A police investigation – Part One
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- Date published:
7:00 am, April 12th, 2015 - 84 comments
Categories: john key, Judith Collins, law and "order", national, police -
Tags: police
The “comms team” over at the New Zealand police has penned a typical “Dirty Politics” response to a recent New Zealand Herald article by Bryce Edwards. Complete with gratuitous ad homs, dodgy facts, and an emotional quote from a [I suspect] non-existent police officer to back-up Commissioner Mike Bush’s plaintive whine, the response falls back on statistics showing that public trust in the police – although falling – still remains high.
Edwards’ article takes the police to task for recent failings and mentions a few hoary chestnuts going back decades. There’s nothing particularly wrong with Edwards’ article except that it ignores how National Ltd™ Police Ministers have sat by and done nothing in response to the on-going police failings. Edwards prefers to lay blame with the police themselves. However, first with Judith Collins, then Anne Tolley, and now Michael Woodhouse, overall responsibility for the functioning of the police has been dodged. The culture of FAIL which has now infested the police from the top down has been, National Ltd™ would have us believe, is just a series of “operational issues” about which it can do nothing.
Well, to start this series off, lets take a wee look at a partial list of the various “operational issues” which have plagued the police since John Key finagled power back in 2008 . . .
05/12/08 – Wellington police officer Jason Manu Casson is discharged without conviction for stealing $90.
11/12/08 – Another police chase, another crash.
16/12/08 – Palmerston North police officer Timothy Hesketh, 27, who lied during investigations and showed no remorse was found guilty of breaking a prisoner’s neck yet escapes a jail sentence.
09/02/09 – A police recruit escapes assault charges and is permitted to graduate with any sanction or note on his personal file. He first posting was South Auckland.
11/02/09 – Lower Hutt police leave confidential documents behind after executing a search warrant putting witnesses at risk of gang violence and then fail to own up at a subsequent IPCA enquiry. The inquiry noted: “The conflicting accounts given by the two officers, and the facts that no officer has taken responsibility for the loss of the Operation Order and that the Police investigator has not been able to identify that officer, are undesirable. Whilst there is no evidence of criminal conduct in relation to the loss of the order, its loss does amount to misconduct.” The Mongrel Mob say they know who left the report behind but were never interviewed.
17/03/09 – The IPCA criticises police for their continuing failure to develop procedures for the prompt drug and alcohol testing of officers involved in serious incidents.
27/03/09 – A Christchurch officer broke a number of police protocols in the lead up to the fatal shooting of Stephen Bellingham. The IPCA finds that the unnamed officer: did not tell his communications controller he was going to the scene, nor did he advise them he was armed, failed to brief two other officers who were on their way to the scene so that he could tackle Bellingham with support, and, crucially, a dog patrol unit, which would have been a huge asset to the effort to contain Bellingham, was diverted to another crime.
30/03/09 – Nelson police officer Anthony Dale Bridgman is convicted of two counts of dangerous driving after he pulled out in front of two motorcyclists, seriously injuring both.
24/03/09 – Another police chase, another crash.
19/05/09 – Head of the Police Prosecution Service Superintendent Graham Thomas steps down after it is revealed that he refused to undergo a breath test.
29/05/09 IPCA states that Auckland Police officer Constable Aaron Holmes was breaking the law and ignoring official policy when he seriously injured innocent teenage Farhat Buksh.
20/06/09 – An unnamed police officer is reprimanded for writing out the employment details of a driver on a speeding ticket as “kitchen bitch”.
25/07/09 – Northland police run down two pedestrians, killing one and injuring another.
15/08/09 – An Auckland constable is suspended after it was alledged that he leaked sensitive information to help a known criminal to avoid arrest. The unnamed officer was in a squad which targets “volume crime”, in particular burglaries, and had access to the police intelligence database.
05/08/09 – Hamilton police tell a disabled man they are too busy to investigate the alleged theft of $1600.
07/09/09 – Senior Instructor at the Porirua Police College, Detective Sergeant John Gualter, is convicted for drunk driving after being found to have an alcohol reading at more than twice the legal limit.
09/09/09 – A Wellington man has his neck broken by a police baton while a party is being shut down.
19/09/09 – Auckland police officer Constable Matt Hooper is charged with perverting the course of justice after attempting to make use of a legal loop hole to avoid drunk driving charges.
26/09/09 – National Head of Police Professional Standards, Superintendent Jon Moss resigns after news of an affair he had with a junior colleague comes to light. Moss helped introduce the new “professional distance policy” last year which covers sexual conduct for officers with the public, victims of crime and work colleagues.
28/09/09 – Masterton detective Sue Mackle goes public on the fact that police are failing to investigate hundreds of sexual abuse complaints in favour of focussing on property crimes because doing so makes the statistics look better.
04/10/09 Revelations that a senior police was a paedophile and interfered with investigations into the activities of Bert Potter and the Centrepoint commune come to light.
09/10/09 – Dunedin police fail to follow procedure and a prisoner is found dead in the cells when they finally get around to checking.
09/10/09 – Nelson police officer Senior Constable Garry Dunn is sent to trial for assault after a two day depositions hearing was told he rammed a cyclist with his car and then pepper sprayed the man for not wearing a safety helmet.
