Child abuse squad formed

Matt Stewart | 10th March 2010

A regional child-abuse protection squad that was stalled by the unearthing of a backlog of 108 uninvestigated Wairarapa child-abuse cases has finally come into force with two detectives assigned for the city's police district.
The District Child Protection Team (DCPT) includes 24 specialist detectives and interviewers based in Wellington, Kapiti, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa and will focus on making it harder for child abusers to get away with their crimes.
Operation Hope, the codename for the internal police investigation into the Wairarapa backlog, began in 2008 and wrapped early last month.
The inquiry was the starting point for a nationwide child-abuse probe dubbed Operation Scope.
Police say Operation Hope has been very successful and has resulted in a significant number of backlogged Wairarapa and Wellington child-abuse cases going to trial at the High Court.
In the wake of Operation Hope, Wellington police Acting District Commander Gail Gibson said the Wairarapa community could be reassured that ''dramatic, structural'' changes had been made to the way child abuse was investigated in the district and that police had learned valuable lessons from the inquiry.
That confidence was shared by DCPT head, Detective Senior Sergeant Tusha Penny, who was in Masterton yesterday with her team of Wairarapa DCPT investigators _ former Crime Control Unit leader Detective Emma Foote, experienced child-abuse investigator Detective Rachael Casbolt and Wellington/Wairarapa team supervisor Detective Sergeant Barry Bysouth.

''This is a positive for the Wairarapa community. ''This is the first time there has been a complete focus and responsibility exclusively for child-abuse investigation _ I'm confident we will see a real difference across Wairarapa and the entire Wellington policing district,'' Ms Penny said.
The Wairarapa team is allied to Wellington and able to draw on the resources of the Kapiti-Mana and Hutt Valley squads if required.
Ms Penny said one of the keys to the DCPT's success would be its exclusive focus on child abuse, unimpeded by the demands of volume crimes like burglary, and even adult sexual abuse.
She said national and international research done when setting up the team strongly concluded the need for investigators to have an exclusive focus.
However, the team may still be expected to lend a hand in the initial stages of big investigations like homicide, but would be directed back to the primary role investigating serious physical and child sexual abuse.
''I'm confident we've got a fantastic supervisor. Barry has 24 years' experience, 19 of those as a detective. He brings a very diverse and well-rounded investigative experience, both from his years in London and more recently his past four years in Wairarapa,'' Ms Penny said of the former Scotland Yard detective.
''We've had staff over here doing their best but the DCPT now provides them with the structure and necessary support to ensure that we're working towards making sure cases are resolved expediently and that we have a solid, productive relationship with our key partners including CYFS, DHBs and other key community groups.''
Mr Bysouth said the team underwent intensive three-day training and refresher courses with a child psychologist, Crown solicitors, senior paediatric consultants and senior CYFS managers in the lead-up to last week's launch.
Ms Penny is also encouraging people ''to pick up the phone'' if they have concerns about child abuse. ''Four-year-olds don't ring the police station to check on their file. We have to be hyper-vigilant around this work.
''The Wairarapa community need to be reassured that the police are taking child abuse seriously,'' Ms Penny said.
Anyone with concerns around child abuse can contact Detective Sergeant Barry Bysouth at Masterton police station on (06) 370 0300.