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Police leaders are concerned that public attitudes towards serving officers could be further undermined by the long-awaited Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, sources say.
The image of police has already been damaged by sleaze allegations after a series of trials of current and former officers on sex charges, and management are concerned a negative picture of the police force in the 1980s will further damage confidence in the police today.
Dame Margaret Bazley was meant to report back in November 2004 with her findings into how police handled claims of historical allegations of sexual assault by police officers.
However, several court cases, the departure of fellow commissioner Judge Bruce Robertson, and a change in the commission's terms of reference, have delayed the presentation of the report until now.
Governor-General Anand Satyanand has been presented with the report, and it is expected to be tabled in Parliament tomorrow, when the House next sits.
Prime Minister Helen Clark read the report over the weekend and the Cabinet will be briefed on its contents today.
Miss Clark said today that "some horrible, disgusting, bad, unlawful things happened". But she said that was already in the public domain and she did not expect the contents of the report to surprise anyone.
She told Newstalk ZB the issue now was how the police handle such issues in future.
The Government's response to the report will be released simultaneously with it being made public, a tactic usually reserved for highly sensitive reports. The Prime Minister, Police Minister Annette King and Police Commissioner Howard Broad will all front up when the report is released.
Sources have told the Herald the police leadership is seriously concerned about how the report will be received, with one person saying the public response was awaited with trepidation.
"They are concerned that people will start to think about the police as they were then, rather than as they are now," one political source said.
Juries have heard allegations of violence, sexual assault and group sex in the three trials, and last weekend a Sunday newspaper published details of a sex video that featured former police officer and convicted rapist Brad Shipton.
It is understood the report will say such a culture was not pervasive but isolated to the Bay of Plenty area at the time when Shipton served.
A source said police believed the release of the report was a significant moment in police history, and it needed to be handled "just right" to preserve public trust in the police.
A survey released last week as part of the ongoing review of the Police Act, the legislation that sets out police management and powers, showed high public confidence in the police.
The survey, by UMR Research, said the police was an institution that was generally well-regarded and enjoyed considerable public goodwill. On a 1-100 scale of approval of performance, police had an average approval rating of 68.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor would not comment on the Bazley report, but said allegations against the police were not impacting on the day-to-day work of the force. However, he said officers did have some concerns about the impact of continuing bad publicity.
The biggest danger was that the police would be distracted "and the only winners if that happens will be the criminals".
