CRIME STATS SHOW GREATER POLICE PRESENCE NEEDED

The report of the Independent Police Conduct Authority into the shooting of Graeme Burton lacks sufficient context for its criticism of Police", Police Association Vice-President Chris Cahill said today.

"The Independent Police Conduct Authority is only mandated to examine Police. There is little or no scrutiny of other agencies, or their own accounts of their actions, even though they had a clear impact on Police," Mr Cahill said.

"Police take their role in ensuring public safety from paroled offenders very seriously. But responsibility for monitoring and managing paroled offenders does not rest solely, or even primarily, with Police. The absence of a broader view such as that taken in the Coroner’s investigation means the report is, unfortunately, unbalanced."

Mr Cahill highlighted the IPCA’s suggestion that Police unwillingness to jeopardise informants slowed Probation seeking a recall order as one example.

"There is absolutely no evidence that Police’s concern to protect their informants had any material impact on subsequent events," Mr Cahill said.

"Probation could have taken action for breach of parole conditions as early as 13 December, a fact already acknowledged by Probation to the Coroner. Even when the application for an interim recall order was eventually made, on 29 December, it was made and granted without such an affidavit. It is incorrect to portray Police’s concerns as having prevented action being taken earlier."

Mr Cahill said the IPCA report also failed to point to any clear opportunity for Police to prevent Burton’s rampage on 6 January 2007.

"Despite dwelling at length on ‘what ifs’ and ‘if onlys’, the report offers no evidence to suggest that issues with alerting Police to the existence of arrest warrants actually led to missed opportunities to arrest Graeme Burton before the tragic death of Karl Kuchenbecker," Mr Cahill said.

"The simple fact is, Police did not know where Burton was. He had been on the run since early December. Efforts were being made to locate him, but these had been unsuccessful."

"Wellington police acted professionally and dealt as best they could with their serious concerns about Burton, with the information they had at the time. The IPCA has had the luxury of 20/20 hindsight and more than 12 months of consideration."

"That is not to say lessons should not be learnt. Changes have already been made to parole laws and changes are being made to procedures for dealing with parolees. Those changes can only improve Police’s ability to take action in future," Mr Cahill said.

Mr Cahill welcomed the report’s vindication of police actions in response to calls on 6 January, and endorsed the praise given by the IPCA to the actions of the two officers who confronted Burton.

"Officers A and B showed considerable courage, cool heads and sound judgment in confronting the armed and dangerous Burton. Given Burton’s actions that evening, it is quite likely that the officers prevented further serious incidents by apprehending him before he could make his way into a residential area," Mr Cahill said.

"It is cynical and opportunistic for anti-Taser lobbyists to spin the tragic death by heart attack of Henry Bailey while being arrested to push their political agenda," Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"Investigations are continuing, but indications so far are that police acted reasonably in the circumstances, and took immediate action when Mr Bailey got into difficulty. Unfortunately, despite those efforts his life was not able to be saved," Mr O’Connor said.

"There is no indication that pepper spray played any causal role in the death. But the anti-Taser lobby knows a decision on Tasers is due soon and are leaping at any opportunity to stir up irrational fears, regardless of the facts."

"The Campaign Against the Taser, Pepper Spray, Baton, Raised Voices and whatever else they now object to, needs to take a reality check. Serious, unprovoked violent crime is increasingly at alarming rates. Police, responding to calls from victims, are facing more and more volatile and dangerous situations every day, and being subjected to record numbers of serious assaults as they step in to try to restore public safety."

"At a time when gang violence and random attacks on innocent members of the public are alarmingly common, it beggars belief that certain commentators continue to spew forth Pavlovian responses about controlling police, instead of controlling crime. The public would be better served by them focusing on addressing our growing, violent gang culture," Mr O’Connor said.

"If Marie Dyhrberg had her way, police would be armed with nothing more than love beads and aroma-therapy candles and be expected to talk people into handcuffing themselves. For the safety of everyone involved – not least the offender – police officers need to be properly equipped so they can resolve threatening situations quickly and effectively," Mr O’Connor said.

