The Dom-Post's verdict on Broad

We read this Dom-Post editorial on Friday, but we hadn't had the chance to post anything about it until today. But we reckon that the Dom-Post's leader writer has it spot on with this:

When Police Commissioner Howard Broad was appointed in 2006, he said he wanted to restore public confidence in his department. He has been a big disappointment. He has proven – again – that his oversight is suspect. It is as well that he retires next year.

This week, The Dominion Post reported that one of his staff, Detective Inspector Dave Archibald, is the new head of the Royal New Zealand Police College's investigation and intelligence school. But this is a policeman disciplined in 2005 for accessing the police computer during the sex trial of former policemen Brad Shipton and Bob Schollum, and two others. He sought the information to pass on to a private investigator working for Shipton, who, like Schollum, was convicted of pack rape. Yet this man is trusted to train new coppers?

The commissioner would have us – and Police Minister Judith Collins – believe that he delegated all responsibility for appointing Mr Archibald to other senior staff. Perhaps he is now so hands-off a manager as he winds down to retirement that he is happy to leave such important appointments to minions. Regardless, the buck stops with him.

Whatever the situation, Mr Broad has failed to achieve what he set out to do when he became commissioner. To restore public confidence, he had to change an organisational culture that regarded the practice of Bay of Plenty coppers preying on young women as something to be ignored. The Archibald appointment suggests that culture remains in place.

We agree entirely with this view. Howard Broad's leadership of the New Zealand Police has not been a great success, and we will shed no tears when his term in office expires. Judith Collins was absolutely right to send a strong message to Broad that his chances of reappointment were minute.

And the Dom-Post suggests that the next Police Commissioner should come from outside the ranks - read on:

But given the inward-looking, blokey culture that Mr Broad has singularly failed to root out, the Government should look beyond the lower ranks for the country's new top cop. New Zealand last had a civilian commissioner 50 years ago when the then government sought to shed sunlight into policing's dark corners. If the Government can find someone with courage – the police administration is a formidable beast – an outside appointment for a five-year term is worth contemplating.

Once again, we concur with this opinion. Whilst we have the utmost respect for the copper on the beat who is daily exposed to the worst aspects of our society, we have little confidence in the top brass. The leader writer has noted that Rob Pope, Broad's deputy has baggage of his own in the form of criticism of the Scott Watson enquiry which Pope led. Perhaps it IS time for a new broom to be appointed to lead a proud NZ Police force and to restore some of the mana which has been lost in the Broad years and those which preceded.