The New Zealand Police Early Intervention System: A review of implementation and impact issues

Date01 September 2020
AuthorTim Prenzler,Michael Briody
DOI10.1177/1461355720931891
Published date01 September 2020
Subject MatterArticles
Article
The New Zealand Police Early
Intervention System: A review of
implementation and impact issues
Michael Briody
School of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Griffith University, Australia
Tim Prenzler
School of Law & Criminology, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Abstract
This paper examines the implementation process and impacts of an Early Intervention System (EIS) introduced into the
New Zealand Police in 2013. The system was associated with large reductions in complaints of 72.5% against target
employees (N¼526), but without this clearly translating into reductions in the overall number of complaints. The New
Zealand case also highlighted the issue of the different potential uses of early intervention. Should the priority be officer
welfare or the more usual aim of improving officer conduct, police–citizen relations and public confidence in police? The
authors argue that the traditional focus on reducing adverse incidents between police and citizens, with public complaints
as a major guide and measure, should have at least equal weight in an EIS that is part of a comprehensive state-of-the-art
police integrity management system. The paper also highlights the need for detailed publicly accessible data to ensure
accountability of investments in integrity strategies.
Keywords
Complaint profiling, early warning systems, Early Intervention Systems, police integrity management, New Zealand
Submitted 18 Feb 2020, Revise received 25 Mar 2020, accepted 20 Apr 2020
Introduction
The New Zealand Police have long been recognised as
attracting high levels of public support, and New Zealand
is ranked among the most peaceful and safe countries in the
world (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2019; Rowe,
2009). Nonetheless, the department has experienced its
share of scandals over the decades, including a major Com-
mission of Inquiry from 2004 to 2007 (Bazley, 2007;
Rowe, 2009). The department—with 9482 sworn officers
and 2891 unsworn staff in 2019—has also attracted large
numbers of complaints in the past two decades, with an
upward trend in recent years [Independent Police Conduct
Authority (IPCA), 2018; New Zealand Police, 2019a].
Consequently, like many police departments around the
world, New Zealand Police have been required to innovate
in the integrity management space.
The introduction of an Early Intervention System (EIS)
in New Zealand in 2013 represents one major type of inno-
vation in police integrity management. EI systems remain
very much on the agenda for police around the world and
are often considered to be a ‘best practice’ component of a
police integrity management system (Shjarback, 2015).
IAPro—a company that sells purpose-built EI systems soft-
ware—reported over 50 new sales in the first 8 months of
2018 and usage of its products by more than 800 ‘public
safety agencies’ around the world in 2019 (IAPro, 2018,
2019). However, evaluated case studies of EIS in action are
Corresponding author:
Tim Prenzler, School of Law & Criminology, University of the Sunshine
Coast, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Email: tprenzler@usc.edu.au
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2020, Vol. 22(3) 297–307
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1461355720931891
journals.sagepub.com/home/psm

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT