Appointments — Independent Police Conduct Authority

I move, That, pursuant to sections 5 and 5A of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988 and section 32 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, this House recommend Her Excellency the Governor-General appoint Judge Colin John Doherty as chairperson of the Independent Police Conduct Authority for a term of 5 years commencing on 31 August 2017.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority is established by section 4 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988. Its function is to investigate complaints alleging any misconduct or neglect of duty by a member of the police or concerning any practice, policy, or procedure of the Police affecting the complainant. The authority is also responsible for investigating any incident involving serious bodily harm or death notified to the authority by the Commissioner of Police.

Section 5 of the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988 provides that the authority consists of up to five members, appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the House of Representatives. One member is to be appointed as the chairperson of the authority. The chairperson must be a judge or a retired judge. Appointments to the authority are subject to the provisions of section 32(1)(b) of the Crown Entities Act 2004. As such, members of independent Crown entities are appointed for a maximum term of 5 years.

The term of appointment for the current chairperson, Judge Sir David Carruthers, expired on 15 April 2017. Sir David indicated that he did not wish to be considered for reappointment. However, the authority is currently undergoing an organisational restructuring, and, in order that Sir David can oversee this work before vacating office, it is proposed that he remain in office until the end of August 2017. Because the chairperson of the authority must be a judge or a retired judge, nominations for this appointment were sought from the Chief Justice and the Chief District Court Judge. Judge Doherty, currently a senior member of the judiciary, has been nominated to fill the important position of chairperson of the authority by the Chief District Court Judge. I am confident that Judge Doherty has the legal acumen, judgment, and administrative skills to equip him to be a very able appointee.

Judge Doherty is the National Executive Judge of the District Court of New Zealand. He has been a District Court judge since 1997, after spending 20 years as a practising lawyer. Judge Doherty is also an Alternate Judge of the Environment Court and a Justice of the High Court of the Cook Islands. He has previously served as an Associate Judge of the High Court of New Zealand and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa. Over the past 15 years Judge Doherty has held a number of senior administrative positions in the District Court judiciary. He is the chair of the District Court’s International Framework for Court Excellence committee. He oversaw the implementation of New Zealand’s first International Framework for Court Excellence, an assessment in 2012, and its second assessment in 2015. He previously chaired the judicial reference group established in the wake of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, for which he was a recipient of the 2013 Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Award for Excellence.

Before closing, I would like to pay a tribute to the outstanding work of Sir David Carruthers as chairperson of the authority since April 2012. Under his leadership, the authority has been a rigorous and independent watchdog of police conduct. His distinguished service in this role matches his achievements in a succession of crucial legal appointments over many years. He was appointed to the District Court bench in 1985, as the Principal Youth Court Judge in 1996, and the Chief District Court Judge in June of 2001. In July 2005 he was appointed chairperson of the New Zealand Parole Board. I congratulate him on, and thank him for, all he has done as a part of our judiciary.

To succeed Sir David, it is with great pleasure that I commend to the House Judge Doherty for this very important role. He is a highly able New Zealander, and I am confident that he possesses the range of skills and attributes that will ensure the authority continues to meet its significant responsibilities impartially, efficiently, and effectively. All parties were consulted as part of the appointment process and all those who have responded were supportive of Judge Doherty’s appointment. Thank you.

I stand to agree with the honourable Minister Mark Mitchell. I think Judge Colin Doherty is an excellent appointment. Everyone I have spoken to about His Honour speaks very, very highly of him as a very experienced judge, a man of honour and integrity, and I think he will do a fantastic job, as the Minister just mentioned. He fills very big shoes with Sir David Carruthers, who has done a very, very good job in leading this most important authority.

What is the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA)? Well, it exists “so that people have trust that complaints about, and incidents involving, Police conduct, and any practice, policy or procedure, will be fairly and impartially investigated or reviewed and any recommendations made and implemented will result in improved Police performance.” The authority also provides reassurances for the public and Parliament that policing standards are of the highest calibre through impartial and independent oversight. The IPCA exists as an independent Crown entity under Part 3 of schedule 1 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 and it is established under the Independent Police Conduct Authority Act 1988. The functions defined by the Act are as follows in the authority’s statement of intent: “Receiving and taking action on complaints alleging misconduct or neglect of duty by any employee of the Police, or concerning any practice, policy or procedure of the Police.” Also “… investigating incidents involving death or serious bodily harm caused or appearing to have been caused by an employee of the Police acting in the execution of their duty.”, where it is satisfied there are reasonable grounds in the public interest to do so.