"The death of a man while being arrested in Mangere today is a tragedy, and we extend our sympathies to his family," Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"It is the worst possible outcome, and every officer’s nightmare, to be involved in a situation that results in the loss of a life. The officers involved will be feeling highly traumatised by this incident, and the Association will be supporting them fully as their decision-making and actions now come under intense scrutiny," Mr O’Connor said.

"There is no other job in New Zealand that places people in the position of being required to react quickly to confrontational and increasingly violent situations where, often, they must use force to secure public safety. Faced with the infinite variables of those situations, the ever-present risk in the back of every officer’s mind is that the potential exists for serious harm to all involved. That potential exists to some degree regardless of whether the officer is using a firearm, a Taser, pepper spray, baton, or physical restraint."

"No other job places such a burden of decision-making on its frontline employees, and then subjects those decisions to the unforgiving glare of public scrutiny, informed by all the wisdom of hindsight. The effect on the officers involved, and their families, will be profound," Mr O’Connor said.

Tasers undoubtedly saved lives and proved their value when officers were able to immediately and safely subdue an armed and enraged man who had stabbed his three young children multiple times, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"Without the Taser, it would not have been possible to deal rapidly, decisively and safely with the offender," Greg O’Connor said.

"The only other option that would have allowed officers to give immediate attention to the children, who were near death, would have been to shoot the offender. Had that happened, the offender would almost certainly now be dead, and the officer forced to fire the fatal shot would have had their life and career turned upside down."

The incident in February this year, for which the offender was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in prison, took place in Lower Hutt – within the Wellington Police District, one of the districts involved at that time in the year long Taser trial.

"There is no question that availability of the Taser saved lives in this case. It also saved a police officer from having to make the decision every officer dreads – using lethal force – and being faced with the inevitable media scrutiny, and the personal and professional consequences of that decision for the rest of their lives," Mr O’Connor said.

"The offender’s lawyer himself acknowledged the Taser’s value yesterday. As more and more people come to realise that this device saves lives, it will be seen as a vital part of the Police toolkit in keeping themselves and the public safe," said Mr O’Connor.

Opponents to New Zealand Police being issued with Taser devices are ignoring the realities of modern policing in New Zealand, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"Unfortunately New Zealand Police are being called upon to respond to more and more volatile and violent situations where lives are at risk. Police officers are also facing record numbers of violent assaults. We must be able to respond to these threats safely and effectively, without being forced to use firearms, which are almost always lethal," Mr O’Connor said.

"The successful New Zealand trial clearly showed that Tasers would give us the less-than-lethal option we need. Failure to issue them would almost certainly mean more tragic and avoidable deaths in future."

"Taser opponents need to be very careful about trying to apply overseas-generated hysteria to the New Zealand situation. Our Police are not armed, unlike their counterparts in North America. So Tasers would obviously occupy a different role in our use-of-force spectrum. The rules and training around use of force are also quite different for New Zealand Police," Mr O’Connor said.

"Yes, Tasers cause pain and can cause injuries, primarily when an offender falls to the ground when incapacitated. But they have not been definitively proved to be the cause of death in any of the very tiny proportion of occasions where a person has died within a period of time following being tasered. Compare that safety record with the chances of survival for offenders who have to be shot, not to mention the numerous innocent lives undoubtedly saved through its use."

Mr O’Connor also dismissed as scare-mongering suggestions that Tasers were torture devices that would promote abuse of prisoners.

"It’s ridiculous to label Tasers a torture device. Clearly torture could be undertaken with any number of implements. It’s a question of conduct: does anyone seriously think that tasering a violent offender who is threatening someone else’s life, instead of shooting them, amounts to torture?"

"Similarly, abuse and assault are matters of individual conduct in which any number of items could be used. Tasers are actually less likely to be misused in this way than virtually any other weapon. Critics seem ignorant of the fact that Tasers automatically record in a memory chip the date, time, and duration of any use of the device, making it very easy to prove or disprove allegations of misuse, and hold officers appropriately accountable. That is not so easily done with any other device in use," Mr O’Connor said.

