Senior police staffer deletes post criticising system for at-risk victims

NZ Police has refused to say why a senior staffer involved in the multi-agency response to family violence has deleted a post where she publicly criticised the system used to identify and help at-risk victims, describing it as "outdated" and "no longer fit for purpose".

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

Afterwards, Waikato District director for the Integrated Safety Response (ISR) Rachael Douglas posted a link to the article on LinkedIn, saying it raised "an important issue and one I see firsthand in my role leading Integrated Safety Response (ISR) in Waikato".

RNZ approached NZ Police to comment on the post on Monday.

After RNZ published an article on Douglas' post, it was edited to include "these views are my own".

The post was later deleted and RNZ asked NZ Police for comment on why.

Director of prevention Inspector Natasha Allan said police was "committed to working closely with partner agencies to support the safety of individuals and whānau experiencing family violence".

"Effective information sharing and co-ordinated responses across agencies are important elements of that work.

"Police continues to work with partner agencies to identify opportunities to improve how information is shared and how agencies work together to deliver services to those who need support."

NZ Police did not comment on why the post was deleted.

In her post, Douglas said the current system was "outdated".

"It does not easily support the very things that make an integrated response effective - genuine multi-agency collaboration, co-ordinated 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 working 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.

"That should always be our starting point."