Nearly 40 New Zealand police officers have been criminally convicted in the last five years, including six for sexual offending.
Police data released to the Herald under the Official Information Act shows 39 officers out of the 133 charged criminally in the last five years were convicted.
The convictions included for six sexual offences, one murder, one attempted murder, five serious assaults and one grievous assault.
Nine officers in Auckland City, four in Counties Manukau, two in Wellington, six in the Bay of Plenty and one in Canterbury were among the convicted.
In a statement, integrity and conduct director superintendent Jason Guthrie said criminal conduct was unacceptable and had no place in the New Zealand Police.
"The public can have confidence that Police has robust systems and processes that ensure alleged criminality is identified and thoroughly investigated, with oversight from the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA)."
Guthrie said a vast majority of police employees do a stunning job of keeping our communities safe in complete alignment with police core values of professionalism, respect, integrity, commitment to Māori and the Treaty, empathy, and valuing diversity.
"In the context of a large organisation and a very complex operating environment, criminal offending by Police employees remains very rare."
To ensure transparency and consistency, Guthrie said the Solicitor-General's Guidelines are applied to any charging decisions by an Executive level Criminal Charging Advisory Panel.
This year a North Island police officer accused of assaulting and strangling his partner appeared in Hamilton District Court.
And another officer, who stood trial on six family violence charges, was acquitted of four charges, and no verdict was reached by the jury on two charges this year.
The senior constable denied any violence towards his ex-wife and cruelty towards her son during their seven-year marriage.
He gave evidence at his trial at Auckland District Court in June.
A police report published in 2009 following an investigation into family violence allegations made against the officer concluded that no charges should be laid due to "insufficient evidence".
The officer was suspended from working for the New Zealand Police during the trial and as of last month had not returned to work.
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