'I'm no devo' says cop in email scandal

A Waikato policeman accused of involvement in the sex email scandal has hit back at the decision of his bosses to go public.

The man is one of about 330 police staff -- 36 in the Waikato -- under investigation for storing 5000 sexually explicit images on their computers.

The long-serving officer, who would not be named for fear of disciplinary action, said the allegations were over the top.

"I got a letter (telling him he was one of those accused) and I can tell you right now that I don't get any more than Rachel Hunter's boobies (via email).

"I'm not a devo (deviant) trading in hardcore porn, but that's the label that's been applied. Go down to your local mechanic's shop on any given day and you'll see far worse."

Another Waikato officer, untainted by the scandal, also hit out at police bosses.

"I'm embarrassed by the current police commissioner's lack of resolve and support for frontline staff. I would actively discourage my children from joining the police as a career in this current environment."

Criminologist Greg Newbold said Police Commissioner Rob Robinson was taking the right approach.

"Some police forces in other countries have tried to deal with this in-house or sweep it under the carpet, and it has been ineffective," the Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Canterbury told NZPA today.

"I've been told the commissioner believes the only effective way to deal with it is to be as open as possible, and I think he's right."

The fact that the email scandal erupted despite Mr Robinson issuing clear guidelines about appropriate use of emails by police staff in 2002 showed that going public with the investigation was worthwhile, Prof Newbold said.

He said the staff involved should have been known better.

"It's just stupid. It shows poor judgment on the part of the police involved and it's especially bad for police in the wake of the problems with 111 calls and the recent cases of police facing charges."

However, he believed New Zealand police were of a good standard internationally.

"Certainly they have got some areas they really need to work on, but from an international level our police force is very good.

"We have very low levels of corruption in police compared to countries like Australia, Britain, the United States and Canada, and some of those places have a much worse record in terms of police violence."

- NZPA