New laws announced in South Australia to outlaw criminal motorcycle gangs are not a quick fix, but they show a real determination to tackle organised crime, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

“Getting on top of gangs requires a sustained attack on all levels of their activity. There’s no quick fix solution, but the new South Australian laws show a political understanding of the problem and a determination to tackle it,” Mr O’Connor said.

“In New Zealand, we’ve done far too little for far too long. Gangs are the single biggest threat to the New Zealand way of life, but it’s only now that ‘P’ is expanding the sphere of gang intimidation out beyond the good people who live in the poorer parts of town, that we’re starting to see some real action.”

“The new Organised Crime Agency will be a good start. New laws to target proceeds of crime are well overdue. But even when these are in place, it is critical that we keep looking for new ways to keep the pressure on.”

“We’ll be keeping a close eye on the effectiveness of the South Australia laws.”

“Organised criminal gangs are always adapting and finding new ways to make money through crime, violence, intimidation. Today, it’s the Asian syndicates pushing methamphetamine out through motorcycle and ethnic gang distributors. Tomorrow’s big menace is likely to be the new breed of ultra-violent street gangs. Organised crime is a moving target, and we need to be constantly looking at our own methods if we want to get on top of the problem,” Mr O’Connor said.

Tasers are clearly the best less-than-lethal force option for New Zealand Police, and video footage of a man dying after being tasered and arrested by Canadian police has no bearing on that assessment, Police Association Vice-President Stuart Mills said today.

“The cause of death in the Vancouver case has not been determined. Nevertheless, this is clearly a tragedy for the family, and the actions of the officers involved will no doubt be subject to intense scrutiny by Canadian authorities, as they should be in a case involving a fatality such as this,” Mr Mills said.

“But however tragic the death, it has no bearing on the assessment of whether Tasers should be available to New Zealand Police.”

“New Zealand Police are generally unarmed, unlike their Canadian counterparts, and being called upon to respond to more and more volatile and violent situations where lives are at risk. Officers themselves are also facing record numbers of violent assaults.”

“As the recently concluded trial showed, Tasers provide an effective way to deal with those situations without being forced to resort to lethal force. There were no incidents of inappropriate use in the year-long New Zealand trial, and the device almost certainly prevented Police, members of the public, and offenders from suffering serious injury or worse,” Mr Mills said.

“New Zealanders have been let down by ‘incoherent’ law, and Police action to protect the public against what the Solicitor-General described as ‘very disturbing activities’ has been jeopardised as a result,” Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

“It is encouraging that the Solicitor-General has backed the Police one hundred per cent in shutting down these activities. But the serious short-comings of the Terrorism Suppression Act mean that, unfortunately, the most compelling of the evidence he and Police have seen will probably never be made public,” Mr O’Connor said.

“That’s highly unfortunate because, in its absence, the sceptics and critics will take a degree of comfort from this ruling that they are not entitled to draw.”

“More importantly, it now seems that if Police were to stumble across a group organising to conduct political violence in future, they couldn’t take any action until the bombs are set. Most New Zealanders would agree that is crazy,” Mr O’Connor said.

The Solicitor-General’s ruling was based on his interpretation of the law, essentially being that an alleged offender has to be linked to a specific terrorist act that has been planned or carried out. Carrying out the training necessary to execute such attacks, even if the intention to mount such attacks can be proven, is not enough.

“Police had legal advice prior to going down this track. Clearly the Solicitor-General’s interpretation differs from that advice. Given the seriousness of the activities concerned and the alleged threat, perhaps he could have erred on the side of public safety, and allowed the Courts to settle any dispute that might have arisen,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Instead, the Terrorism Suppression Act will now languish on our statute books as ‘incoherent’ law, and New Zealanders will continue to be at risk from the sorts of activities it was intended to prevent, until Parliament fixes it. Unfortunately, the diversionary ‘Police vs Maori’ nonsense that has been whipped up over the last few weeks means there is unlikely to be any political appetite to do so,” Mr O’Connor said.

