Roundup: NZ Police faces confidence crisis by porn scandal, complaint row

A sexual images scandal gives New Zealand Police another blow following series of complaints and jostles the Police into confidence crisis.

A Friday's Police news release said the 330 staff were handed a letter informing that they are under investigation for retaining or forwarding porn pictures.

Police Commissioner Rob Robinson said about 5,000 images were found in the official Police email system, about 20 percent of the system's capacity.

Robinson said an internal investigation named "Operation Insight" is underway to find and judge by legal standard if some of the Police staff have already offended the law.

While local media said far more police staff have the inappropriate emails. The Weekend Herald said that various police sources have told it the first sweep of the computer system is "believed to have picked up more than 1,200 and possibly 3,000 staff, who had questionable material ranging from nudity to hardcore pornography."

The porn images scandal was the latest rocking the New Zealand Police. On April 5, Police admitted they accidentally "abandoned" a 111 urgent police call about fighting in a street where a man was almost beaten to death in a brawl 90 minutes later. On April 18, a Wellington MP revealed that a fake email soliciting was reported to Auckland police who have said that "they are too busy to handle it."

On April 19, a Wellington resident told media that her 111 callwhen a father and daughter were drowning rang unanswered twice at the Wellington communications center, before finally being answered in Christchurch, another south island city, by a call asking where the location of drowning was.Marilyn Scannell, who made the 111 call said she is "appalled"

by the police's handling of her emergency call.

A latest poll of the National Business Review poll showed just 53 percent of New Zealand people have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police, down from 71 percent in 2002.

The out-party ACT accused the Police after the series of complaints, saying the poll indicating the plummeting public confidence in the police "highlights the lack of leadership."

Regarding the complaints and negative publicity, city officials

said the Police should be strengthened in stuff number and further consolidation. Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast and city council

chief executive Garry Poole said crimes were being ignored as stretched resources struggled to deal with the city's extra policing needs.

The Police Association said Wellington City, the capital with about 280 staff, is about 90 short, while officials here held that the Police faces the frontline crisis in staff number.

The government and the Parliament have taken action to restore the public confidence on the Police. Amendments to the terms of reference were passed that allows the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct to resume. Police Minister George Hawkins welcomed the amendments Thursday,saying the Police is only too well aware that they represent the law but is not a law unto themselves.

He noted the Minister also welcomed a separate examination of Police culture launched by the Police Commissioner.

"New Zealand Police is a bigger, better-funded organization than at any time in its history and is certainly robust enough for its culture to emerge enhanced by any review into its behavior and attitudes," said Hawkins.

He stressed offensive behavior by any officer "should not be tolerated, by the public and by colleagues."

"That confidence (on Police) can only be enhanced as a result of transparent inquiries into their attitudes and practices," said Hawkins.

Source: Xinhua