What can you complain about?

The Authority considers complaints:

• alleging misconduct or neglect of duty by the Police, or
• about police practices, policies, and procedures affecting the complainant.

The Authority also considers incidents of death and serious injury involving the Police. Police have to tell the Authority about these incidents and the Authority considers them even if it does not receive a complaint.

What can’t you complain about?

The Authority sometimes receives complaints that are outside its jurisdiction or can be more easily resolved elsewhere. For inquiries that are unrelated to Police conduct, the following contacts may be helpful.

• For advice about criminal charges, court proceedings or other legal matters, contact a lawyer or a Community Law Centre (see help with complaints).
• To discuss speeding fines or infringement notices, contact the NZ Police Infringement Bureau (freephone 0800 105 777).
• To discuss parking fines, contact your local authority.
• For help with lost property, contact the nearest police station.
• For information about tenancy disputes, see the Department of Building and Housing website
• For information about employment disputes, see the Employment Relations Service website.

What are 'misconduct' and 'neglect of duty'?

‘Misconduct’ includes unreasonable use of force, corruption, dishonesty, perjury, threats or harassment, unlawful arrest, and a wide range of other acts.

‘Neglect of duty’ includes failure to investigate, failure to prosecute or respond to a crime, failure to provide proper care for people in custody, and failure to notify a person of a matter affecting them (such as a Court appearance).

The New Zealand Police have a Code of Conduct which sets out the standards of conduct expected of Police staff.

What is ‘practice, policy and procedure’

The Police are required to follow General Instructions and a range of other policies and directives from the Commissioner and their District Commanders.

When the Authority considers complaints, it considers whether there have been any breaches of these instructions and directives.

Breaches of practice, policy and procedure can range from trivial to serious. Sometimes, even if the Authority does not find misconduct or neglect of duty, it does find breaches of Police policies.

Need help?

If you are not sure whether your complaint relates to misconduct of neglect of duty, you can contact our Complaints Management Team (phone 0800 503 728 or email enquiries@ipca.govt.nz) to ask.