Latest news with #TheBoyintheWater
Newsroom
14-07-2025
- Newsroom
The Boy in the Water: Is the police complaints authority fit for purpose?
On its website, the Independent Police Conduct Authority states its mission is to be 'a world class police oversight body'. 'We exist to support public expectations…for the justice system to be trusted and effective.' But in light of a recent high profile coronial finding, questions are being asked about whether New Zealand's police watchdog is fit for purpose. On June 13, Coroner Alexander Ho released his findings into the death of Gore three-year-old Lachlan Jones, whose body was found face up in the town's sewage oxidation pond on a hot night in January 2019. Police quickly deemed Lachie's death an accident and closed the case, concluding the preschooler had walked more than a kilometre from his mother's house in his hi-vis vest, climbed over a fence and traipsed across long prickly grass in bare feet to the end of the second of two vast ponds before falling in and drowning. Following extensive investigations carried out by investigative journalist Melanie Reid, police reopened the case, the new review headed by a detective inspector from Dunedin. More than a year later they completed that investigation, releasing a short media statement that said the matter had concluded and been referred back to the coroner. But Reid and her team uncovered further critical information into the case and multiple flaws in the police investigations into his death. Following the release of the first season of DELVE podcast investigation The Boy in the Water, police announced a review into their handling of the case, led by Detective Superintendent Darryl Sweeney. Police also self-referred the matter to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) 'to ensure an independent process is also carried out.' Both the internal police review and the IPCA came to the same conclusion – they decided not to take matters further. At the time, Newsroom requested a copy of the IPCA report, and were advised it was to be released 'in due course.' The IPCA then updated that advice, sayng it 'may decide to await the outcome' of the inquest. Eighteen months later and the IPCA says that, while its decisions are published once concluded, it has not published that initial report, and has no further comment to make. A summary of Newsroom's correspondence with the IPCA can be found at the end of this article. Lachie Jones. Photo: Instagram The Coroner disagrees In the meantime, the coroner Alexander Ho held a coronial inquest into Lachie's death, carried out over five weeks at the Invercargill courthouse in 2024 and covered extensively in seasons two and three of The Boy in the Water. Today is the final episode of season four of the podcast, which goes through every section of the Coroner's findings. It lays bare the stark contrast between those earlier assessments by police and the IPCA, and the coroner's findings. In his report, he describes the original investigation as 'a shambles', citing confusion over who was in charge, a lack of urgency, premature conclusions and basic investigative failures. He explicitly rejects the police's narrative, writing: 'I disagree with Detective Superintendent Sweeney's conclusion… I do not accept that the police investigations correctly outline what occurred that evening. Indeed, I have found in many instances that the evidence does not support the propositions which the police presented as concluded fact.' However the IPCA's review effectively had rubber-stamped the police's internal review led by Sweeney. (The coroner wrote in his findings that the IPCA had concluded the Sweeney report 'adequately addressed matters'.) The result? Two police investigations, one internal review, and an IPCA assessment, all now called into question by the coroner. Melanie Reid says: 'We came to Gore five years ago and said the policing in this case was a debacle. From day one, it was glaringly obvious this police investigation had holes you could drive a truck through. It's of no surprise to us the coroner has reached the same conclusion. 'It is troubling that police brought in one of their own top officers to do an independent review, who in short said 'no issue here'. And his view was rubber stamped by the IPCA. In view of the coroner's official findings, that's somewhat embarrassing.' Back to the IPCA The IPCA is New Zealand's only body charged with independently investigating police conduct. Yet in this case, it failed to intervene despite repeated red flags, public scrutiny and independent journalism raising alarms. Meanwhile the coroner has directed the police to reinvestigate Lachie's death for a third time, using police from outside the Southland district, and report back by January 2026. He also referred to the IPCA 'the police's conduct as it relates to the investigations which have been conducted to date into Lachie's death', effectively challenging it to reconsider its previous decision not to take matters further. But can the IPCA be relied upon to conduct a thorough investigation? On the day the coroner's findings were released, Newsroom asked the IPCA for its response and sent a list of questions, including: what do the coroner's findings say about the IPCA's review processes; were the safeguards sufficient in this case; and, if the police and IPCA are coming to vastly different conclusions than the coroner, are the current mechanisms fit for purpose? We also asked what measures the IPCA will take to ensure a thorough investigation of the police handling of this case this time around. It responded only to say it was 'considering' the Coroner's findings. That was nearly four weeks ago. So we went back to ask again for a response to our questions. The IPCA replied that it is 'not able to indicate a timeframe for the conclusion of our consideration' and has no further comment to make.
