Police have once again apologised for a communication failure and accepted an independent report that blames them for injuries suffered by a Dunedin truck driver.
An Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report relating to an incident in June 2012, in which the driver collided with a cattle beast near Mataura, following reports to Police of cattle on the roads, has been accepted by Police.
The report found that a Police Communicator’s failure to record the rural address property identification (RAPID) number following the first call, or create a new job for the second report of wandering cattle, was contrary to Police policy and hindered their ability to accurately locate the cattle.
Southern communications centre manager inspector Kieren Kortegast says Police had met with the driver following the incident, and had apologised for the failure.
“Police are concerned with any call from the public that results in service failure, which in this case had serious consequences.
“The staff member in question missed the opportunity to prevent a collision that has caused serious injury to a member of the public.
“In this case, the staff member has not received RAPID number training, an issue that has since been addressed. However, his actions at the time in disregarding information offered by the public were not consistent with procedure,” says Kortegast.
The same communicator took a second call re the wandering stock some 40 minutes later. He incorrectly assumed that this had already been dealt with and did not enter a new event or update the existing job. This is a breach of Police procedure, as a new job is to be created or an existing job updated for all calls such as this.
“We take these standards seriously, and the performance of the staff member in this instance compelled us to refer this matter to the IPCA” says Kortegast.
“All Police Communications staff receive comprehensive training on the range of methods available to locate and verify incidents, including the use of RAPID number identification.
The staff member has since attended RAPID number training, and has been subject to a disciplinary process concerning the failure to enter a new event for the additional call.
