Senior Dunedin police officers, both current and former, made several errors in their handling of a case of a man suspected of defrauding ACC, an Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report has concluded.
The report was released to the public yesterday after ACC claimant Bruce Van Essen's two-year public battle with ACC, police and private investigator Peter Gibbons.
Authority chairwoman Justice Lowell Goddard said in the report a warrant issued for a search of Mr Van Essen's home in 2006 lacked any description of offences he was supposed to have committed and provided no documentary evidence of any offence.
As well, a conflict of interest was not handled well by police, the report said.
Mr Van Essen, who had been on ACC for a chronic injury since 1994, was investigated by Peter Gibbons, a former Dunedin police detective, who worked for Mainland Information Consultants on behalf of ACC, for suspicion of fraud.
Mainland was paid $172,402 by ACC for fraud investigations in the 2005-06 financial year and $121,418 in the 2006-07 financial year.
In applying for a search warrant to search Mr Van Essen's house, Mr Gibbons had to apply to the police officer in charge of the ACC portfolio, at the time his son-in-law Constable Andrew Henderson.
Const Henderson relied on a statement by his father-in-law outlining suspected fraudulent activities, namely earnings Mr Van Essen had allegedly failed to declare to ACC.
Justice Goddard said police did not properly manage the apparent conflict of interest in this case.
"Constable Henderson either should not have been put in the position of dealing with his father-in-law, or his work should have been properly supervised," Justice Goddard said.
The authority did not find any evidence of illegality or misconduct on the part of police with regards to the conflict of interest, but Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis, who assigned the ACC files to Const Henderson, had failed to red-flag the contact with Mr Gibbons.
Mr Van Essen had come home to find three police officers, Mr Gibbons and an ACC examiner in his house and complained to police the same day about several aspects of the warrant and search.
A police investigation undertaken by Detective Sergeant Brett Roberts into the complaints and reviewed by Dunedin and Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell, was deemed "unsatisfactory" by the IPCA.
The IPCA then launched its own investigation.
Justice Goddard said Det Sgt Roberts' report did not address the "substance" of Mr Van Essen's complaint by not assessing the affidavit used to apply for a search warrant, not interviewing Mr Gibbons or the ACC examining officer, and providing no information about a subsequent theft complaint against police by Mr Van Essen as a result of the search.
A second investigation by Southern District operations manager Inspector Lane Todd, after the launch of the IPCA investigation, upheld Mr Van Essen's complaints and said the affidavit for the warrant was based on incorrect information.
The authority also raised concerns about supervision of Mr Gibbons and the ACC examiner during the search, and about whether police took sufficient steps to protect the privacy of ACC beneficiaries whose personal information was stored on computers seized during the search, a concern handled by then acting regional commander Detective Inspector Ross Pinkham.
Justice Goddard said the authority had made several recommendations aimed at improving police policies in relation to conflicts of interest, conduct of searches, privacy and other matters.
Police would be forced to review processes relating to conflict of interest and search warrants and all police officers named in the report would be reminded of their duties, acting Southern District Commander Detective Superintendent Malcolm Burgess said. No further action would be taken.
Det Snr Sgt Croudis, Detective Sergeant Malcolm Inglis, who was involved with the theft complaint from Mr Van Essen, and Det Sgt Roberts were involved in both the original inquiry and reinvestigation of the David Bain murder case.
Det Supt Burgess said police already had much clearer guidelines to follow in both areas following the adoption of the code of conduct at the start of the year.
" . . . [this] addresses issues around conflict of interest as does the Auditor-general's 2007 Guidelines on managing conflicts of interest in public entities," he said.
Search warrants were a standard part of police investigation process and it was important officers got that right, he said.
The report found no evidence of misconduct or neglect of duty by the police staff involved.
ACC has not referred any new investigation matters to Mainland Information Consultants since about August 2007 and it does not have a current contract with them.
Denise Powell, president of Otago ACClaim, a support group for injured people and their families, said the report release had been "long awaited" and was testament to the fact that perseverance pays off.
"This has been a long, hard road for Bruce and his family and we are delighted the authority has investigated his complaint thoroughly and that the serious issues were uncovered."
• The people
Bruce Van Essen: ACC claimant since 1994 and complainant.
Peter Gibbons: Former Dunedin police detective and private investigator for ACC through Mainland Information Consultants.
Const Andrew Henderson: In inquiry section and Dunedin police constable in charge of the ACC portfolio at the time, and son-in-law of Mr Gibbons.
Det Snr Sgt Kallum Croudis: Const Henderson's superior who assigned him the ACC cases.
Det Sgt Brett Roberts: In charge of investigation into Mr Van Essen's complaints.
Insp Dave Campbell: Area commander for Dunedin and Clutha.
Supervised first internal police inquiry into Mr Van Essen's complaints.
Insp Lane Todd: Southern district operations manager and appointed to reinvestigate Mr Van Essen's complaint.
Otago ACClaim: Support group for people in receipt of accident compensation, and their families.