The Police Association has welcomed publication of a UMR Research survey which shows just 13% of New Zealanders think police over-reacted and acted inappropriately in making arrests on alleged firearms and related offences, Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

“The survey confirms that average New Zealanders have seen the one-sided, inflammatory commentary run in the media over the last three weeks for what it is: the same old activists, beating the same tired old anti-police drum, with no regard whatsoever for the facts or evidence,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Amongst Maori, a higher proportion thinks Police have over-reacted. Given the relentless efforts of some irresponsible commentators to falsely portray this as a Police vs. Maori operation, that, regrettably, is hardly surprising.”

“But overall, there is a strong thread in the survey results of a ‘let’s wait and see’ attitude. That’s the fairest response anyone can make. As in any criminal matter, court cases will have to be made out, the evidence will be presented at the appropriate time, and judgments will be made on it.”

“Until that process is allowed to run its course, those whipping up controversy and division through ignorant and plain wrong comments would do well to take a lead from the common sense being shown by their average fellow citizen,” Mr O’Connor said.

The Police Association’s 72nd Annual Conference today re-elected incumbent Greg O’Connor as President for a further 3-year term.

In a contested election, Mr O’Connor received the unanimous support of delegates to the conference in Wellington to secure a record 6th term as President.

“I am first and fore-most a cop, as a serving police officer with 31 years’ service. However, I believe that, as Police Association President, I can contribute more to look after the interests of members, and the interests of policing in New Zealand,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Conference today has given a strong endorsement of the Association’s performance over recent years, and a powerful mandate going forward,” Mr O’Connor said. 

“This operation has been triggered by credible intelligence of a serious threat to New Zealand’s safety and security, and the Police Association fully supports the actions taken by police yesterday.”

“This should serve as an alarming reminder that all international trends in criminal activity and tactics eventually make their way to our shores. We need to realise there are fringe elements in our society, as in all others, that draw inspiration and encouragement from extremist activities overseas that most of us would find horrifying,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The majority of such people are probably little more than fantasists who won’t do more than it takes to get themselves on the front page of the paper. But the frightening reality is that it only takes a handful of dangerous extremists hidden amongst them to create real chaos and carnage,” Mr O’Connor said.

“There are a significant number of New Zealanders, safe and secure in their leafy suburbs, who frequently have difficulty seeing past the rims of their latte bowls. They will be crying outrage today about heavy-handed police tactics,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Would they rather police wait until after the event before acting? These are the same people who denied there was a methamphetamine problem until their own children were sucked into the dangerous, violent world of organised criminal drug dealing. New Zealanders should be backing Police for having taken decisive action to shut down this threat before it got out of hand,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Concern that jury selection is in some cases having more bearing on the outcome than the evidence shows that jury system reforms can’t come soon enough,” Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

Counties-Manukau Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Pizzini drew attention, via Police Association magazine Police News,to a recent case where defence lawyers issued a total of 46 peremptory challenges to prevent people taking a place on the jury. Peremptory challenges allow lawyers to object to potential jurors, for example if they believe they would be unsympathetic to their clients, without having to give a reason for the objection. Such challenges have been eliminated from the justice system in the United Kingdom.

In the recent case, the defendants were acquitted despite the evidence and members of the jury were then seen to ‘high-five’ and hug the defendants and members of their families.

“Issues with the jury system have been acknowledged by Government. The Criminal Procedure Bill contains reforms both to cut the number of peremptory challenges available to defence lawyers from six down to four, and also to allow judge-alone trials in complex cases or where there is a risk of juror intimidation, for example in organised crime cases,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The independent review of reports on recruiting standards provides welcome vindication for Senior Sergeant Saunders,” Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

“Professor Hattie’s examination of the papers prepared by Senior Sergeant Saunders and Mr Annan show clearly that Senior Sergeant Saunders’ study of this issue was undertaken professionally and in good faith.  Both his professionalism and his concerns have been vindicated by Professor Hattie’s report and recommendations.”

“Clearly the pressure that has been placed on Senior Sergeant Saunders, personally and professionally, has been totally unjustified,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The Police Association has been supporting Senior Sergeant Saunders through this independent review and will continue to do so.”

