Source: Radio New Zealand
The Authority conducted an independent investigation into the matter and found the officer demonstrated poor judgement and decision making, but did not act dishonestly. RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Police say they accept the Independent Police Conduct Authority’s (IPCA) findings after an off-duty officer used the police database to access a driver’s contact details.
According to the IPCA report, the officer was involved in an incident where two cars attempted to merge into the same lane on 24 July 2024.
The officer then took note of the other car’s registration and the next day, and while on duty discussed the matter with a senior officer.
The officer believed from that conversation that he was authorised to access the police database to obtain the other driver’s information details and subsequently contacted the other driver to discuss the incident and their manner of driving.
This person has complained to the Authority that the officer had been aggressive over the phone and shouldn’t have been able to access his personal information.
The Authority conducted an independent investigation into the matter and found the officer demonstrated poor judgement and decision making, but did not act dishonestly or breach police policy because he consulted a senior officer.
The Authority accepts the officer was not conscious of his conflict of interest and believed he had authorisation to obtain information from the police database.
Acting Waikato District Commander, Acting Superintendent Will Loughrin, said the behaviour wasn’t consistent with the expectations police and the public have of staff.
“In this instance Officer A has been given advice by a senior officer and proceeded to access the police database inappropriately.
“While it is common practice for police to contact people about their driving, the circumstances that have led to this are not acceptable.
“We understand Officer A believed he was justified in accessing the database in this instance, in the interests of providing education to the other driver. However, the circumstances of this incident and follow-on behaviour falls short of what we expect from our staff.
“Police conducted an employment process, and I am satisfied that Officer A now has a full understanding of how to identify a conflict of interest.
“Correct process has also been discussed with the senior officer to prevent this sort of occurrence happening again.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
