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Home / Outcomes / 2022 Summaries of Police Investigations

Conflicts of Interest by officer in Canterbury District

29 September 2022

The Authority oversaw Police investigations into unrelated allegations an officer from Canterbury District had conflicts of interest.

The first allegation referred to the officer collecting property from a man’s home and delivered the property to a third party without investigating ownership of the property. It was alleged the officer told the man she would return the property if Police established, he obtained the property lawfully.

Police carried out a criminal investigation which found there was not enough evidence to prove the officer defrauded the man or stole the property from him. A Police employment investigation found the officer acted with a conflict of interest, as she was socially acquainted with the person, she gave the property to, and failed to follow the correct processes when she took the property from the man’s home and delivered it to a third party.

The second allegation referred to the officer failing to take appropriate action when she received a report of sexual offending at a Marae. The Police investigation found the officer failed to record details of the alleged offending in a timely or accurate manner. Police considered the officer’s personal relationships with members of the Marae conflicted with her duty as an officer to record the allegations of offending promptly and accurately in the Police system.

Police found the officer’s actions breached the Police Code of Conduct for both matters. The officer resigned from Police before the employment process were completed. The Authority is satisfied with how Police investigated these matters and the outcomes they reached.

IPCA: 21-8286 & 21-9290

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