Two officers face inquiries

One southern police officer has been suspended and another stood down, both on full pay.

A Gore-based police officer has been suspended from duty pending the outcome of court proceedings on fraud charges and, in a separate case, a Central Otago police officer is the subject of a police investigation and has been stood down, southern district operations manager Inspector Lane Todd said yesterday.

Mr Todd said the Gore officer was stood down in late October and suspended on full pay in November.

The matter was before the Dunedin District Court so he was unable to comment further at this stage, he said.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority was also aware of the case.

It is understood another person, not a police officer, faces a similar allegation in relation to the same matters.

Mr Todd said the Central Otago officer was stood down two weeks ago.

He expected the now three-month-long investigation would be completed within a fortnight.

He declined to give any details about where the officer was based or their gender and said it was "not prudent" to talk about details while the investigation was still under way.

The matter came to the attention of police at the end of December as a result of information received. It was not in response to any complaint by a member of the public, Mr Todd said.

Central Otago people could still have confidence in their local police, he said. "The community can have confidence that when issues are brought to our attention, we'll treat them seriously."

- OTAGO DAILY TIMES