A quarter of New Zealand's police force have been abused, bullied or harassed in the last year, with almost one in 10 suffering sustained bullying, a report has found.
Themes of favouritism, a 'boys' club', sexism and marginalisation was found during the survey.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority report was spurred by allegations of bullying within the police force in 2019. There was about 400 hours of confidential interviews with more than 200 current and former police staff.
Forty per cent of respondents had personally experienced, not just observed, poor behaviour towards them over the last year.
An independent investigation looked into the culture within the New Zealand Police.
However, the report concluded the bullying and poor behaviour was not widespread throughout the force, instead more likely to be particular individuals, workplaces and within districts.
The report segregated issues in police culture into common themes.
It included a lack of diversity of thought, with some leaders being described as having an autocratic style, unwilling to consider alternative views and an intolerance to questioning.
"Some of those who reach senior positions develop a sense of entitlement that empowers them to treat people poorly, which filters down to inspectors, senior sergeants and sergeants who expect staff to follow orders without question."
A quarter of police did not think the culture was inclusive of all staff or that they were safe to voice an alternative opinion.
Another theme was favouritism, characterising parts of the police force as a 'boys' club', "based on power relationships, and perpetuated by allegiances, cliques, nepotism and cronyism".
"These dynamics are often produced by leaders who surround themselves with those who will do their bidding and not challenge them, and who have an expectation of unconditional loyalty (offering career advancement in return)."
The survey found those who did ask questions, "express dissent, or resist the boys’ club" may be marginalised and ostracised".
"This may take the form of overt bullying behaviour designed to belittle, intimidate, humiliate and ostracise.
"More commonly, it manifests itself in subversive and insidious behaviour such as ignoring an individual, excluding them from communications, not inviting them to meetings they would otherwise be expected to be part of, or dismissing their ideas only to implement them later."
The interviewers were told of two separate examples of "perhaps the most alarming manifestation of marginalisation and ostracism – the deliberate failure to provide back-up".
"They were out in the field and radioed for immediate backup because they were at risk. The officers on duty, who were targeting and marginalising them, chose not to respond."
Twenty-three per cent of respondents had been deliberately excluded or marginalised.
Abusive and intimidatory conduct was another theme - with 26 per cent experiencing that kind of abuse. Almost one in 10 of those who responded said they suffered sustained abuse, bullying or harassment. It included physical obstruction, verbal attacks and belittling behaviour.
The report was told many examples of alleged abusive behaviour - "shouting at people who had made mistakes; ripping up their paperwork in front of others because it did not meet the required standard; and reviewing a file using written notations such as 'did you ever go to school, you dumb c***' and 'you f*****g r****d'".
Sexist or racist behaviour was reported by several people, with the report saying "while it was sometimes overt or explicit, it was more typically disguised as humour or banter". One in 10 reported experiencing sexist behaviour towards them, with women experiencing it four times as much.
There were examples of male frontline supervisors and senior managers referring to female staff as 'b******', 'the girls', or 'the chicks', day-to-day conversations of officers involving sexual innuendo and women often assigned menial tasks.
The report stated there were "profound" consequences" where the negative culture and poor behaviour occurred. It created a high staff turnover and impacted physical and mental health
"Many of them, or their colleagues, were experiencing huge personal distress, and had been diagnosed with depression, anxiety or, in a number of cases, posttraumatic stress disorder," the report stated.
"Interviewees reported a variety of associated consequences such as personal relationship breakdowns, addiction issues and suicidal behaviour."
It said the underlying driver tended to be the operating environment of police and a lack of experience of managers and supervisors.
"Our interviewees, virtually without exception, had no trust and confidence in the existing mechanisms for addressing bullying and related behavioural problems, or for dealing with low level matters of integrity."
It said the issues were exacerbated by the "fragmented, incomplete and unreliable record-keeping" of police for complaints and concerns. The report called it unacceptable.
The report said there was examples of strong, positive cultures and effective leadership throughout the country.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said over the past year they had been working to tackle the negative culture elements highlighted in the report.
"I'm pleased the Authority today endorsed our progress and that it fully supports our overall intent and direction."
He said the report described bullying as not being pervasive, but instead being in pockets in police.
"I'm clear that the negative behaviours described in the report have absolutely no place in police."
Coster said many of the issues highlighted in the report were being addressed as part of an action plan from an earlier report.
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