An internal audit of police staff accessing computer files about the death of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming found about a third were legitimate and about a quarter were likely unauthorised use. Photo: RNZ
Investigations have revealed around a quarter of police staff who accessed the national database for information about Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming's death did not have legitimate reasons to do so.
An internal investigation was launched a month ago, after police staff were found to be searching the main database for details about Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming's death.
Police Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura sent a memo to staff in January, saying it was "abundantly clear" some staff were misusing the National Intelligence Application (NIA), which was "a serious breach of the New Zealand Police Code of Conduct."
"Alarmingly, and disrespectfully, we have found people randomly checking the files on the devastating incident in Nelson," it read.
Kura said the database was actively audited and monitored for potential misuse and an audit covering the first two weeks of January identified a number of individuals who checked content relating to the death of Senior Sergeant Fleming that had no connection to their duties.
District Commanders and directors were sent a list of staff whose NIA use was to be reviewed and categorised as legitimate, likely unauthorised use, or requiring an investigation into use.
Kura said so far, just over a third of the instances where staff had accessed the database for matters related to Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming's death were determined to be legitimate access, and around a quarter were determined to be likely unauthorised use.
The remainder were yet to be determined.
The cases of unauthorised use were determined to be misconduct and in some cases, sanctions in the form of written warnings had been placed on the employees' personnel file.
Police and Nelson residents turned out in force for a vigil, after the death of long-time police officer Fleming on New Year's Day. She was the first New Zealand police woman killed while on duty. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Pretoria Gordon
Commissioner Kura said sanctions were determined on a case-by-case basis, considering the individual circumstances of each alleged breach and conclusions reached as part of the employment process.
"Currently, all employees whose NIA checks were not work-related, have admitted that their access to this data was unauthorised, and as such, no further investigation has been required."
If it became unclear that NIA access had been work-related or otherwise, further investigation will be undertaken.
Independent Police Conduct Authority assurance manager Stu Graham said the authority was notified of the matter by police on 23 January, and it was overseeing the investigations being carried out by police.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said it was understood the number of staff involved was "in the tens, rather than the hundreds".
He said breaches of the police policy for using the database occurred from time to time, around significant events.
"It's clear that some people don't understand the policy as clearly as they should, but obviously individuals will be treated differently depending on what the breach was, their explanation for it and whether there was any history behind them as far as previous breaches go."
Cahill said it should serve as a learning opportunity for the wider membership to learn lessons around the appropriate use of the database, to prevent further breaches.
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