“We have now completed our safety review and are of the view that the Inquiry has enormous potential for improving outcomes to the lives of those impacted by domestic violence and child abuse,” say Heather Henare CEO of Women’s Refuge, and Kim Workman, Founder and Strategic Adviser to Rethinking Crime and Punishment.
“We both became involved in the Review because we were concerned to hear issues raised around confidentiality and safety of information held by the Glenn Inquiry.”
“As far as we can tell from the information that was provided to us, there is no evidence that the personal information of persons interviewed during the Inquiry to date is unsafe. Our report together with 23 recommendations, was tabled yesterday at a meeting of the Glenn Inquiry Board.
“We were asked to review the processes for the collection, collation, storage and evaluation of all confidential information, including that related to the interviews process, in the period prior to the departure of the former Director of the Glenn Inquiry and her deputy on 3rd June” said Ms Henare. We found that while participants personal information was safe, improvements were required in three important areas .”
“First, there was a need for more robust policies around the collection and storage of sensitive information, as well as documentation common to all organisations such as human resource and IT policies. “, said Mr Workman.
Second, personal equipment (such as laptops, I phones and recording devices) were being used to record information. While these devices were made secure by specialist IT staff within the University of Auckland, we do not think this is a desirable practise. “Such equipment, as well as the information contained on it, needs to be securely stored and in one place, said Ms Henare. “Again, such a practise can create problems downstream, if someone leaves the organisation.”
Third, the reviewers found that a few days before the two Managers left the Inquiry they transferred data to people involved in the Inquiry, who subsequently resigned. “In our view, the less people that have access to the data the better” said Mr Workman. “However, the information has since been retrieved”.
The reviewers note that the incoming CEO, Mrs Kirsten Rei has made considerable progress in improving the systems needed to support the Inquiry going forward.
The 23 recommendations made to the Board are included in the Executive Summary Report, which is posted on the Glenn Inquiry Website, at https://glenninquiry.org.nz/
