Anti-porn talks cost police $163,000

Police paid more than $163,000 for seminars for staff caught with pornographic emails.

The seminars were run by Rape Crisis and adult sexual offending and internet safety organisations, and the job was not put out to tender.

More than 350 staff were investigated after thousands of sexually explicit images were discovered in a sweep of the police computer system last year.

Twelve staff received adverse reports - a disciplinary action that is noted on their employment record and can affect promotion - and made to attend a training seminar. A further 351 staff were ordered to attend a seminar.

Information released to the Herald shows police paid $141,619 to Insight Training to run the seminars between June 2005 and May this year. Other costs brought the total up to more than $163,000.

Insight Training was formed by Rape Crisis, Safe Network and the Internet Safety Group, commonly known as Netsafe, for the purpose of running the seminars.

Insight Training has now ceased trading and is being removed from the Companies Office register.

At the time of the porn scandal, Rape Crisis reacted with disgust, saying women would not feel confident about reporting sex crimes.

Safe Network operates a community treatment programme for adult and adolescent sex offenders.

Liz Butterfield of the Internet Safety Group said police approached the organisations to develop a programme for the workshops.

Police are one of the main sponsors of the Internet Safety Group and Commissioner Howard Broad is a member of the group.

Wayne Annan, police manager of human resources, said the seminars were not put out to tender because police did not believe anyone else could provide the training.

"Confronted with what we were confronted with we had a look around New Zealand to see what sort of people were about who could contribute to the training we wanted to do. There was no specific group who had any experience or capability in that area."

The amount paid to Insight Training covered the cost of running the programme, including fees to facilitators, Mr Annan said.

Police paid an additional $22,127 for venues and meals at conference centres around the country, bringing the total cost of the seminars to $163,746.

Wellington police staff attended seminars at Solway Park Hotel, described as one of the Wairarapa's most attractive conference venues, The Lodge at the Inlet on the Kapiti Coast, and Brentwood Hotel in Kilbirnie.

Auckland police underwent training at the Novotel Hotel in Ellerslie, while Northland police met at the Red Cross rooms in Kerikeri and the Northaven Hospice in Whangarei. Mr Annan said the venues were chosen for their discreet locations.

The value of the seminar was questioned by one Auckland officer who attended a workshop. Mark Riddell told the Police Association magazine in March that he came away from the eight-hour seminar "with a feeling that none of important issues which needed addressing, ie, a full explanation of the relevant GIs [general instructions] and a distinction drawn as to what is acceptable and what is not, were dealt with in any way".

Mr Riddell told the magazine he had forwarded an image called "Bulldogs Training Camp" which was described as "satirical humour" by the Chief Censor.

"Personally, I would have thought that a 10-minute dressing-down, with an overhead showing the appropriate GIs relating to the use of email explained fully, along with the endorsement of a contract stipulating that they were not to misuse the email system again, would have been sufficient."

He said the workshops were delivered at secret non-police venues and "a sumptuous meal is provided".