Rugby: Checks on coaches cancelled

Safe? Police checks are not mandatory. Photo / Northern Advocate

Police delays in checking for potential child molesters has forced the abandonment of plans to have all children's rugby coaches vetted.

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) has spent the past two years trialling a system in three provincial unions where all Small Blacks coaches undergo police vetting checks.

"Unfortunately the trial showed the proposed system was not workable because of the time lag between clubs appointing coaches to Small Blacks teams and receiving the relevant information after vetting," said Brent Anderson, NZRU's general manager of provincial union relationships.

A police vetting check is a free specialised background check open for employers and organisations that deal with young, old or vulnerable people.

According to police, up to half-a-million people are vetted each year.

As well as looking at previous convictions, police vetting checks search intelligence for information that might suggest behaviour of a sexual or violent nature.

Police national operations manager Superintendent Tony McLeod said there were "unacceptable" time delays in the past year, with some requests taking up to 90 days. But changes had been made to speed up the process, including using new technology.

McLeod was disappointed the NZRU had not discussed the time delays with him.

He said a quarter of requests could be turned around in three days or fewer.

"We're working to extend this to 50 per cent within the next three months," McLeod added.

The Auckland Rugby Union is approved to use the vetting service and arranges the checks for clubs, but there is no mandatory checking. Operations manager Dave Simms said they too had found the slowness of the system to be a problem when vetting their Small Blacks' coaches.

But he said this is not an issue with coaches of older players. Most coaches at secondary level are teachers so are already police-checked as part of their registration.

Football is facing similar problems.

Auckland Football Federation chief executive David Parker said it was his personal view that New Zealand would inevitably follow the international trend and move to compulsory police vetting.