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When Police Opinions Override Child Safety | Auckland News
A top social worker raised alarms in July about her team’s over-reliance on police input in child protection cases, sparking a sweeping internal review called Operation Hark. What began with 54 flagged cases has ballooned to 57, with some referred to the police integrity unit—raising urgent questions about systemic failures. Despite reforms since 2010, the review reveals troubling gaps: social workers may have uncritically accepted police conclusions or prematurely ended their own assessments when police opted not to prosecute. While the agency says no immediate safety risks exist, the…
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