A new report has criticised police management, saying it lacks the confidence to bring about the change needed to lift the poor performance of some staff.
The report was produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the State Services Commission.
It looks at changes made since 2007, when the Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct made a number of recommendations following rape allegations by Louise Nicholas.
The latest report says senior managers lack the confidence to take bold action that will show staff poor performance will not be tolerated.
It says management has tolerated and even appointed the wrong people to high places. Some of the commission's recommendation's have been achieved, but police culture still needs to change.
The report says the quality of police management varies across districts. It says changes at the Royal New Zealand Police College do not go far enough and some staff may be inappropriate role models.
Simple things such as regulating all police bars and removing a handful of non-performers would send the right messages to staff, the report says.
