Crown Solicitor Jacinda Hamilton cleared of bullying staff, but was ‘critical’ manager

Crown Solicitor Jacinda Hamilton. Photo / RNZ / Dan Cook

A Crown Solicitor accused of bullying staff has been cleared of that allegation but an investigation found her communication and management style was “challenging, critical and unpredictable”.

Jacinda Hamilton, who holds the Crown warrant in Hamilton and prosecutes serious and sometimes high-profile cases on behalf of the Crown, was accused of bullying in an anonymous complaint in March last year.

The complaint was made to the Solicitor-General, Una Jagose, KC, and set out several allegations made by current and former staff members of Hamilton Legal.

The Solicitor-General determined the allegations were serious and gave rise to a concern that Hamilton may not have been satisfying her terms of office, a statement issued by Crown Law this afternoon said.

Independent investigator Maria Dew, KC, carried out an investigation involving 38 people, after which Jagose conducted a review of the Crown Solicitor’s performance in light of Dew’s findings.

“The dominant allegation was that the Crown Solicitor had engaged in bullying of individual staff,” the statement said.

Dew was not satisfied Hamilton had engaged in conduct that constituted bullying as defined by WorkSafe, which was that it is repeated, unreasonable, targeted and can lead to psychological or physical harm.

However, Dew identified a valid basis for the concerns raised.

“A theme in Ms Dew, KC’s, report was that at times the communication and management style of the Crown Solicitor was challenging, critical, and unpredictable.

“This was found to be a central cause of poor workplace culture for many staff.”

Dew observed that Hamilton had not been made aware of the adverse impact of her behaviour until the investigation.

Jagose considered Dew’s findings to be serious and accepted some staff had been genuinely distressed as well as staff trust in Hamilton having been undermined.

After Dew’s report, Jagose and Deputy Solicitor-General (Criminal) Madeleine Laracy reviewed the performance of Hamilton, who they said co-operated fully with Dew’s investigation and the review process.

The review focused on Hamilton’s management and communication style and arrangements in the office to support staff.

“Ms Jagose, KC, considers that the behaviour of the Crown Solicitor at times fell below the standards expected of a warrant holder.

“The Crown Solicitor has accepted responsibility, deeply regrets that some of her actions have had a hurtful impact in her workplace and is committed to making further changes.

“The Solicitor-General is satisfied that having been made aware of the issues raised, and the impacts described, the Crown Solicitor has already taken meaningful steps to address her style of communication and improve the culture within the firm.”

Jacinda Hamilton's performance as a Crown Prosecutor at courts in Hamilton was not the basis of the complaint and no concerns about that were found. Photo / Belinda Feek

The statement said the review was not triggered by and did not reveal any concerns about Hamilton’s integrity or performance as a senior prosecutor for the Crown.

“I maintained close oversight of the review, and also personally met with the Crown Solicitor and the partners,” Jagose said.

“Our own process was rigorous and followed Ms Dew, KC’s, extremely thorough and sensitive investigation. From our detailed review it was clear the Crown Solicitor and her partners are making changes and have work well under way to better support staff.

“I have confidence in the Crown Solicitor’s commitment and ability to professionally lead the office in a way that is consistent with the terms of office and with my expectations.”

The investigation into the suitability and fitness of Hamilton as a warrant holder was now complete.

The Solicitor-General acknowledged that making complaints of this kind was difficult and thanked the original complainants for their courage, co-operation, and engagement in the process, as well as to those within and outside Hamilton Legal who participated.

Laracy and her team would now continue to support the Crown Solicitor and Hamilton Legal as part of the Crown Solicitor Network and have agreed follow-up steps to ensure changes are embedded and sustained.

Jagose said that consistent with the Law Society’s practice and with other Crown Solicitor reviews, Dew’s investigation and the review itself were conducted on assurances to all parties it would be a confidential process.

She said to recognise their special interests the original complainants had been given additional information on a confidential basis.

“Crown Law does not intend to release any further information about the findings or the review.”

The complainants remained anonymous. NZME has approached Hamilton for comment.

Natalie Akoorie is a senior reporter based in Waikato and covering crime and justice nationally. Natalie first joined the Herald in 2011 and has been a journalist in New Zealand and overseas for 28 years, more recently covering health, social issues, local government, and the regions.