 “Professor Hattie confirms that minimum recruit entry criteria on reasoning tests have declined, and that more tutorial assistance has been required, but finds no clear reason for this decline.  As Professor Hattie states [Appendix 1, page 9], ‘What is in dispute is not whether there was a decline in the performance in this first test, but the possible causes.’”

“But in terms of recruits graduating from training, the report finds no evidence that overall performance of graduates has declined.  This tends to confirm the view of the Police Association and others – including Senior Sergeant Saunders – that New Zealanders can have confidence that the vast majority of new police officers graduating from the College are every bit as capable as their predecessors.”

“Concerns have only ever been about the marginal candidates.  Professor Hattie confirms that is where the focus should lie, recommending [page 26] ‘there should be tightening of the Guidelines for making decisions about marginal candidates and when and how re-sitting is permitted.’  That is clearly an area where Police still have some work to do,” Mr O’Connor said.

"The decision of fringe publication ‘The Truth’ to publish the name and photograph of an officer it claims was involved in last week’s shooting in Christchurch is irresponsible and deeply disappointing", Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"Naming of officers involved in such incidents, especially while investigations are still underway, serves no good purpose whatsoever. The only outcome is the unnecessary victimisation of the officer and their family," Mr O’Connor said.

"Officers who have been forced to shoot offenders in the line of their duty to the public already suffer the trauma and stress of the incident, lengthy investigations, and often ill-informed public comment. We know from past experience that identification of officers will achieve nothing except compounding the adverse effects on the officer, their family and their career."

Mr O’Connor thanked mainstream media for declining to publish names in this case.

"Mainstream media have behaved responsibly and in accordance with undertakings made following the Waitara shooting. Police officers appreciate the fairness to them shown by respectable media outlets, and I urge them not to be swayed from their stance by the deeply disappointing decision of one fringe publication," Mr O’Connor said.

"This is the situation every police officer dreads. It’s a possibility police face every time they go on shift. Even so, nobody goes to work expecting to be placed in a position where they are forced to shoot somebody," Mr O’Connor said.

"Inevitably, armchair critics will speculate and make judgments about what ‘could’ or ‘should’ have been done. But the officer involved was the person who was there, facing the situation, who had the training, and who was faced with the responsibility of actually making a decision," said Mr O’Connor.

"It’s a hell of a decision to have to make. I know that officer will be feeling absolutely shattered by that experience."

"The Police Association is standing by that officer and offering all the support we can."

"As with all such incidents, this shooting will now be the subject of extensive investigation by Police, by the PCA, and by the coroner. Yes, those investigations will take time. But until they are complete, none of us is in a position to criticise the judgment call, that the officer involved, was forced to make," Mr O’Connor said.

"Cabinet’s decision to establish an Organised Crime Agency, will force strategic focus where there has been a leadership vacuum in the past," Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

"The Police Association has been calling for Police to deliver strategic nationwide leadership on organised crime for several years now. We are very pleased that Cabinet has now made the same call," Mr O’Connor said.

"We are playing catch-up with the gangs, but an Organised Crime Agency working within Police has the potential to start to turn that around."

"We do however need to be cautious about following the UK SOCA model too closely. The UK has 52 distinct territorial police forces. They need a separate, dedicated agency to give them coordinated national reach on such an important issue."

"New Zealand has one police force. We already have the nationwide law enforcement command structure and presence that the UK is trying to invent. We have to be very careful that we don’t lose the advantages we have by chiselling organised crime policing off from the broader organisation."

"For organised crime policing to work best, it needs both strategic national leadership, and also integration into everyday frontline policing. That’s where the intelligence and leads are generated, and that’s where the surveillance occurs."

"It is also critically important that the new commitment to strategic focus be matched with sufficient resources to deliver results," Mr O’Connor said.

"Failure to resource police properly to do the job would just lead to public, political and police frustration, as we are forced to sit on the sidelines watching the gangs continue to get stronger and stronger."

"Success will be measured not only by us knocking the top off the pyramid at a national level, but also being able to get in and shut down the local chapters of organised crime."

Commenting on the decision to bring the work of the Serious Fraud Office back under the Police umbrella, Mr O’Connor said the move was a natural evolution.

"The Serious Fraud Office was a response to the public and political concerns about large-scale corporate fraud that existed at the time it was created. Times have changed."

"Serious fraud is now seen in a much broader context. It’s no longer just about ‘Wall Street’, it’s about international money laundering and terrorist financing. There is now recognition worldwide that fragmenting crime-fighting efforts and spreading resources across separate agencies does not make sense, whether for policing organised crime or fraud," Mr O’Connor said.

“Trial Taser units should remain available for frontline use where they are currently issued,” Police Association Vice-President Stuart Mills said today.

The Taser trial in four police districts (Waitemata, Counties-Manukau, Auckland City and Wellington) will end with the withdrawal of units on August 31.

“The Taser trial has been an outstanding success. It has prevented likely serious injury and possibly death on several occasions. No incidents have been reported that give any grounds for believing that fears expressed in some quarters about inappropriate use of the device are well founded,” Mr Mills said.

“We are absolutely confident the formal evaluation will come to the same conclusion before a decision is made to roll out the device nationwide. But it would be very risky to withdraw units where they are already issued and proving their value.”

“Tasers give Police an effective option for dealing with violent and aggressive offenders without the need to deploy lethal force. If a situation occurs after the withdrawal that results in serious injury or death of a member of the public or a police officer, it will be very, very hard to justify the withdrawal to the victim’s family,” Mr Mills said.

"It is drivers who refuse to stop for police, not police officers, who are to blame for members of the public becoming innocent victims of those offenders’ selfish and irresponsible actions," Police Association Vice President Stuart Mills said today

"Offenders who are the subject of police pursuits, often pose a danger to the public long before a pursuit begins. For example, drunk and dangerous drivers, or serious offenders fleeing from scenes of crime. And as soon as any driver makes the decision to refuse to stop, they choose to put themselves ahead of public safety," said Mr Mills.

"Police pursuit policies are a careful balancing act between the need to apprehend offenders who are placing the public at risk through their actions, and the potential for the risk to be heightened by offenders who respond by driving even more dangerously, with even less regard for public safety."

Mr Mills said, "We believe existing policies are appropriate. Police do not enter into pursuits lightly. But if the PCA’s review serves to improve public confidence in those policies, it may be useful in that regard.

"It’s a fact that the biggest deterrent to any sort of offending is not the penalty, but the certain knowledge that you will be caught. Offenders who know that police will catch them, have no incentive to put themselves and others at risk by running."

"We must be very careful not to shift the blame off the offenders, or give offenders comfort that by fleeing, police will not pursue and they will evade responsibility for their actions. That would just encourage irresponsible driving and lead to further tragedies. That must not be the outcome of this review," Mr Mills said.

Mr Chris Cahill has been elected to one of the two Vice-President positions of the NZ Police Association today.

Mr Cahill is currently a Detective Sergeant in Auckland. He has served as a Police Officer for over 21 years during which time he has also worked in CIB and uniform branches and in provincial centers, both in the South and North Island as well as small rural stations.

Involved in the Police Association for over 16 years and before his move to Auckland this year, Mr Cahill was based in Napier where he held the position of NZ Police Association Regional Director for Central Districts.

He takes up one of the two Vice-President positions, which Mr Richard Middleton has recently retired from.

"The NZ Police Association welcomes the Solicitor General's decision to retry David Bain and advocates a televised trial," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

"A retrial is absolutely necessary, said Mr O'Connor. "In fact so much of the case has been played out in the court of public opinion, influenced by sound bites and headlines, we believe there is a strong case for the trial to be televised. That way the public will have the opportunity to hear all the evidence in full, instead of select slices."

Mr O'Connor said, "We urge New Zealander's to take the time to examine all the evidence so they can see the whole picture for themselves, not just the selective pieces published in the media."

