A complaint against Mr Kitchen and superintendent Liam Johnson, which was referred to the Police Complaints Commission by the Committee for Home Affairs, and was going to lead to an investigation by another police force, has now been dismissed after new information was provided.
Following an allegation that there had been a cover-up of the reason for an interpreter being removed from an approved list used by law enforcement, namely that he had ‘refused to provide information concerning the alleged activities of a senior statutory official’, it was concluded that the conduct of the officers concerned amounted to neither misconduct nor gross misconduct.
The new information included an email exchange between the complainant and a chief inspector, who has since retired from the police force.
Mr Kitchen, who heavily criticised Home Affairs’ approach to the case when the allegation first came to light, said yesterday that the complaint had been shown to be ‘frivolous’ through immediately available information which proved the alleged conduct could never have happened.
‘This complaint should not have been accepted,’ he said.
‘I found myself featured in headline news alongside accusations of a “cover-up”, and for months have been unable to defend myself.
‘We simply cannot allow people who dislike a legitimate decision made by a public service to have officers placed under suspicion for extended periods of time without any substantive case.
‘There are other legal routes people can explore, but we cannot allow the Police Complaints Law to be “weaponised” frivolously as an option to pursue grievances. If nothing else, it devalues the process for legitimate complainants.’
He said he would use the experience to work with Home Affairs to accelerate the long-needed review of the complaints law and regulations.
Home Affairs president Marc Leadbeater, who had originally recused himself from the meetings on this matter but is now fully appraised, agreed that the current process was flawed.
‘The statutory police complaints framework is very rigid in its application, and leads to disproportionate results and slower, less efficient decision making, a fact that has been laid bare by this recent complaint against the chief of police,’ he said.
‘It is the reality of dealing with complaints that some parties will always remain aggrieved no matter the outcome. That is not a sign that the regime is failing. However extremely lengthy processes, a regime which is easy to exploit, and a regime which can easily and unjustly damage reputations, is one that needs changing.’
He said the committee would be prioritising a review of the complaints regime, including engaging with stakeholders, such as previous complainants and police officers who have been the subject of complaints, to ensure that lessons are learned from past cases.
‘This work is now long overdue, and this latest matter has put that into clear focus once again,’ he said.
‘Frankly, the committee is frustrated that this work has not progressed, and is considering how it might be expedited.’