Newsroom
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsroom
The Boy in the Water Season 4 open now
The latest episode in the new season of hit podcast The Boy in the Water is now available for non-subscribers, with subsequent episodes to follow every few days. The Boy in the Water is an award-winning investigative podcast about a small town harbouring a big mystery, led by Newsroom's investigations editor Melanie Reid. Season 4 of The Boy in the Water will be covering every section of the coroner's findings into the death of Gore toddler, Lachie Jones. Listeners can subscribe to DELVE to get early and ad-free access to each episode as it is released, with episodes released to non-subscribers a few days later. The Boy in the Water won best podcast and best investigation at the 2024 Voyager Media Awards, Best True Crime Podcast at the 2024 NZ Podcast Awards, and Best True Crime podcast at 2025 NZ Radio and Podcast Awards. It has garnered more than 2.5 million downloads. If you would like to support our work, you can sign up to our new podcast channel DELVE+ through Apple Podcasts here and for Android and Spotify listeners here.
Newsroom
06-06-2025
- Newsroom
Boy in the Water, The Detail win national podcast awards
The Boy in the Water won best true crime podcast and The Detail won best news and current affairs podcast, for the second consecutive year, at the 2025 radio and podcast awards. Held annually, the awards recognise excellence in all areas of commercial and non-commercial radio broadcasting and podcasting. Winning best true crime podcast is another accolade for Newsroom's investigations editor Melanie Reid, producer Bonnie Sumner and editor Dave Filoiali'i. The team also won best podcast and best investigation at last year's Voyager Media Awards. The Boy in the Water examines events surrounding the death of a young boy in the southern town of Gore. Lachie Jones was found floating face-up in the town's oxidation pond by a police dog and its handler in January 2019. He was deemed to have died by accidental drowning but Reid's investigations have spotlighted serious deficiencies in multiple police investigations and the autopsy performed on the three-and-a-half-year-old. Melanie Reid with Lachie's father Paul Jones at the Gore oxidation ponds. Photo: Grant Findlay The podcast has had more than three and a half million downloads and is about to enter its fourth season on Newsroom's podcast channel, Delve. Reid and her team will be in Invercargill on Friday June 13 when Coroner Alexander Ho releases his findings from the inquest he held last year. 'It is great to win this category and have our team recognised for the hard work that has gone into the series. For us, The Boy in the Water is about trying to answer the unanswered questions – it's about system failure, shoddy police work and the dynamics of life in a small town like Gore,' says Reid. The Detail, produced by Newsroom for RNZ, beat a strong field to win best news and current affairs podcast. The Detail team of Amanda Gillies, Gwen McClure, Davina Zimmer, Alexia Russell and Sharon Brettkelly. Photo: Supplied The other finalists were Kim Hill wants to know for RNZ, Front Page for NZ Herald and another Newsroom podcast, Fractured – also produced by Melanie Reid and Bonnie Sumner. The Detail team of Sharon Brettkelly, Amanda Gillies, Alexia Russell, Gwen McClure and Davina Zimmer produce six podcasts a week that are published on multiple platforms including Newsroom, RNZ, Apple and Spotify. The podcast looks at the story behind the big stories making news. Producer Alexia Russell says 'we aim to speak to the person in New Zealand who knows the most about the issue we are looking at; or the journalist who has covered it at length and can offer an over-arching and unbiased view. A comment we received last week, that The Detail was a young person's introduction to good journalism, made us very happy. 'Our hope is that we can contribute to raising the news IQ in Aotearoa.' The Detail's entry included episodes on the sinking of the NZ Navy vessel Manawanui, the growth of controversial Chinese online retailer Temu and a look back at the impact TV3 News had over its 35 years of broadcasting. Both of Newsroom's award winning podcasts are supported by funding from NZ on Air. In May, Newsroom's Jonathan Milne won the Voyager Media Awards honour for best original podcast for his international investigation Powder Keg, with Mike Wesley Smith. He was also named business journalist of the year. In other awards: In the same way it has dominated the commercial ratings, Newstalk ZB had a strong night – winning Station of the Year for the fifth consecutive time. Niva Retimanu won best newsreader and the station's drivetime host, Heather du Plessis Allan won the coveted Sir Paul Holmes Broadcaster of the Year award. RNZ's Alexa Cook won best news journalist and Kate Green won best new talent – journalist. RNZ podcasts took out the honours for best society and culture (Nellie's Baby), and science and culture (Our Changing World). The public broadcaster also won best news story, best documentary for The Last voyage of the Rainbow Warrior and best children's programme for Suzy Cato's Suzy and Friends in a POD-cast and best daily or weekly factual feature for Our Changing World. Best local station went to More FM, Northland and independent station of the year was won by Radio Tarana.