04/11/09 – Whakatane police prosecutor Adrian Hilterman was sentenced in Tauranga District Court today to 150 hours community work for assaulting his wife. He was convicted and discharged on three charges of assaulting his children. In the same court last month, he was found guilty of assaulting Deborah Hilterman, 37-years-old, by kicking her around the groin area between June 1 and June 29 last year at Whakatane. He was also found guilty of assaulting her in a car travelling from Auckland to Whakatane on June 30, 2007. He was discharged on 10 other charges of assaulting his wife, a Whakatane general practitioner.
09/11/09 – Figures released under the Official Information Act show that half of all police officers charged with drunk driving are convicted.
16/11/09 – Auckland police officers Patrick Garty, 32, and Wiremu Bowers-Rakatau, 21, charged with assault.
21/11/09 – 51 police officers were disciplined in the year to date for a variety of things including turning up to work drunk, unlawfully using their police ID, assault, speeding, using excessive force, and inappropriate behaviour on duty.
08/12/09 – Former constables Reuben James Harris and Benson Lyle Murphy are accused of making false statements in regard to the prosecution of a third officer who was charged with manslaughter. Harris and Murphy had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring to defeat the course of justice. Their jail sentence was subsequenrly quashed by a judge who refused to explain why.
17/12/09 – Christchurch police officer Nathan Thorose Connolly is sent to jail for inducing sexual connection from the sex worker by means of a threat.
19/12/09 – Another police chase, another crash.
23/12/09 – The IPCA announces a nation wide investigation into how police are dealing with child abuse complaints, following on from revalations made public in November.
05/01/10 – Police are filmed carrying out illegal road stops and searches.
12/01/10 – Taranaki police are criticised by the IPCA for not preventing a drunk driver going on to kill three people when Hawera officers could have taken steps to immobilise the driver’s vehicle when they found it parked up outside a pub after a chase.
19/01/10 – Two unnamed police officers fail in their duties resulting in the otherwise avoidable death of a Hamilton woman.
22/01/10 – Rotorua District Court convicts an ex police officer for possession of child porn.
23/01/10 – Two Papakura detectives charged with indecent exposure and offensive behaviour after a drunken escapade.
31/01/10 Unnamed police officers are filmed putting the public at risk with a crazy display of dangerous driving at a school fair
14/02/10 – Auckland High Court takes two minutes to throw out a murder charge brought by police who had used huge amounts of resources and dodgy investigation techniques to manufacture the arrest and 16-month incarcertation of an innocent man.
16/02/10 – Christchurch police are slammed in a report for failing to adhere to policy during a chase which left an innocent bystander in hospital with horrific head injuries.
20/02/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
21/02/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
26/02/10 – Innocent Auckland man, 62 year old Brett Abraham is admitted to hospital for weeks of treatment after being savaged by a police dog. The police dog handler left Mr Abraham alone, bleeding and crawling up the driveway to his home.
28/02/10 – Christchurch police, despite a complaint of theft, failed to arrest a man who, the next day, committed murder. Police said at the time they were too busy to handle the theft complaint. Area police commander, Dave Cliff, refused to discuss the matter.
01/03/10 – Union’s criticise a double-jeopardy situation produced by police circumventing privacy legislation in grubby deals with employers to ensure drink drivers are dealt to at work as well as in Court.
01/03/10 – 1300 Police officers fail their fitness test.
01/03/10 – Auckland police go to great lengths to keep the identity of the officer who shot to death innocent man Halatau Naitoko secret. His lawyers had earlier sought to deny justice by seeking to have the shooter exluded from attending the hearing at all.
13/01/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
02/02/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
03/03/10 – Dunedin police reveal that they failed to follow up a possible sighting of missing British girl Madeline McCann after a local security guard’s approach to police was disregarded.
04/03/10 – A man helping police is bitten by a police dog.
05/03/10 – Invercargill District Court throws out an assault charge brought against a bus driver by local police after the driver was arrested for allegedly “assaulting” a child by stopping the child from assaulting another child on the bus.
07/03/10 – Detective Sergeant Lloyd Schmid is investigated for encouraging a junoir staff member to have sex with an informant in order to gain additional information.
14/03/10 – An unnamed senior police officer is accused of abusing his powers after a friend of his is held up at a check point when on the way to a sports match.
18/03/10 – Police management refuse to name two officers being investigated for fraud.
19/03/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
27/03/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
27/03/10 – Another police chase, another crash. Two in one day.
31/03/10 – Senior police deny systemic faults played a part in the fact that Senior Constable Len Snee broken a number of rules in the lead up to him being shot by Napier gunman Jan Molenaar.
1/04/10 – A police officer who works in a serious crash unit is under investigation for alleged drink-driving after he was reported for backing into a parked car.
1/04/10 – Karl Walter Vincent, a North Otago police officer loses name supression in a case involving accusations of indecent assault.
4/04/10 – Independent Police Complaints Authority Investigator Larry Reid describes a man who had his neck broken while in police custody as a “complete arsehole”.
04/04/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
18/04/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
24/04/10 – Queenstown Police Sergeant Ian Collin, who prosecutes in the Queenstown and Alexandra district courts, was issued with an infringement notice and an instant 28-day suspension after being caught driving a police car at 149 kph.
30/04/10 – Significant faults in the “Kahui Twins” police invesitgation are identified and which hampered both the defence and the prosecution teams.
04/05/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
08/05/10 A three-year-old boy was mauled by a police dog at a kindergarten visit that was meant to teach the children about dog safety.
14/05/10 – Police are found to have failed in their duty to protect after delaying the arrival of emergency medical staff to the scene of Navtej Singh’s fatal shooting.
18/05/10 – A senior Wellington police officer receives name supression when appearing in court on assualt charges.
21/05/10 A senior under cover police officer admits interfering with and removing objects from a murder scene. No disciplinary action follows.
21/05/10 – An man helping police is bitten by a police dog.
30/05/10 – A police officer’s vile on-line diary is investigated in the hope of identifying the officer concerned. All posts from the gpforums are deleted shortly thereafter.
31/05/10 – An official information request shows that five police officers have been charged with drink driving over the previous 12 months, including a senior constable in the serious crash unit.
05/06/10 – Constables Brenton David Rooney and Duncan Roy Hollebon are found guilty of assault after kicking a suspect already in custody.
12/06/10 – Sergeant Jason Lamont gets to keep his job after being let off a drunk drive charge where he had been found to be one and a half times over the limit.
20/06/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
23/06/10 Police are accused of improperly obtaining DNA samples from Maori.
25/06/10 – Constables Patrick Garty and Wiremu Bowers Rakatau are convicted of assault.
02/07/10 – Ex-Superintendent Jon Moss, the former head of “professional standards” faces new accusations of criminal behaviour.
04/07/10 – Senior police deny a culture of violence exists in the force following the standing down of a fourth officer from one Auckland district for assault allegations.
07/07/10 – Harsher laws for offences against police introduced but no requirement for harsher sentencing for police officers committing offences considered.
10/07/10 – Police apologise after telling a woman she would have to wait two days for a follow-up to the burgalry of her house.
10/07/10 – Two unnamed police officers to face charges for driving offences after crashing their police vehicles.
10/07/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
29/07/10 – Armed police unnecessarily smash windows and fire ten tear gas cannisters into a house while searching for a suspect.
29/07/10 – Gisborne police supress information in an effort to make the community feel safer.
03/08/10 – a Mongrel Mob member and two associates walk free after a judge rules police acted unlawfully.
06/08/10 – Police officers Keith Parsons, Erle Busby, John Mills, and Bruce Laing escape criminal conviction but are found to have used excessive force against a prisoner being held in Whakatane cells. The victim of the police violence subsequently received compensation.
06/08/10 – Disbelief as the man responsible for tormenting Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui , former SIS director Richard Woods, is appointed to the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) for to years.
08/08/10 – Seedy details of a police officer’s secret life start to come to light after he is stabbed to death.
20/08/10 – <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-police/news/article.cfm?o_id=131&objectid=10667461> And unnamed police officer is stood down after being charged with multiple accounts of indecent assualt.
24/08/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
25/08/10 – Police get special treatment in liquor licensing law changes.
25/08/10 – Detective Inspector Dave Archibald who had been caught illegally accessing the police computer system to help the defence of convicted pack rapist Brad Shipton gets a promotion.
26/08/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
04/09/10 – <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz-police/news/article.cfm?o_id=131&objectid=10671040> Coroner David Crerar finds that having an extra officer involved in a search of Jan Molenaar’s Napier home would have prevented the death of police officer Len Snee.
17/09/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
19/09/10 – Armed police terrorise a couple for hours after raiding a house looking for a suspect who had moved out months ago, a simple fact police could easily have verified. An apology is given and $2000 spent on repairing damage caused by police in the raid.
22/09/10 – Auckland police sergeant Martin James Folan is name as the officer charged with assaulting five prisoners over a three month period.
01/09/10 – Police accused by lawyer of silencing dissent by arresting those who’s political views they disagreed with.
23/09/10 – Oamaru police constable Karl Walter Vincent is found guilty of multiple counts of indecent assault.
25/09/10 – Increasing concern expressed at rising number of fatalities due to police pursuit tactics.
25/09/10 – Police pursuits for traffic offences result in 11 deaths in the nine months to September 2010.
28/09/10 – Former Otago police officer Neil Ford is jailed for perjury.
28/09/10 – Superintendent Bob Burns says that other officers were involved in covering up perjury and the wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice which is why it took five years to bring charges against only two officers.
08/10/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
10/10/10 – Evidence given by two police officers is thrown out and the officers concerned are under investigation for failing to disclose information to a defence lawyer which would almost certainly have led to a not guilty finding.
11/11/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
16/10/10 Veteran barrister Barry Hart details some of the history of a criminal culture within the New Zealand police force which goes back at least until the 1970s.
19/10/10 – More evidence of endemic corruption in the New Zealand obfuscated.
23/10/10 Superintendent Gary Smith gets promoted to a plum job despite a secret police report which states he acted unlawfully and totally mismanaged a complaint about the unlawful arrest of a justice of the peace. No charges have been laid.
23/10/10 It is discovered that the Independent Police Conduct Authority has decided that a report which highlights illegal actions by police does not need to be published because it “is not in the public interest.
27/10/10 – All Black coach Graham Henry gets let off a fine after being snapped travelling at over 30kmh above the speed limit.
28/10/10 – Complaints of of “widespread police involvement” in local body electioneering in Manurewa and Papakura are being investigated by the police and the Independent Police Conduct Authority. The Authority never bothers to report back about this investigation.
14/11/10 – The mother of a 12-year-old beaten by bullies is turned away from Christchurch Police station when she went to make a complaint because there were no officers on duty to deal with the matter.
18/11/10 – Former police officer Dairne Olwen Cassidy gets home detention after being found guilty of wilfully attempting to pervert the course of jusitice.
18/11/10 – Former police officer Anthony Dale Bridgman already notorious for another incident involving his dangerous driving of a police vehicle, is back in court again.
30/10/10 – It is revealed that former Bay of Plenty district commander Gary Smith who was appointed to a senior role had previously been accused of sexual harrassment and a secret settlement of $20,000 paid out.
04/12/10 – Another police chase, another crash.
17/12/10 – Police are found to have failed to comply with rules regarding pursuits in case where the fleeing driver was seriously injured.
17/12/10 Most crime in New Zealand goes unreported, a survey finds. Of those quizzed, 24 percent said they felt the police would not or could not be able to deal with the situation.
20/12/10 – West Auckland police constables Alan Michael Douglas and Gareth John Needham are found guilty of assault. This is not the last the courts will hear of this pair.
01/01/11 Bay of Plenty police refuse to reveal how many people were arrested during New Year celebrations.
03/01/11 – Superintendent Ted Cox lies to a fellow officer after being pulled over for speeding on the Auckland southern motorway
05/01/11 – Another police chase, another crash.
07/01/11 Another “hurry up” issued to the police in regard to the culture change required as per the 2008 Bazley inquiry into police sexual misconduct.
20/01/11 Another “hurry up”, this time from the State Services Commission is issued to the police in regard to the 2008 Bazley inquiry into police sexual misconduct.
21/01/11 – Constable Raymond Dunbar is convicted of drunk driving.
29/01/11 – Police National manager of youth services Superintendent Bill Harrison is under investigation for using police letterhead to lie in an effort to get out of a parking ticket.
31/01/11 – Police are highlighted are persistent breakers of the do not drive while on the cell phone law.
04/02/11 – Senior Constable Terry Beatson is found to have accessed the police computer system 17 times in order to assist his wife in a custody case against he ex-husband. Beatson gets to keep his job.
18/02/11 – Detective Sergeant Mark McHattie is identified as having lied about a backlog of child abuse cases in the Wairarapa being cleared up.
20/03/11 – Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard failed to act for two months on allegations of criminal conduct by former police headquarters superintendent Jon Moss. An investigation was subsequently launched when the details were discovered.
24/02/11 – Police are ordered to make an apology after being found to have released personal information containing untested factual allegations concering Tony Veitch to the media
09/03/11 – Police are accused of assaulting a young autistic man who was then presented as the face of looting in Christchurch.
09/03/11 – North Shore police use a taser to stop a protester.
20/03/11 – Its revealed that Deputy Commissioner Viv Rickard did not act on allegations about a former colleague’s relationship with a senior civil servant which later led to a criminal investigation.
29/03/11 – Start of the trail of Sergeant Martin James Folan who is subsequently found not guilty of assalt but who’s actions remain under investigation by the IPCA authority – two years later and nothing to show for it.
16/04/11 – Police are under investigation for attempting to convince other officers not to testify against sergeant Martin Folan in an assault case.
17/04/11 – Court actions against the police and corrections department come up against both political and institutional obstacles in what is described as a “David vs Goliath Battle for justice”.
17/04/11 – Another police chase , another crash.
17/04/11 Another innocent man sent to jail by dodgy police work finally receives compensation while the original case remains open and the police officers involved show little remorse or even interest in solving the case.
06/05/11 – IPCA says rules were broken in police pursuit which ended in fatality but not action required or recommendations necessary.
08/05/11 – Detective Sergeant Peter Govers is named as the officer responsible for sending two innocent men to jail. Govers keeps his job, even after subsequently being labelled as “reprehensible” for pressuring a female informant into giving him a blow job.
09/05/11 – Constable Raymond John Dunbar loses appeal against his conviction for drunk driving.
17/05/11 – Police officer Matthew Blythe fails in his bid to overturn a conviction for punching a very drunk suspect in the head as the man was being handcuffed by other officers.
18/05/11 – Senior Constable Matthew Leslie Blythe loses an appeal in the Court of Appeal against a conviction for assault.
26/05/11 – Former Detective Inspector Mark Franklin is arrested and charged with drug dealing in Rarotonga.
31/05/11 – Nelson police arrest and charge a man for theft after he took pies out of a rubbish tin at the back of a petrol station. The owners of the petrol station had twice told police these did not want to press charges. The charges were withdrawn in court.
16/06/11 An unnamed police officer found guilty of assault after punching a prisoner escapes conviction after a judge agrees that such a conviction would have effects out of all proportion.
25/06/11 More evidence of historic and systematic police perjury surfaces.
20/06/11 – Contables Alan Michael Douglas and Gareth John Needham are found guilty of assault.
11/07/11 – Constable Jamie Anderson was driving on an unlit rural road and texting on his cellphone when he ran over a pedestrian. No problem says ICPA.
11/07/11 – Unhappy with coverage of the police beating of an autistic man Christchurch Central Police Area Commander Inspector Derek Erasmus announce an investigation into TVNZ’s Sunday programme.
18/07/11 – Another police chase, another crash.
27/07/11 – Former police officer Neil Robert Ford gets an early release after being sent to jail for perjury.
28/07/11 – Police employee Patrick Bruce Phipps is found guilty of charges of illegal possession of a Finnish Valmet semi-automatic rifle and a Czechoslovakian VZ58 fully automatic rifle.
02/08/11 – Superintendent Ted Cox finally pays a $120 speeding ticket after first going through $8,000 of police budget trying to get out of it.
13/08/11 – Senior Constable Michael Lenihan is fined $250 for careless use of a motor vehicle after doing a u-turn in front of motorcycle resulting in the death of the rider. Lenihan was acquited of dangerous driving causing death and dangerous driving causing injury
22/08/11 – Police finally find a good enough reason to drop charges against am autistic man they had beaten and held in custody for stealing two light bulbs before charging him with looting after the Christchurch earthquake.
24/08/11 – Hasting Senior Sergeant Luke Shadbolt says to the media about a missing girl “she is missing, but it’s not the story of the century. And if we had a major concern about the disappearance, we would have [issued] a media release about it”.
05/09/11 Police drop charges against Tiki Taane after he was arrested for expressing his opinion on what police describe was a “misunderstanding”.
25/08/11 – Detective Inspector Dave Archibald is promoted to a senior position despite his illegal searching of the police computer system for information to assist officers’ defence in a pack rape charge.
13/09/11 – Police blunders at Pike River Mine subject to questioning at inquiry. Assistant police commissioner Grant Nicholls does his best.
16/09/11 – Illegal actions of police in regard to Urewera detailed in a Supreme Court judgement that couldn’t previously be released.
18/09/11 – Another police chase, another crash.
20/09/11 – Police apologise for breach of privacy after faxing a confidential parenting order to media.
25/09/11 Police get a caning from the Supreme Court for knowingly breaking to law to illegal gain evidence. No charges are ever laid and the government changes to law to cover the officers concerned.
29/09/11 – New Zealand police officers are described as racist by visiting journalists here to cover the Rugby World Cup.
04/10/11 – Police Inspector Turepu Keenan is snapped texting on his cellphone.
09/10/11 – Another police chase, another crash.
19/10/11 – Accusations that police are lying about security threats in order to get their residential properties improved.
25/10/11 – Deputy Police Commissioner Rob Pope admits that he knew about the history of Superintendent Gary Smith who had previously been found to have acted illegally before he was later promoted to a plum police job.
30/10/11 – Superintendent Gary Smith appointed to the plum London job had previously been accused of sexually harassing a female police employee.
09/11/11 Police are accused for forcing an Indian woman suspected of being in the country illegally to sign documents.
17/11/11 – Police staff are among those arrested in a drug swoop.
17/11/11 – Former Nelson policeman Garry Dunn is found not guilty of two assaults but resigns from the police after having illegally accessed the police computer system to assist his defence in the case.
21/11/11 Dozens of police officers face criminal charges according to details released under an official information request. Very few such cases appear to merit media coverage, it would seem.
22/11/11 – Police officers are found to have broken pursuit rules in a fatal chase.
16/12/11 – Police officers use excessive force in the unjustified arrest of a Christchurch man. District Commander Gary Knowles says the police will not apologise.
22/01/12 Police officers arresting protesters at the Occupy event are filmed all wearing the same ID number in an orchestrated attempt to hide their identities and hamper the processing of any complaints about the actions of individual officers
09/02/12 Chinese tourist Naiju Li lays complaint against the police alleging brutality in their arrest of the 56 year old woman. She suffered a dislocated elbow and required stitches to her face.
02/02/12 – Police are filmed illegally closing a road to support the activities of a corporate
09/02/12 – Police commence an investigation after a 65 year old deaf, mute man dies while in police custody.
17/02/12 Police officer Karis Rewa Charnley makes her first appearance in court after being charged with lending her uniform to someone for use in the theft of a car. The charge Charnley was eventually dismissed after the judge described a “vacuum” in the evidence.
02/02/12 – Police employee Darren Ian Hodgetts admits to providing a drug ring with access to the police computer system.
03/03/12 – Police prosecutor Timothy John Russell Sarah pleads guilty to a representative charge of supplying methamphetamine, four specific charges of supplying the drug and one charge of dishonestly accessing the police computer – the National Intelligence Application.
30/03/12 – Constable David Mear is found not guilty of assault . . . hmmmm.
05/04/12 – Police officer Karis Charnley is charged with being a party to theft , being a party to impersonating a police officer and assault.
11/04/12 – An unnamed police officer appears in court allegedly involved in a collision with another car after doing a U-turn in front of it has appeared in court, charged with careless driving. But the officer is likely to avoid conviction after being offered diversion.
12/04/12 – A unnamed police officer was disciplined after giving false details to the Rotorua harbourmaster after being caught breaching a bylaw while riding a jetski on a lake.
18/04/12 – Various protesters at the Glenn Innes evictions of tenants in government housing claim the police used excessive force
15/04/12 – Detective Sergeant Rod Carpinter receives support after carrying out an illegal raid which was described by a judge as “consciously reckless”. Mr Carpinter was earlier criticised for his involvement in a drug bust in 2005 where his actions were also found to be “unreasonable and unlawful”.
20/04/12 Superintendent Bill Harrison, one of the country’s top policemen, was found guilty of serious misconduct after accusations he used police letterhead to dodge a $200 parking fine. Superintendent Bill Harrison retired on May 17 last year, before an independent investigation was completed so no disciplinary action was taken.
24/04/12 – Detective Senior Sergeant Mark McHattie who was at the centre of a major child-abuse cover-up has kept his job after a code-of-conduct investigation but police will not reveal the outcome of the long inquiry.
29/04/12 – A Northland man who received paralysing neck injuries while in police custody is in a “bad way” after surgery and is struggling to breathe on his own, his parents say.
03/05/12 – Constable David Mear returns to work after being found not guilty of using excessive force against a man who suffered a broken eye socket and cut to the head
16/05/12 – An unnamed police officer resigned late last year after being investigated for theft in the aftermath of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
04/06/12 – Police officer Gareth John Needham has lost his attempt to appeal his conviction for assault to the Supreme Court.
25/06/12 – Police officer Marcus Guy Andrew Molnar is convicted of theft after admitted stealing cash and soft drinks from a bar at the police station on four separate occasions
11/07/12 – National Crime Manager Detective Superintendent Rodney Drew defends the police force’s organised abuse of the court system by arranging the false arrest and court hearing of an undercover officer
11/07/12 – Inspector Paul Dimery resigns and, in a parting shot, tells the media that the New Zealand police force is compromising front-line safety because it is being run like a business
12/07/12 – Senior Constable Tony Andrews is found to have acted inappropriately due to a conflict of interest, and to have engaged incoercion and the breaching of privacy.
14/07/12 – Another police chase, another crash – three dead, police failed to follow policy.
28/07/12 – Another police chase, another crash
07/08/12 – Senior Sergeant Rod Carpinter and Constable John Grantham escape criminal charges after having “materially misled” the court about a a drugs raid.
14/08/12 – Police justifications for using anti-terrorist officers to raid Kim Dotcom’s home were partly based on claims the tycoon assaulted a former staff member with his stomach.
24/08/12 – A police officer is filmed driving like a bloody idiot tail gating traffic on the open highway
28/08/12 – New Zealand police have been praised by the White House for their role in the case against Kim Dotcom, but are keeping it secret.
29/08/12 – An unnamed police officer appeared in court charged with illegal hunting. The officer appeared in the Blenheim District Court after earlier denying a charge of hunting deer and goats on land at Blue Mountain near Ward on April 17 without the authority of the property owner.
17/09/12 – Senior Constable Sean Ramkissoon accuses senior police officers of conspiracy, corruption and dishonesty, and his employment grievance escalated to the Employment Court.
22/09/12 – Details of the police force’s idiocy, excessive use of force, general illegality, and perjury in relation to the Kim Dotcom affairs starts to become public.
25/09/12 – Police officer Jan Paul de Moor appears in court charged with assault
25/09/12 – Its revealed that Police Commissioner Peter Marshall signed the indemnity order which accepts potential liability if Kim Dotcom lays a claim for damages, it has been confirmed.
27/09/12 – The police are slated in the 2012 Ombudsman’s annual report to parliament after it topped the list of crown agencies ducking and diving official requests for information.
29/09/12 – Police receive a rebuke in court for leaving three drunk men in a vehicle with the keys in the ignition. Judge David Saunders told police it was a recipe for disaster.
29/09/12 – Police are heavily criticised for failing to abandon a pursuit that endangered the public and culminated in the deaths of two young men.
03/10/12 – Two girls, aged 14 and 16, are arrested, denied contact with their family or a lawyer, strip searched, and held in a police cell for 36 hours . The 16 year old, who was nursing a baby, was forced to express breast milk into a cell sink.
13/10/12 – Jakob Christie had his neck broken by a police baton more than three years ago. He is still waiting for the police to do something about it.
14/10/12 – Detective Senior Sergeant Al Symonds ignores evidence and spends 18 months dragging an innocent man’s name through the mud only to have the case dismissed in minutes.
16/10/12 – Police wait nine months after receiving instructions from the Minister before contacting a family to take formal criminal complaint
18/10/12 – Few of the recommendations of a commission of inquiry into police conduct, concluded five years ago, have been fully implemented. Acting Police Commissioner Viv Rickard says he accepts the finding that more focus is needed on sexual assault investigations.
19/10/12 – A report by the Office of the Auditor-General reveals an “unacceptable” level of inappropriate sexual behaviour within police and said improvements were still needed in training staff who were involved in adult sexual assault cases.
20/10/12 – Police funding cuts have seen sex crime investigation courses slashed and firearms training reduced.
21/10/12 – Increasing numbers of teenagers are being held in police custody for days, breaching United Nations protocols and sparking concern from human rights agencies. Child, Youth and Family statistics show the number of young people held for more than 24 hours in police cells almost trebled in the past three years.
