A report on culture change in the police ignores the biggest problem facing frontline officers and could do more harm than good, Police Association president Greg O'Connor says.
The report, which said the culture within the force seemed to have reached a plateau, was the third prepared for the State Services Commission into change management in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct.
The inquiry related to the way in which police had dealt with allegations of sexual assault by members and associates of the police.
Police Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope today announced his retirement after the release of the report, saying he made his decision several weeks ago.
Mr O'Connor today told NZPA the report, by PricewaterhouseCoopers, had a narrow focus which ignored the every day realities of policing.
"What they (Pricewaterhouse) don't get to do is look at the broader view, what policing is actually about," he said.
He would like to see the audits done in conjunction with a larger review of the whole organisation.
"What I'd love is for these guys (the report authors) to actually understand what policing is about, to actually go out and spend some time at some police stations and then contexualise their report."
There were a lot of things wrong with police but "by hell there's a lot of things that we do right and what worries me is trying to fix things that are narrowly focused, then we damage the whole", he said.
One of the biggest problems facing police was assaults on them, and not police culture, Mr O'Connor said.
"And yet here we have a very expensive report with a lot of resource going into it, a lot of compliance going into it, which actually isn't going to do one thing about addressing the biggest issue."
Earlier, Commissioner Howard Broad said he was worried the report looked like "a huge, big slapping".
Mr Broad, who steps down as commissioner in April, said the report failed to highlight more positive reviews of the organisation.
"The report did not go into as much detail for those people who spoke extremely well about our organisation as it did about those who have something negative to say," he told Radio New Zealand.
"I am worried that this will set the organisation back rather than take us forward, because it looks like a huge, big slapping and I think it's intended to actually propel us into greater energy and move us forward.
"You are not going to change the absolute core bones of the organisation overnight, it's going to take relentless and long term commitment to do that."
Police Minister Judith Collins said that while the report could damage officer morale, it offered a number of practical solutions.
"The report has been written with the very best of intentions, stating exactly what needs be done and bring about an even better police force," she said.
"There's some really good things in there but actually I think this is now moving to a phase where it's really about making sure that every police officer is working in an environment where they first feel safe in terms of any sexual inappropriateness, but also that they feel safe in terms of their conditions of employment.
"I believe that we have the finest police in the world and there will be, as there always are in an organisation with 12,000 people, a few people who let others down. Those people need to be dealt with because they cannot continue to ruin the great work of New Zealand police."