"The NZ Police Association believe that Police have taken an unnecessarily cautious and conservative approach in their guidelines for the Crimes (substituted Section 59) Amendment Act which means Police will have less discretion, especially where someone uses force in anyway for correction or punishment, " Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

"The guidelines as promulgated by Police are very conservative and means there is a lot less room for discretion than what our frontline members believed existed and was intended by those promoting the amendment to the Bill."

Mr O'Connor said, "This was not well drafted legislation. Too much of it remains undefined such as "who is a child" and "who is a person acting in place of a parent" - could it be a babysitter for example?"

"One of the problems all the way through the development of this legislation is that there has not been enough consultation with Senior Sergeants and Sergeants who will have to deal with this legislation on a daily basis."

"This legislation has been so polarised and politicised that people on both sides of the argument are likely to make complaints. We expect, however that guidelines are just that and they will be changed in practice as problems arise," said Mr O'Connor.

"The NZ Police Association, speaking on behalf of Police Officers investigating the circumstances around the death of Mrs Muliaga are bemused and annoyed by the criticisms levelled at them by the Muliaga family's lawyer and the spokesperson for the family," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

"The Police Officers have endeavoured to be as sensitive as possible to the family given the serious nature of the case and have had Victim's Support and an interpreter available where required."

Mr O'Connor said, "Police must always ascertain the facts of every case they investigate, to balance the political rhetoric which may take place subsequent to the event - and that's just what the officer's have done here."

"It is crucial to speak with primary witnesses in each case while the event is still fresh in their mind and this is obviously why members of the Muliaga family had to be spoken to promptly and in depth."

"The Police Association asks that those making criticisms of Police behaviour, respect the fact that Police have a job to do. Failure to do their job in a thorough and professional manner would result in Police not having a complete picture of what really occurred and this is absolutely critical," said Mr O'Connor.

"To criticise the Police taser trial, shows a complete lack of understanding that NZ Police are actually an unarmed Police," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

He was commenting on the Amnesty International's report criticising the Police taser trial.

"Having the option of using a taser is a less than lethal alternative to carrying and using a firearm as Police in other countries do." 

"Police Officers around NZ are incensed at the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the appeal of a man convicted of disorderly behaviour for harassing a Police Officer," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

"The man had gone to the off-duty constables home, woken her as she had been on night-shift, and sang and chanted outside her home."

Mr O'Connor said, "The courts must protect police officers from the behaviour of people like Mr Booker. Police Officers are wondering how Supreme Court Judges would react to similar behaviour outside their own homes."

"This is now an invitation for criminals around the country to harass officers at home, secure in the knowledge their behaviour will be sanctioned by the senior judiciary in this country."

"This decision defies common sense and leaves police officers vulnerable to this sort of harassment," said Mr O'Connor.

"Police Officers feared that the repeal of Section 59 would leave them with no ability to use discretion when a smacking complaint was received," Police Association President Greg O'Connor said today.

"The Police Association had previously expressed concern that under current Police policy, an admission by a parent or a complaint by a witness that a child had been smacked, however slightly, would leave police with no choice but to prosecute."

Mr O'Connor said, "The last minute amendment to Section 59 ensures an important element of policing in New Zealand is retained – the ability to use discretion."

"Prescription policing which leaves officers with no ability to take into account the unique circumstances of every case is not good for Police or the public they protect."

"The inclusion of the new clause 4 into Section 59 of the Crimes Act ensuring discretion, upholds an important aspect of policing"

"Parliament is to be congratulated on coming to this sensible position," said Mr O'Connor.

The publication of the Commission Of Inquiry Report is extremely timely and should reassure New Zealanders that, while some individuals have indulged in inappropriate and illegal behaviour in the past, the NZ Police of today is focused on ensuring exemplary standards of behaviour are maintained,” Police Association President Greg O’Connor said today.

 “New Zealanders have understandably become concerned about their police following recent negative publicity and court cases,” said Mr O’Connor. “I urge New Zealanders to read the report and understand how thoroughly Dame Bazley and her team examined past and current police practice in preparing their report,” Mr O’Connor said.

