Editorial: Baby Kahu hotline gone cold

As the nation waits for news on the fate of kidnapped baby Kahu Durie, a side issue in the case must gnaw at the public mind. That is the revelation that the police 0800 telephone hotline set up to receive public information on the case was, and is at times, in fact, a cold line. It has been understaffed and, at one stage, had no capacity to trace the origin of incoming calls.

A message from a woman caller claiming to have killed and abandoned the baby ended up on a poorly audible answering machine tape. Investigators had to appeal indirectly and in vain through the news media for that person to call again. The "hotline" is answered by live voices only when the volume of calls is manageable, or before 11pm.

Many people concerned at the horror of what is this country's most infamous case of child kidnapping would be troubled that one of the most basic steps in any such abduction inquiry has been found to be deficient. This is a relatively rare crime here and the police have sought advice from overseas. Surely the need for extreme vigilance and attention to possible tip-offs has been emphasised from afar.

If necessary, a stretched inquiry team should be reinforced by civilians from the police or even by volunteers to ensure that all calls are answered, recorded, acted on or traced - whatever the time of day or night. The possibility of a caller, even perhaps the kidnapper, being discouraged from coming forward by an electronic voicemail message does not bear thinking about. Even worse is the prospect of a recorded message being replayed too late.

Flier distributed by police

Description of suspect

Picture: Kahurautete Durie

Picture: Kahurautete's clothing

Picture: the car being sought by police

Map

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