Inquiry needed to ensure integrity of investigations

The Government must ensure a thorough inquiry is carried out to reassure New Zealanders about the integrity of Police investigations following the court’s decision to throw out recent cases against gang members, says Labour’s Police Spokesperson Kris Faafoi.

“Doubt has now been cast over three separate cases and that raises serious questions around process and resourcing.

“The public want to be able to have confidence in the integrity of police investigations. No one wants to see gang members charged with serious offending walk from court without having their cases heard because of process issues.

“It’s important that we look at whether there is a systemic issue at play in the recent cases in question and whether we are giving our front-line investigators the right resources and enough resources to make sure prosecutions stick.

“Our front-line police are under increasing pressure to do much more with much fewer resources. Those budget pressures put on police by the Government risk long term damage to our ability to police effectively.

“New Zealanders trust our police and the Government must ensure the hard questions are asked in these cases to ensure that trust endures,” said Kris Faafoi.