 “Reading the report will help reassure people that errant behaviour by police officers is vigorously investigated and strictly dealt with.”

 “Dame Margaret Bazley’s report, while expressing concerns about the adequacy of some internal processes, is generally positive about how police deal with complaints of sexual offending against police officers and their associates.” Mr O’Connor said. “It will also reassure New Zealanders that in today’s culture sexual offending or misconduct is not tolerated or ignored.”

 “Some improvements are recommended. The Association fully supports the need for a Code of Conduct and we have been working with police on formulating such a code.”  Mr O’Connor said.

 “The unique nature of policing does need to be carefully considered when implementing changes, especially the situation where the Commissioner of Police is in the unique position of being the employer and the prosecutor.”

 Mr O’Connor said, “The Police Association has no interest in protecting police officers who commit criminal offences or indulge in inappropriate behaviour, however Officers deserve the right to have the veracity of any allegations made against them tested, before being acted upon.  The principles of natural justice should apply to Police Officers too.”

 Finally Mr O’Connor said, “It is important that the police now get on with the job of making New Zealand and New Zealanders safer.  The distractions which have occurred over the last few years can only benefit criminals.”

“The Police Association will be supporting Officer Erwood who is facing drink driving charges after responding to a fatal accident in Mokau, State Highway 3 on July 9. This support includes legal representation,” NZ Police Association President, Mr O’Connor said today.

Mr O’Connor said, “Let’s be absolutely clear, the Police Association in no way condones drinking and driving, however we feel that this is a unique set of circumstances. The fact that Officer Erwood was a sole-charge officer in a remote location, far from support and holding vital, life-saving, rescue equipment are mitigating factors.”

“We will be actively advocating that the officer retains his position as a Police Officer,” Mr O’Connor said.

“The Police Association also fully supports the officer who breath-tested Officer Erwood.”

"Police Officers are uncomfortable with the reduction in recruiting standards announced by Police today," NZ Police Association President, Mr O'Connor said today.

"However the changes are dressed-up or rationalised, police officers know that they are being introduced to try to overcome the recruiting shortfalls, in lieu of an adequate pay rise."

The public of New Zealand agree.

A June 2006 survey conducted by UMR Research, asked New Zealanders whether, overall, did they think it was better to relax the recruitment standards to increase the number of people eligible to join the Police, or to increase the pay of police officers. 59% thought it better to pay police officers more, while only 28% thought relaxing recruitment standards better and 13% were unsure. (UMR survey results.)

"Our role and goal as an Association, is to get the right number, of the right people into Police and most importantly, retain them. Paying decent salaries not reducing recruiting standards, is the key to this," Mr O'Connor said. 

“The Police Association has been emphasising for some time that more frontline and investigative officers are needed to reverse increasing crime rates, in particular violent crime”, Police Association Vice-President Richard Middleton said today. “We welcome the confirmation of increased spending in the budget this year, and for the following two years, to fund the promised 1000 new sworn police officers and 250 supporting non-sworn members of Police.”

 “The Labour and New Zealand First parties are to be congratulated on firstly agreeing to and then implementing the boost to police numbers,” Mr Middleton said. “It is crucial that the great majority of these staff are directed to the frontline of policing where the needs are greatest.” 

The Police Association is confident that New Zealand Police can find the extra 1000 new police. Mr Middleton pointed out,  “The best recruiters are existing police officers. If they feel well paid, well resourced and appreciated for the work they do, they will attract and recruit good people into Police.”

The Police Association welcomes the appointment of Howard Broad to the job of Commissioner of Police” President Greg O’Connor said today.

“The NZ Police has been under considerable pressure in recent years and two new faces at the head of the organisation, the second being Deputy Commissioner Rob Pope, will bring a new look to the top of the organisation”.

 “Both men have worked their way up through the ranks and have a good understanding of how the organisation works” Mr O’Connor said.

 “The last Police Administration were heavily focused on building up back room and administrative capacity and the new Commissioner and his team now have the opportunity to build on that and focus on frontline policing”.