KEY POINTS:
Suspended assistant police commissioner Clint Rickards is likely to face an internal disciplinary process criticised by Dame Margaret Bazley as placing the "balance of protection" in favour of the defendant.
Dame Margaret's criticisms arose from her Commission of Inquiry into Police Misconduct sparked by Louise Nicholas' allegations of sexual crimes and a cover-up.
One of those she accused was Mr Rickards, who is likely to face disciplinary charges for serious misconduct arising from his admission of having group sex with Mrs Nicholas.
His case will be heard by the police tribunal that Dame Margaret has condemned.
The system is "cumbersome and anachronistic" and has no place "in a modern human resources strategy", Dame Margaret said in her report released in April.
A new system, to be based on a code of conduct, is unlikely to be operating before next year.
Mr Rickards, a police officer for 27 years, is likely to be charged over his public criticism of the competence of Operation Austin (the investigation of allegations by Mrs Nicholas and others), a woman's allegation that he had sex with her on the bonnet of a police car in 1983, and his sexual liaisons with Mrs Nicholas.
A retired judge usually acts as the tribunal, which is run like a district court hearing with a formal charge and plea, a prosecutor and defence lawyer, cross-examination and re-examination of witnesses, and the requirement that the prosecution meet the same standard of proof of "beyond reasonable doubt".
Dame Margaret said this standard was too high and placed the "balance of protection" in favour of the defendant, thus acting as a disincentive to complainants.
Police have indicated the new system is likely to have a lower burden of proof, such as "on the balance of probabilities".
Lawyers describe the present system as complex and outdated.
"To me it's like a 1940s car that's had a new engine and new steering system put in but you've still got the same chassis, and I blame the Government for that," said Auckland University associate law professor Bill Hodge, who is among those the police have consulted over the new system.
Mr Rickards has been suspended on full pay of $150,000 to $159,000 since 2004, when an investigation began into allegations made by Mrs Nicholas.
He was charged in March 2005 with sexual offences in the 1980s against her and another woman, but was acquitted.
An employment specialist, who did not want to be named, told the Weekend Herald it would be difficult for the police to retain Mr Rickards.
But a sticking point might be that he was promoted several times despite police commanders being aware of allegations of misconduct.
It is not clear if the public will be informed of the hearing's outcome. Existing regulations exclude reporters from the tribunal hearings - unless it gives permission - and require that its findings not be disclosed.