21/10/12 – Detective Sergeant Mark Keane and Detective Dale Forman were criticised in a stinging Independent Police Conduct Authority report for failing to fully investigate claims that Tineke Foley had been raped by a male nurse at a Christchurch mental health facility.
23/10/12 – Police are found to be breaching basic human rights in the practises employed in the detention of young people in police cells. A review is called for, no action is taken.
25/10/12 – A police blunder results in four alleged Chinese people smugglers being awarded a $2000 payout.
02/11/12 – Police ignore three 111 calls to respond to an accident.
08/11/12 – Morrinsville Police Officer, Constable Shaan Stevens, is convicted of stealing $200 from a wallet handed in to lost and found.
12/11/12 – Another police chase, another crash.
19/11/12 – Detective Jamie Woods is caught out providing a transcript containing “mistakes” as part of an application for a search warrant to intercept the phone calls and emails of senior Switched on Gardener staff.
19/11/12 – Constable Gary Neil Morgan of the North Shore Police strategic traffic unit is charged with careless driving after he crashed his patrol car into a tree.
28/11/12 – A convicted drug dealer is freed on bail pending an appeal because police involved in an investigation were found to have acted corruptly following a staged search for evidence against an undercover officer.
21/12/12 – Mikayla Paul is found guilty of assaulting a woman may yet be discharged without conviction.
22/12/12 – Police go over the top in protecting John Key from having to keep his word about buying a Christmas dinner for two Wellington men.
24/12/12 – A Hawkes Bay family is left shocked and upset with the treatment they received from police after an officer smashed their windscreen with his torch at a drink-drive checkpoint this week.
15/01/13 – Constable Perry Griffin is accused of excessive use of force after making an arrest.
20/01/13 – After cut backs in fire arms training, almost 1000 new gun safes are removed from police cars because of potential security issues, just months after they were rolled out across the fleet.
31/01/13 – An unnamed police officer who was sacked for using excessive force loses his case for unjustified dismissal.
06/02/13 – Another police chase, another death
11/02/13 – A fifteen year old girl lays an assualt complaint against police after being left bloodied and brusied when police were breaking up a party.
15/02/13 – An unnamed police officer admits receiving money from people who had criminal charges against them dropped. At the request of defence counsel Pip Hall, Judge Brian Callaghan did not enter convictions because the defence wants to argue for a discharge without conviction.
20/02/13 – The Independent Police Conduct Authority promises to try harder after being found out for unnecessarily keeping reports secret.
21/02/13 – A police blunder in a major drugs investigation has revealed the identity of confidential informants and undercover officers and their secret intelligence-gathering techniques.
23/02/13 – A former undercover officer comes clean about spying on protest groups, environmental organisations and trade unions.
23/02/13 – The IPCA finds that police could have prevented a murder had they acted earlier on information received.
01/03/13 – Hundreds of police officers across the country are withdrawn from the front line and told not to interact with the public, after failing a key fitness test
03/03/13 – Another police chase, another accident.
10/03/13 – Police officers who deliberately faked their uniform badge numbers to avoid being identified as they weighed into a violent public protest will keep their jobs and won’t be investigated by the force’s watchdog.
16/03/13 – The police attempt to silence a retired officer for speaking to the media about the Teina Pora case.
16/03/13 – Another police chase, another crash
27/03/13 – Police still need time to introduce changes identified as necessary six years earlier following an investigation in its culture and practises.
27/03/13 – About 20 people protest outside Masterton police station over claims young people have been mistreated during arrest. The protesters included two teenagers who alleged they had bones broken while being arrested.
09/04/13 – An analysis of police statistics highlight the fact that Maori youth are far more likely to go to court after an arrest than pakeha youth.
13/04/13 – Another police chase, another crash
13/04/13 – More on the orchestrated miscarriage of justice in the Teina Pora case.
15/04/13 – Retiring Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward says police officers are leaving the force in droves, frustrated with the “budgets, the judiciary, new systems in place alienating the community and traffic taking precedence over everything,”
17/04/13 – Police admit to “dropping the ball” by failing to pay more than $5000 in rent to a tiny Christchurch community group run by volunteers and war veterans.
20/04/13 – Former drug squad detective Ernest Langford escapes jail after being found guilty of stealing thousands of dollars from a police safe and colleagues desk. Charges involving the theft of thousands of more dollars were dropped.
21/04/13 – Comments by Constable Paul Sharples about judges results in Auckland’s top police officer making an apology and starting an investigation into the way Sharples handled the case.
24/04/13 – Police sergeant Blair Donaldson pleads guilty to careless driving. Magistrate Ngaire Mascelle say a conviction would outweigh the severity of the offence and discharged Donaldson without conviction.
05/05/13 – The Independent Police Conduct Authority has received two complaints about the nation’s second-highest-ranking police officer, Mike Bush – but it will not be taking any action . The complaints were in response to Bush’s comments at the funeral of former police officer Bruce Hutton, a detective who was found to have planted evidence used to wrongfully convict Arthur Allan Thomas of murder.
09/05/13 – Another police chase, another crash.
