Part 3: Investigating adult sexual assaults

3.1
The Commission's recommendations aimed to improve the services the Police provide to the public – in particular, how the Police receive and investigate adult sexual assault complaints.

3.2
We expected the Police to properly receive and investigate complaints of adult sexual assault. As part of this process, we expected the Police to understand:

• the extent to which their adult sexual assault investigation guidelines are implemented; and
• complainants' experiences of investigations.

Mixed but relatively poor progress to improve services for adult sexual assault complainants since 2010

3.3
The Police have given greater priority and resourcing to progressing the Commission's recommendations about adult sexual assault during 2012 than in the intervening period since our 2010 report. This includes forming an adult sexual assault training review group in 2012.

3.4
We welcome this increased priority and resourcing but note that they have taken a long time to emerge, given that it is five years since the Commission published its recommendations.

3.5
Since our second monitoring report in 2010, more than 400 police staff have received training in adult sexual assault investigation. However, there are still about 142 staff who have not yet received specialist training, including 57 who might have responsibilities for supervising investigations.

3.6
Earlier in 2012, the Police prepared a plan to train all these staff by the end of this calendar year and have told us that they are committed to achieving this.

3.7
The Police have told us that there are systems in place to reduce the risk that staff who have not yet received specialist training could be involved in these investigations. The systems include using staff from dedicated Adult Sexual Assault Teams in the five districts that have such teams, and using the Police's case management system to assign adult sexual assault investigations cases to staff.

3.8
The number of districts with dedicated Adult Sexual Assault Teams has increased since our second monitoring report in 2010. This is a positive development.

3.9
The Police have also reviewed and revised their adult sexual assault investigation guidelines since our second monitoring report in 2010. The revised version was still to be finalised at the time of our 2012 audit.

3.10
The Police's monitoring of implementation of the existing guidelines has slowed since our previous report.

3.11
The Police have influence over, rather than control of, contracts for specialist crisis support services, and specialist forensic medical services and support services. A contract is not signed for the South Canterbury District Health Board. In this area, victims' access to specialist medical assistance is less available in terms of scope, scale, and availability than in the rest of the country.

3.12
Assault victims have variable experiences of the Police. The extent to which sexual assault victims, a subset of assault victims, have variable experiences is not entirely clear. In our view, given the mixed evidence we have, it is likely that they do.

Details of the relatively poor progress on adult sexual assault investigation

3.13
In our view, the Police's progress with adult sexual assault investigation and support services is relatively poor, given that it is five years since the Commission published its recommendations.

3.14
We have therefore made an overarching recommendation about the Police's adult sexual assault investigation work. We will also do some additional targeted review of the Police's progress on this work before our final planned report in 2017.

Recommendation 1

We recommend that the New Zealand Police give their adult sexual assault investigation work the necessary attention, priority, and resourcing to further progress the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct's recommendations about adult sexual assault investigation.

Importance of adult sexual assault investigation

3.15
The importance of the Police's adult sexual assault investigation work has been further reinforced by the work of legal academics from Victoria University of Wellington. Their recently published (2011) results made recommendations for the Police's adult sexual assault investigation work:

• That the auditing of adherence to key process points in the ASAI [Adult Sexual Assault Investigation] Guidelines should continue, and that a centralised system of review of resolution decisions in sexual offending cases should be implemented more fully, for example through dip sampling or case tracking, to ensure more intensive monitoring of cases.
• New Zealand police should ensure that protocols for the monitoring of consistency in training, accreditation and adherence to the ASAI Guidelines are as robust as possible to ensure consistency of approach throughout the country. This should include ongoing training and assessment ...
• All officers investigating sexual offences (whether within a specialist unit or not) should have received specialist training.⁶

3.16
We agree with the direction of these recommendations, given their alignment with the Commission's recommendations.

More police officers need to be trained in adult sexual assault investigation

3.17
In our 2010 report, we described the Police's specialist training in adult sexual assault investigation. This was for Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) staff who "could be directly dealing with, or could be called upon, to deal with" adult sexual assault investigations.

3.18
At that time (June 2010), we noted that:

... at the rate of progress to date, it will be some time before all of the staff who investigate adult sexual assault complaints have attended the training course.

