abuse is a complex job and you need to be trauma informed and able to work with people who are going to be traumatised and often quite alienated from society and would have had very difficult relationships with police in the past."
A central agency or unit to collate information and potential witnesses was also key and could help further cases, Cooper said.
Police in this unit would have to be able to travel, so they could meet personally with survivors who were located throughout the country and overseas.
A spokesperson for the Crown Response Unit, which co-ordinated the various agencies' responses to the inquiry's recommendations, said any decision on a dedicated abuse investigation unit was an operational matter for police.
Police declined an interview with RNZ on 25 July and again declined multiple invitations this week.
A police spokesperson said more details on the inquiry would be released in November.
