Few convictions for drink-drive officers

Just five of 16 police officers caught drink-driving in the last three years were convicted, compared with a 95 per cent-rate for the general public.

The figures, obtained by the Dominion Post newspaper, have raised allegations of one law for the public and another for police.

Three officers were still in court battles to evade charges laid against them, the newspaper reported.

Of the eight not convicted, four had their cases dismissed, three were discharged without conviction and one was acquitted.

Cases could be dismissed for reasons such as failings in police procedure, or insufficient or inadmissible evidence.

An officer could have charges discharged without conviction if he or she proved the conviction's impact would outweigh the seriousness of the offence.

Judges and juries were often wary of giving career-ending convictions to officers, Police human resources general manager Wayne Annan said.

"I think it's the high stakes that are involved. It is very difficult to gain a conviction against a police officer."

However, Chief District Court Judge Russell Johnson advised care in interpreting the statistics.

"If it appears that some police officers have had lenient treatment, this would likely be attributable to the merits of the case. There must have been some other factor at play to do with the way their case was presented or defended."

In 2006, Taranaki Senior Constable Jono Erwood was discharged without conviction, after rushing from the pub to the scene of a fatal crash in Mokau to deliver the town's only oxygen bottles.

However, others were better able to avoid conviction due to their thorough knowledge of the law, Wellington defence lawyer John Miller said.

Constable Matt Hooper avoided an evidential blood test by injuring himself in a police station toilet after failing a breath test in Auckland in December .

Also in December, Wellington Superintendent Graham Thomas avoided charges after he was seen driving erratically from a police bar .

When officers came to his house to breath-test him, Mr Thomas refused - and within his rights, as he was outside the bounds of a pursuit.

- NZPA