3.19
In our view, commitment to the training of investigators, and actually training the investigators, is a strong indicator of the priority that the Police give to adult sexual assault crimes. Representatives of sexual assault complainants told us that they regarded the lack of training of all police staff in adult sexual assault investigation matters as a significant issue where they had seen little improvement in recent years.

3.20
Two specialist training courses address sexual assault investigation issues:

• a specialist adult sexual assault investigation training course (the future content and direction of this course had not been finalised at the time of our fieldwork – an internal police document prepared by the Police's Organisational Assurance Group in 2008 notes that this "course is the biggest driver of raising awareness, changing attitudes toward sexual violence complaints and complainants, and dealing with these in the most effective manner"); and
• various sessions in the CIB Selection and Induction Course (this incorporates much of the material previously covered by the specialist adult sexual assault investigating training course).

3.21
Outside presenters are involved in delivering these training courses. In our view, bringing specialist and external views to the training experience is commendable.

3.22
During 2012, the Police formed an adult sexual assault training review group that includes external members. We support the Police reviewing their adult sexual assault investigation training to ensure that the training is fit for purpose and sustainable.

3.23
The Police have told us that more than 400 staff have received training in adult sexual assault investigation since our second monitoring report in 2010.

3.24
But there are still about 142 police staff who could be involved in adult sexual assault investigations who have not yet received specialist training in that field. This includes 57 staff who might have responsibilities for supervising investigations.

3.25
In 2012, the Police prepared a plan to train all these staff by the end of that calendar year and have committed to achieving this.

3.26
Although there are police staff who could be involved in adult sexual assault investigations who have not yet received specialist training in that field, the Police have told us that there are systems in place to reduce the risk that staff who have not yet received specialist training will be involved. These systems include using staff from dedicated Adult Sexual Assault Teams in the five districts that have such teams, and using the Police's case management system to assign staff to adult sexual assault investigations.

3.27
The number of districts with dedicated Adult Sexual Assault Teams has increased since our second monitoring report in 2010. This is a positive development.

Recommendation 2

We recommend that the New Zealand Police implement their catch-up plans for specialist training for adult sexual assault investigation so that all staff who could be involved in or supervise such investigations complete that training by 31 December 2012.

3.28
During our fieldwork, we were told by the Police or read in police documents that the reasons so many people had not yet received the specialist adult sexual assault investigation training were:

• a reduction in the number of courses because of reduced funding;
• the higher priority for training on the Search and Surveillance Bill;
• difficulties in getting staff released for training;
• difficulties in co-ordinating the availability of presenters; and
• waiting for direction from the business owner on the revisions to the adult sexual assault investigation guidelines.

3.29
Whatever the reasons, the priority given to this specialist training could have been higher, given the serious nature of adult sexual assault crimes.

3.30
In our 2010 report, we also noted that the Police needed to plan "for continuing increases in the skills of police officers involved in adult sexual assault investigations" to fulfil the Commission's expectations. At the time of our fieldwork, the Police had plans for a "four tiered training model" to be in place from January 2013. The intent of this model is that it provides a pathway for progressively more specialised training in adult sexual assault investigation. In our view, this model would help to fulfil the Commission's expectations.

Support available to adult sexual assault complainants

3.31
In our 2010 report, we described the three types of support that the Police identified should be available to adult sexual assault complainants:

• crisis support, which is provided by specialist providers such as Rape Crisis or by Victim Support⁷ where specialist providers are not available;
• the Sexual Abuse Assessment and Treatment Service (SAATS),⁸ which is jointly funded by the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), the Ministry of Health, and the Police through contracts with district health boards and managed by ACC as the lead funder; and
• victim safety and offender accountability support facilities, which are "safe" facilities the Police provide for examining and interviewing complainants and ensuring that investigations are carried out properly.

3.32
These three types of support rely on co-operative relationships with support agencies. Collectively, they are called the "tripartite response". Since November 2008, the Police's District Commanders have had to ensure that local agreements outlining the relationship between local tripartite partners are in place.

