Police admit they acted too slowly, and minimised the harm Tom Phillips was causing his children as they hid out. 

An almost four-year hunt ended last year, when police killed Phillips in a shootout.

An inquiry's exposed numerous failures by police and Oranga Tamariki, and a lack of information sharing.

Police delayed following up on credible sightings - and overlooked repeated concerns over Phillip's mental health and alcohol use and access to weapons. 

The district's Deputy Police Commissioner, Jill Rogers, says police didn't fully understand how the isolation harmed the children.

"We were always of the belief that Tom Phillips was a man motivated not to hand the children over, and we have wrongly assumed that he wasn't a risk."

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