Jill Rogers: Deputy Police Commissioner on the findings of the Tom Phillips inquiry, missed opportunities to recover the children
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Well the Phillips report had a familiar ring to it, didn't it?
What were the key failures identified in the Tom Phillips inquiry?
The police missed a number of key opportunities to wrap it sooner. Oranga Tomariki weren't exactly on the ball and both agencies failed to cooperate to the extent they might have. Jill Rogers is Deputy Police Commissioner and is with us. Good morning. And good morning to you. In this report the usual noises, the usual faults. Is this any different from any other interdepartmental cock up?
It's a pretty sad read and um you know, when you get to the end of that and you see the efforts that went into it and the difficulties that were had, um, it is a really sad read.
How did lack of information sharing between Police and Oranga Tamariki affect the investigation?
And yes, it identifies those things that sharing of information, um of coordination uh to the fore again. Um, but it also identifies just how difficult and challenging this one was.
Is there an it see, I've been doing this quite a long time and I've read a million of these and there's always the the commonality is the lack of sharing of information between departments. Has that in your time materially changed in any way, shape or form or not?
Well the purpose of the inquiry is to uh do exactly as it has, is to identify where are the things that could have been done better. You'll know in the inquiry, it also identifies things that were done well. And so information sharing, um people are human, how they interpret it, um, the report of concern was put through, um, and from there, you know, with the benefit of hindsight, that should have been interrogated more robustly.
Is there an attitude issue within the police that when a call comes through that you're not monitoring things the way you should be in terms of reaction?
Not at all.
Did the police ultimately succeed in recovering the children despite the four‑year hunt?
Um and the report identifies those missed opportunities, but it also identifies the damned hard work that many of those investigation team members put in for the whole four years.
So what's your assessment in totality, because it's easy for the media to leap on a headline, obviously, by and large, do you think the police got it right?
Yeah, I do, absolutely. Our primary aim was to get those kids out and we achieved that. You know, we know what happened, we know how motivated he was. We have an officer now whose life has been changed forever. Um, but our primary aim was always to recover the children and we did that. So in that respect, um, was four years in the bush too long? Absolutely. You know, you can't deny that the conditions that those kids were kept in was not humane.
What lessons and recommendations did the inquiry highlight for future cases?
So if we're sorry, carry on.
I was gonna say if you look at that, um then we achieved what we set out to do. Did it take us a long time? Did we miss opportunities? Yes and yes. But at the end of the day we recovered the kid.
So if we're looking for blame and apologies, O T carry more of it than you do. Fair?
The report identifies lessons for all of us in there. Um so and clearly that information sharing one is um one that does stand out and we'll continue to work hard to make sure that we get the right information to the right people.
How is accountability being addressed and what are the next steps for agencies involved?
Right, appreciate your time. Jill Rogers, who's the Deputy Police Commissioner For more from the Mike Asking Breakfast, listen live to News Talks Ed B from six AM weekdays or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:32
2
What were the key failures identified in the Tom Phillips inquiry?
0:32–1:05
3
How did lack of information sharing between Police and Oranga Tamariki affect the investigation?
1:05–2:07
4
Did the police ultimately succeed in recovering the children despite the four‑year hunt?
2:07–2:54
5
What lessons and recommendations did the inquiry highlight for future cases?
2:54–3:27
6
How is accountability being addressed and what are the next steps for agencies involved?
3:27–3:38
Speakers
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