3.33
We have not comprehensively audited the availability of each of these support components throughout the country. However, from the districts we visited and information provided by the Police, it is clear that all three components are not fully in place nationwide. Examples include:

• crisis support – no specialist crisis support agency support is available in Whakatane or Rotorua;
• SAATS – no signed contracts were in place at the time of our audit fieldwork for the areas covered by the Lakes, Hawke's Bay, and South Canterbury District Health Boards (contracts were signed for the areas covered by the Lakes and Hawke's Bay District Health Boards before we published this report); and
• victim safety and offender accountability support – the Police do not have a sensitive interview room in Rotorua, although we understand that this will be included in the new Rotorua police station.

3.34
In the examples in paragraph 3.33, victims' access to specialist support and facilities is less than in the rest of the country.

Recommendation 3

We recommend that the New Zealand Police, the Accident Compensation Corporation, the Ministry of Health, and the South Canterbury District Health Board resolve any outstanding issues with the availability of Sexual Abuse Assessment and Treatment Services in the areas serviced by the South Canterbury District Health Board to ensure that people in that area have access to those services.

3.35
Representatives of sexual assault complainants told us that there are instances where the Police do not refer cases to a specialist crisis support agency, even where it exists. We were told that this is particularly so for referrals to specialist Māori crisis support services, but also for referrals to "mainstream" crisis support services.

3.36
We observed some examples of the Police working pragmatically with other agencies to use the other agency's interview facilities in locations where the Police did not have specialist interview room facilities. This was a sensible approach in the circumstances.

3.37
The Police have control over whether specialist interview facilities are available at different locations. Because the two districts we visited during our fieldwork are at opposite extremes in terms of the availability of specialist interview facilities, complainants in each of those districts will have very different experiences.

3.38
The variation in facilities and the resources available for adult sexual assault investigation, and the relative priority given to these, are issues that the Police need to consider further. Near the end of our fieldwork, the Police briefed us on some development work to inform the future allocation of Police resources within and across districts from 2013. Over time, the approach could better match activities and resources to a district's needs, relative to other districts' needs. At this time, we cannot say whether or how the approach could affect the resourcing of adult sexual assault investigation.

3.39
However, we observed that the culture of the Police towards projects means that new practices are not necessarily resourced, prioritised, or embedded as part of business as usual when projects come to an end. In our view, the move to business as usual needs to be managed carefully.

3.40
In our view, until 2012, the Police's progress with improving their adult sexual assault investigation work does not appear to have been a high priority.

Complainants' experiences of police investigations

3.41
In our 2010 report, we reported on the findings of a 2008/09 citizen satisfaction survey that included people who had contact with the Police because of an assault (including sexual assault). This survey was conducted again in 2009/10 and 2010/11. Except for the satisfaction survey, we are not aware of any other mechanisms the Police have used to specifically measure or assess assault complainants' experiences of the Police's services.

3.42
Although the extent to which the survey samples include sexual assault victims is not known, the findings for all assault victims were both relatively more positive and more negative in some results than for people who had contact with the Police for other reasons. In our view, given the other evidence we have, it is likely that these findings would apply to adult sexual assault victims. About 2% of survey respondents who had contact with the Police had done so because of an assault.

3.43
Figure 4 shows the relatively more positive and more negative experiences for people having contact with the Police because of assault compared with other people having contact with the Police.

Figure 4
Reported experiences of people contacting the Police because of an assault

Source: New Zealand Police, 2009/10 and 2010/11 citizen satisfaction surveys.

3.44
Although these findings suggest a relatively more positive experience for assault respondents compared with other respondents, the absolute levels of satisfaction against the survey dimensions listed in Figure 4 are very low. For example, in 2009/10, 87% of assault respondents responded that the Police did not show interest or concern. There is still considerable scope to improve these levels.

3.45
These findings suggest different groups of assault respondents have different experiences of police services even though they had contact with the Police for a similar reason. Despite these differences, the 2009/10 and 2010/11 surveys both found no significant difference between assault respondents and other respondents in the reasons for dissatisfaction with the Police.

3.46
Consistent with the approach in our previous work, we decided that we would not directly contact adult sexual assault complainants. Instead, we spoke with an umbrella group of agencies that provide specialist support services to sexual assault complainants. As part of our fieldwork, we met with representatives of Te Ohaakii a Hine – National Network for Ending Sexual Violence Together (Te Ohaakii a Hine).

3.47
The information we obtained through our discussions with Te Ohaakii a Hine includes individual perceptions. This information is important because perceptions influence people's behaviour and their expectations of, interactions with, and confidence in the Police.

3.48
We were told that experiences varied widely. Some people had extremely supportive interactions with police officers who were prepared to "go the extra mile", whether or not it was part of their role. In particular, the willingness of the Police to communicate with complainants through a variety of media (text, email, telephone, or through an advocate) or directly was appreciated.

3.49
We also heard of very poor interactions, including lack of referral to specialist services, poor communication leading to misunderstanding and unnecessary distress, and wrong information (for example, we were told that the Police told a woman she could not complain about an attack because it had happened a week ago).

3.50
There was also general concern that action could be extremely slow. Separate from the court process, examples were given of files taking months to be transferred from one police district to another and files sitting unattended while staff took long periods of leave.

3.51
The overall impression we were left with was that the experience of a complainant was heavily dependent on the personality and work circumstances of the detective assigned to their case.

Monitoring adult sexual assault investigations

3.52
In our view, for good practice to be adopted as business as usual, there needs to be ongoing monitoring, ownership, and situational awareness of that practice.

3.53
The Police's adult sexual assault investigation practice is set out in the Police's adult sexual assault investigation guidelines (version 8). These contain 12 key process points, with procedural steps outlined for each process point.

3.54
The guidelines set expectations at the national level and the district level for how adult sexual assault investigation practice is monitored:

NZ Police National Headquarters will monitor the successful implementation of the ASAI guidelines through annual dip sampling of completed ASA files nationally by the National Coordinator: ASA. This will be reinforced by annual monitoring by the Organisational Performance Group (OPG) as part of its ongoing focus on policing processes.

[District adult sexual assault investigation co-ordinators will] monitor staff performance to ensure they are performing sexual assault investigations satisfactorily and institute the staff trauma policy when necessary … monitor complaints to ensure these guidelines are being adhered to … ensure compliance with requirements for record keeping and statistical capture.

3.55
The Police told us that Police National Headquarters has carried out three audits of adult sexual assault investigation files. These were in May 2010, November 2010, and May 2011.

3.56
The most recent audit was of 180 files. Two-thirds (65%) of these files had no issues. Of the files with issues, about 21% had major issues, and about 23% had minor issues. The most common issues were no support provided to victim (14% of total files) and no victim feedback (4% of total files). Almost a third of cases with an outcome of insufficient evidence (31%) or where the victim withdrew their case (31%) had major and minor issues with the files.

3.57
The Police have identified that, since our 2010 report, their reviewing of the implementation of the adult sexual assault investigation policy has slowed. The Police identified the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake as one of the reasons for this. The guidelines were due for revision and roll-out in 2011/12. At the time of our fieldwork, the guidelines had been reviewed and revised but had not been finalised.

3.58
During our fieldwork, the Police told us about a proposed new approach for reviewing adult sexual assault investigation files by Police National Headquarters. The approach is modelled on one that the Police have used for managing child protection cases. The new approach was proposed because the Police considered that dip sampling did not result in timely improvements because it took place after the investigation. The new approach was not fully in place at the time of our audit fieldwork.

6: McDonald, Elisabeth and Tinsley, Yvette (editors) (2011), From "Real Rape" to Real Justice: Prosecuting Rape in New Zealand, Victoria University Press: Wellington, pages 136,139.

7: Victim Support is a community organisation, present in more than 70 locations, that supports people affected by crime and other trauma. It is an independent charitable trust that works closely with the Police, but it is not a provider of specialist adult sexual assault support services.

8: SAATS is a medical forensic service providing triage, assessment, treatment, and referral services for all victims of sexual abuse. It is designed to provide:

• a 24-hour, 7-days a week service;
• timely medical triage by a medical specialist or nurse with training in sexual abuse care;
• expert medical assessment, sexual health advice, and treatment that meets health, injury, and forensic needs;
• referral to, and co-ordination with, other services, such as the New Zealand Police, Child Youth and Family, and crisis support agencies, in a timely manner; and
• follow-up treatment, treatment that is provided in a suitable environment, and treatment that meets forensic requirements.