Senior police staffer calls system for at-risk victims 'outdated'

A senior Police staffer involved in the multi-agency response to family violence has publicly criticised the system used by agencies to respond to at-risk victims describing it as "outdated" and "no longer fit for purpose".

On Saturday, RNZ reported that the Government had shelved a system that would have supported "timely multi-agency responses" to family violence and alerted staff to "high-risk situations".

Documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA) obtained by RNZ said the proposed integrated case management project, which had already had $2 million spent on it, was paused last year "as there was no practicable or sustainable way to fund, host and operate the proposed platform".

Officials said agencies would continue with the status quo in the interim, which had several risks, including agencies lacking a shared view of information needed for "effective triage and risk assessment" and "vulnerabilities with regard to data security and information sharing".

Following the article, Police's Waikato District Director for the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) Rachael Douglas posted on LinkedIn with a link to the article.

"We cannot expect better outcomes for whānau while asking our people to work around systems that are no longer fit for purpose," she said.

Douglas said the article raised "an important issue, and one I see firsthand in my role leading Integrated Safety Response (ISR) in Waikato".

"Our current system is outdated. It does not easily support the very things that make an integrated response effective: genuine multi-agency collaboration, coordinated case management, timely information sharing, or ensuring whānau voice is central to decision-making.

"The amount of mahi that goes into making the system work for us, rather than the system work for us, is significant."

Douglas said there was a "real consequence".

"Time spent navigating system limitations is time that could be spent on supporting whānau. In a family violence response, delays matter.

"In Waikato, we have taken an evidence-based approach to improving our practice. We have transformed how we assess risk and threat, challenging longstanding ways of working and strengthening our ability to identify and respond to serious harm."

She said the current system did not adequately support the improvements.

"So our people find workarounds. They adapt, develop additional processes and put in the extra mahi to make good practice possible.

"I am incredibly proud of that commitment. But we should not have to rely on the determination of our people to compensate for systems that have not kept pace with the work."

Douglas said the systems used should not "create additional barriers".

"We need to stop expecting people to work harder around broken processes and start giving them the tools to work better together.

"Ultimately, this isn't about technology. It's about ensuring whānau receive the right support, from the right people, at the right time.

"And that should always be our starting point."

Police have been approached for comment.

Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour earlier said while the technology component of the project was on pause, she had been assured non-technical elements of the "best practice operating model" for multi-agency responses continued to progress.

This included the high-risk protocol and information sharing guidance.

"The decision to pause Project Whetū has not resulted in any reduction to frontline services. This decision will be reviewed in the future and, if practical or sustainable way to host and operate the proposed platform can be found, the technology component of Project Whetū could be resumed.

"This is also subject to any directives from the Government Chief Digital Officer."

Labour's police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said the decision was "an absolute shocker".

"The Government is scrapping a project designed to help agencies identify people at risk of family violence - despite officials warning that without it, vital information cannot easily be shared.

"When agencies can't join the dots, people at risk can fall through the cracks. The consequences can be devastating. The Government should be strengthening the response to family violence. They need to explain why they are walking away."