Upholding the law and protecting people and property can be a dangerous, demanding, and stressful job. To do that job well, the New Zealand Police (the Police) need to have the trust and confidence of the community. To earn trust and confidence, the Police must show respect, consider the needs of victims, and meet very high standards of behaviour.
Although sexual assaults are a relatively small proportion of all crimes, ensuring that they are properly investigated is important for trust and confidence in the Police.
This report is the fourth we have produced on how the Police are responding to the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct in 2007. It follows up on the Police's response to the five recommendations we made in our third monitoring report in October 2012. We have also taken the opportunity to look at changes in the Police's workplace culture.
Overall, the Police have made good progress in addressing the five recommendations from our third report.