Explanation sought on police probe

new-zealand-national-party

Fri Sep 07 2007 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Explanation sought on police probe

Friday, 7 September 2007, 2:10 pm
Press Release: New Zealand National Party

Chester Borrows MP
National Party Police Spokesman

7 September 2007

National's Police spokesman, Chester Borrows, is asking police to clarify a press statement issued yesterday that Police general manager human resources, Wayne Annan, has been 'cleared... of any wrongdoing'.

"The police statement could create the perception that the allegations, raised by the Dominion Post, that Mr Annan sanitised a report on the ability of recruits to exclude poor performers, have somehow been disproved.

"Yet the investigation referred to in the statement appears to be confined to Mr Annan's interactions with Iain Saunders, the Police College trainer who contested Annan's findings."

The Sunday Star Times reported that Mr Annan allegedly made a threatening phone call to Mr Saunders when his report was made public.

"The fact that this investigation was conducted by employment lawyer Peter Churchman suggests that it is limited to this particular matter, and not the broader question of whether the report issued by Mr Annan accurately reflected recruit standards.

"The veracity of Mr Annan's report is still the subject of another investigation, and is an important issue because both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Police relied on that advice when answering questions in Parliament."

Mr Borrows also queried whether it was appropriate for police to issue a media release stating that an investigation had exonerated Mr Annan, without releasing the investigation as well.

"They've put this issue in the public arena by taking the 'unusual step of releasing the outcome of the report' - so why not supply the report?

"That way, the public can be assured that Mr Annan has acted with 'integrity and with the best interests of NZ Police in mind ', as the police have stated."

ENDS

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