Gallen Review

The Gallen Review in 2000 led to the appointment of independent investigators.

In May 2000, as a result of adverse public comment about the independence of Police Complaints Authority investigations, the Minister of Justice appointed Sir Rodney Gallen to conduct a review of the Authority.

Sir Rodney reported in October of that year, making several findings and recommendations about the Authority’s operations.

In particular, he noted that there had been criticism of the Authority’s reliance on Police investigations, and stated that this reliance undermined public confidence in the Authority and discouraged people from making complaints.

Recommendations

Justice Gallen recommended the appointment of independent investigators.

Justice Gallen also recommended:

• that the Authority be changed from a single person to a three-person Board
• that the Authority’s independence should be reflected by making it an Officer of Parliament
• that less serious complaints be resolved by conciliation where possible, and
• that the Authority retain discretion over which matters are made public in order to protect the privacy of complainants, protect police officers from malicious complaints, and allow the Authority to manage other circumstances in which confidentiality is appropriate.

Appointment of investigators

The Authority appointed its first independent investigators in 2003. Former NZ Police Assistant Commissioner Allan Galbraith was appointed Manager Investigations. Three other investigators were appointed. Between them, they had experience at policing at very senior levels in New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom and in leadership of United Nations policing operations. All remain with the Authority. A fifth investigator was appointed in 2005, and four more investigative staff were appointed in 2007.

With a staff of five maintaining oversight of an organisation with 11,000+ Police, the investigators’ initial focus was on active monitoring and/or review of Police investigations, rather than on fully independent investigation as is now increasingly the case.