Police roasted for sex inquiry

Officers criticised in a damning report on the handling of the ‘‘Roast Busters’’ investigation feel they have been made scapegoats, their union says.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority published its report into the investigation on Thursday and said the victims were let down by police failures.

The group first came to public attention in November 2013 after members boasted online about plying underage girls with alcohol and having sex with them.

Last October, police said they would not lay any charges because they did not have a reasonable chance of getting a conviction.

The IPCA said deficiencies in the police investigation included a failure to pursue positive lines of inquiry. Investigating staff also failed to properly consider all available offences in determining whether to prosecute the men.

They tended to approach each case on an individual basis simply to consider if there was sufficient evidence to prosecute offenders for sexual violation, IPCA chairman Sir David Carruthers said.

‘‘In the authority’s view the officers should have identified the connections between the various cases and worked with other agencies to develop strategies to reduce the recurrence of what was clearly unacceptable and, in some cases, criminal behaviour,’’ he said. ‘‘Victims were let down by their failure to do so.’’

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said three of the five officers criticised in the report had been moved to other policing roles outside the child abuse and adult sexual assault teams.

But Police Association president Greg O’Connor said the officers felt like scapegoats, given the broader issues in the Waitemata area at the time.

While completing the Roast Busters investigation, the detectives had a full load of other childabuse files and were required to do other duties, O’Connor said. ‘‘They . . . were constantly having files coming in which required immediate attention, where people were in immediate danger.’’

He said it was much easier to blame the people at the bottom ‘‘otherwise someone further up has to take responsibility’’.

Bush said he was not aware of any work-overload issues at the Auckland-based unit and called it an ‘‘isolated incident’’.

‘‘I am very disappointed in their performance standard as investigators on this matter.’’

Waitemata police district commander Superintendent Bill Searle said he accepted the IPCA’s findings and offered an apology to the women involved.

The IPCA recommended an audit be carried out into current cases being investigated by Waitemata police child protection team to determine if any individual shortcomings remained.

The father of one of the victims said the IPCA’s findings were ‘‘reasonable’’ but questioned the merits of an audit.

His daughter had been severely affected by alleged Roast Buster assaults and she had decided not to press charges because of fears of violence. He believed a parent or guardian should be able to press charges on behalf of their children.

‘‘I think [police] are all good people and they do a good job but I’m not sure it [the audit] addresses the problem.’’

Police Minister Michael Woodhouse said the report showed failures by individual police.

‘‘This is a performance issue and it will be dealt with as such.’’

Labour’s justice spokeswoman, Jacinda Ardern, said the ‘‘damning’’ report set out a ‘‘litany of mistakes’’.

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei said an independent body had to be set up, to ensure the police implemented the IPCA recommendations.

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley said Child, Youth and Family would be next under the microscope for its involvement in the case.