$3m bill for police officers on stand-down

More than 30 police officers are believed to have been paid up to $3 million in total after being stood down on full pay during misconduct investigations.

One of the officers has been on full pay for more than two years and a further 11 for more than a year, according to figures released by police under the Official Information Act.

Police refused to reveal how much had been paid to the 36 officers, but the amount is believed to be between $1.5 million and $3 million.

Officers are free to do what they like while stood down and are not expected or required to undergo any training or study.

One of the officers is Assistant Commissioner Clint Rickards, who is facing criminal charges after being stood down in February last year. His salary is estimated to be $200,000.

Police say that 36 is a "very small" number out of about 10,000 staff. And they argue that it is vital to remove stood-down staff from all work in order to maintain police integrity during an investigation.

But Police Association president Greg O'Connor said there was no reason for officers to be stood down from all work.

Though reassignment was an option, increased pressure to appear "squeaky-clean" had made police chiefs overly sensitive to public opinion, he said.

Mr O'Connor also criticised the "manipulation" of figures through the practice of continuing to count stood-down officers, invariably frontline staff, as being at work
"Those figures often belie the reality. They [stood-down officers] are very rarely relieved, leaving gaps in the front line," he said.

One police source said the system was open to abuse by officers facing criminal charges, who tried to "milk the system" by unnecessarily prolonging court proceedings.

"Why wouldn't they stretch things out? They're getting paid for doing nothing and the [Police Association] will foot their legal bills."

Mr O'Connor "absolutely disputed" that, saying those fighting to keep their jobs would do anything in their power to achieve that.

Police were in the unique position of being both prosecutor and employer, leaving no alternative but to keep paying officers their full wage, he said.

To do otherwise would be to pre-judge what was essentially an employment matter.

But employment lawyer Andrew Scott-Howman, from Bell Gully in Wellington, said police officers were not unique in being stood down when claims of misconduct were levelled.

"Almost any employee with a high degree of trust and confidence could be suspended while these types of investigations take place."

- NZPA