The authority also has a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Police, and this covers instances that may present reputational risk to the police, including serious offending by the police officer or police actions that may have an element of corruption. Under the MOU, cases are referred by the police to the authority even though there may not have been a complaint from a member of the public or there may not have been a death or serious bodily harm. Under section 17 of the Act, when the authority receives a complaint, it can investigate the complaint itself; refer it to the police for investigation under the authority’s oversight, which may include direction of the police investigation, proactive oversight, or a review ordered upon completion of the police investigation; defer the action; or actually take no action.

What I would say at this point in time when the police are, I believe, very under-resourced—we are hearing from the members of the public about a very reactive response to crime at the moment. As Labour’s police spokesperson, I am getting more and more complaints about the police, which I am referring to the Independent Police Conduct Authority. If I have a look at the work of the authority, what it does is it divides complaints into five different categories. The first one is an independent investigation by the authority, and last year there were 73 of these. The second category is referral to police for investigation with active oversight by the authority and a full review of the file by the authority at the conclusion of the investigation. This is category two, and in the last financial year there were 140 of these. Category three is referral to police for investigation with a full review of the file by the authority at its conclusion. There were 65 of these. Category four is referral to police for resolution by mutual agreement by the complainant—there were 794 of these. Then category five is complaint declined by the authority, and there were 1,264 of these.

So, overall, the Independent Police Conduct Authority dealt with 2,441 complaints, so this is not an easy job. There is a lot of work involved in it, and it does require a man of exceptional integrity because of the very nature of the confidence that the public must have in the police and the processes if they are actually making a complaint against the police. This is why I conclude by saying that Judge Colin Doherty is the perfect man for this position. I wish him well, and I look forward to seeing him in front of our select committee, but also I would like to say, once again, that Judge Carruthers did a very good job in this role. He has left the Independent Police Conduct Authority in good stead. Thank you very much.

And I am sure your benchmate will now talk to you.

I rise to indicate the Green Party’s support for the motion to appoint Judge Colin John Doherty as the chairperson of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) for a term of 5 years commencing on 31 August this year. It is important to have this independent authority to ensure that we have got the sufficient checks and balances on the conduct of our police. The role of the IPCA is to “receive complaints—(i) alleging misconduct or neglect of duty …” by any member of police or “(ii) concerning any [police] practice, policy, or procedure …” affecting a complainant, or to investigate incidents in which a member of the police “acting in the execution of his or her duty causes, or appears to have caused, death or serious bodily harm …”.

On that, I wish to acknowledge the outgoing authority chairperson, Judge Sir David Carruthers. I acknowledge his work, such as the authority’s report of September 2016, which found that police are more likely to let off non-Māori with warnings—that is, that police are less likely to use their discretionary power to offer a pre-charge warning as an alternative to prosecution for minor offences for Māori. Sir David Carruthers, in his role as chair, noted the possibility of differential treatment on the basis of ethnicity and said that “Pre-charge warnings are more likely to be given to non-Māori offenders than to Māori offenders.”

During his time in charge, Sir David Carruthers oversaw several large investigations, including those into the Urewera raids and the Roast Busters scandal. The IPCA’s reports on both matters were highly critical of police, finding the raids unlawful and the Roast Busters investigation full of deficiencies. Carruthers, a staunch advocate of restorative Justice, recommended in his report on the Urewera raids that police apologise in person to those they had wronged.

The incoming appointment, His Honour Judge Colin Doherty, is the National Executive Judge of the District Court of New Zealand. He has been a District Court judge since 1997, following 20 years as a practising lawyer. Judge Doherty is also an Alternate Judge of the Environment Court and a Justice of the High Court of the Cook Islands. He has previously served as an Associate Judge of the High Court of New Zealand and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Samoa. I look forward to the newly appointed Judge Colin John Doherty taking the helm of the IPCA and upholding the important work of keeping police conduct to account. Thank you.

I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to take a very short call to, firstly, thank the outgoing chair of the Independent Police Conduct Authority, Judge David Carruthers, a sterling chap from Pahīatua in the Wairarapa, and a good friend—I thank him for the service that he has done for this country and wish him well in the future—and to note the appointment of Judge Colin Doherty and to wish him well.

Motion agreed to.