Father’s shock at abuse case backlog

Police struggle with workload as delays in sensitive cases stretch out to months. Craig Hoyle reports.

CHILD abuse investigations face a backlog of up to 12 months as police struggle to cope.

Some officers in Northland are handling twice the recommended number of cases, and aren’t beginning inquiries until months after they’ve received them.

Police have announced they will hire three extra officers to help deal with child abuse complaints in the region.

The revelation comes amid growing national concern that police are underresourced and overworked. Stations have been shuttered in small rural towns, with officers sometimes taking days to respond to lesser offences such as burglaries.

The father of a child at the centre of an investigation was shocked by the time it took police to respond to allegations of abuse.

‘‘It’s only now, after more than 10 months, that I’ve even been told the investigation is in the hands of an officer,’’ he said. ‘‘I thought it should have been seen and done by now.’’

The father, who cannot be identified to protect his son’s identity, was concerned delays meant it was less likely the alleged abuser would face prosecution.

His child, aged under 10, reported being abused by a family member last year.

‘‘Basically, by the time it gets to this point, given the length of time, it becomes a cold case,’’ he said.

Rob Harte, a family lawyer in Whangarei, said children’s memories receded quickly and forcing them to revisit events more than a year later could be traumatic.

‘‘How on earth do we expect kids to get any closure if these things keep getting dragged up for years into the future?’’

He and his colleagues were concerned by the ‘‘extraordinary’’ length of time it took to launch investigations. ‘‘A few years ago we used to expect a six-month delay, and now we’re all saying it’s about a nine-month delay.’’

A case Harte is currently involved with took nine months to be assigned to a member of the police Child Protection Team (CPT).

‘‘I spoke to the investigator a few weeks ago, and he’s been appointed for two months, but he hasn’t started the investigation yet. He can’t, because his other cases are much more demanding.’’

An officer on the Whangarei CPT said the team’s workload meant ‘‘a lot of files have been sitting there, just waiting for us to get to it’’.

‘‘We’re only allowed to hold so many files [each] in regard to child protection. It’s supposed to be five, but they [police management] still step over the boundaries giving us more.’’

The officer said he was handling 10 child abuse files – double the recommended number.

He made the remarks to the father described above, and told him he should not get his hopes up about the investigation process. ‘‘I won’t give you any false illusions about what’s going to happen,’’ the officer said.

A recording of their conversation was subsequently obtained by Sunday News.

Detective Inspector Dene Begbie, field crime manager of criminal investigations for Northland Police, acknowledged five was the ‘‘optimum number’’ of files to be held by a CPT officer.

‘‘However the policy is a guideline, and any number of variable factors may determine how many files staff hold at any one time,’’ he said.

‘‘Those factors include the complexity of each case and the number of enquiries that need to be completed, which are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

‘‘Senior staff follow a clear process to ensure investigation staff have a manageable workload which includes regular reviews of individual files and overall caseloads.’’

Begbie said three new positions had been created within the CPT as part of the Policing 2021 resource allocation, which will see 66 additional staff working in Northland over the next four years.

How on earth do we expect kids to get any closure if these things keep getting dragged up for years?’ ROB HARTE, ABOVE