17/05/13 – Police officer Peter Pakau appears in court on a raft of drug charges.
12/05/13 – Another police chase, another crash.
21/05/13 – an unnamed police officer appears in court accused of asking for sexual favours in return for not prosecuting a motorist on a driving charge.
06/06/13 – Police refuse to engage with a lawyer representing teenagers seeking discussions about possible compensation.
18/06/13 – Hastings police officer, Adam Dunnett, 37, charged with indecently assaulting five women from a Hawke’s Bay surf club loses his bid to keep his identity suppressed.
08/07/13 – An investigation is begun after an unnamed police officer is accused of assault.
09/07/13 – Another police chase, another crash.
24/07/13 – Two expert reports about an incident in which a wedding guest was run over on a Waikato road were ignored by a police crash analyst, a coroner’s inquest has been told.
04/08/13 – Lawyers are demanding a review of how police intercept private communications after a photo-journalist’s cellphone logs and messages, including exchanges with a lawyer, were obtained in and inquiry instigated by the PM.
05/08/13 – Police officer Dugal Matheson is slammed by a judge and convicted for dragging his former partner around by her hair and “manhandling” her son.
07/08/13 – Police officer Lotovale Ulufafo Solofa Perese appears in court charged with a variety of offences involving the smuggling of contraband for delivery to people being held in police cells.
12/08/13 – Detective Sergeant Mike Blowers appears in court charged with supplying methamphetamine and cannabis.
16/08/13 – Police have accidentally shot a man as he lay on the floor of a Hastings house while being taken into custody this afternoon.
18/08/13 – Concerns are raised after police do not lay charges against a care giver who locked an austic man in a flat and who later died in a fire at the property.
23/08/13 – An unnamed Waitakere police dog handler twice used excessive and unlawful force.
27/08/13 – Police breach confidentiality agreement concerning compensation paid to the mother of Halatau Naitoko.
29/08/13 – The police decide to take no action of illegal spying.
31/08/13 – Police carrying out a “cold case” investigation of the Crewe murders demand an alibi from Arthur Thomas and members of his family.
04/09/13 – Officers working in OFCANZ fear internal reprisals if they were to tell police bosses about inappropriate conduct.
07/09/13 – Casual racism, ignorance, disrespect and insensitivity on the part of the police when dealing with the family of a murder victim exacerbate their grief.
09/09/13 – A sober woman left stranded in a pub car park in the early hours after police confiscated her car keys was raped shortly afterwards.
15/09/13 – The family of Danielle King, 15, claim she was “thrown around like a rag doll” by officers breaking up a party.
15/09/13 – Police are being slammed for a “monumental blunder” in which they searched and damaged an Auckland family’s home in the hunt for a man who brutally bashed a police officer – but they were at the wrong house.
15/09/13 – Hawkes Bay police leaving the force in droves amid a “draconian climate” after a regional restructure .
19/09/13 – Inspector Richard Wilkie is discharged without conviction for assaulting two teen agers.
21/09/13 – Police have agreed to pay a Southland farmer $14,000 in damages and costs after armed officers entered his property without permission and, in a resulting tussle, pepper-sprayed him, punched him in the face and Tasered him while he was handcuffed.
22/09/13 – Road safety data being submitted by the public is being ignored by the police.
24/09/13 – It is revealed that police have not investigated the February 2011 death of a man in custody and have still not completed an investigation into another death of a man in custody dating back to October 2010.
28/09/13 – The detective who blew the whistle on his alleged drug-dealing boss was removed from his squad and investigated before senior police took his concerns seriously.
28/09/13 – Central District commander Superintendent Russell Gibson, in a letter to convicted child rapist Robin Peter Abraham’s wife, described one of the rape victims as a willing party to the sexual abuse.
29/09/13 – A martial arts black belt who became a morphine-dependent invalid after a beating by Senior Sergeant Ron Greatorex , has won a five-year battle for compensation. Greatorex has never been charged and still works as a senior-ranking police officer in Christchurch.
10/10/13 – Police Association president Greg O’Connor says most complaints made against the police are from “perennial complainers who complain about everything to everyone”.
13/10/13 – Another police chase, another accident, this one resulting in serious injuries. The IPCA finds that the police should have called off the chase well before the accident took place.
17/10/13 – No apology and no charges after police who broke a man’s neck are found to have used excessive force.
17/10/13 – Police prosecutor Brent William Thomson pleads guilty to possession and use of methamphetamine and cannabis.
17/10/13 – Another police chase, another crash.
20/10/13 – It is proved in the Privvy Council that police use dodgy evidence and failed to provide all information to the defence in the Mark Lundy case.
06/11/13 – Police admit to having lied to the public about not receiving any complaints in relation to the Roast Buster case.
08/11/13 – Police threaten a blogger in an effort to stifle public discussion surrounding its own inaction and mendacity concerning the RoastBuster rapes.
18/11/13 – Senior Constable Gordon Stanley Meyer pleads guilty to bribery, corruption, and sexual assault.
18/11/13 – Police officers Brent Liddle and Gerard Russell are convicted of assault but discharged without conviction.
18/11/13 – Police Senior Constable Gordon Stanley Meyer pleads guilty to bribery, corruption and indecent assult. Another unnamed police officer was also investigated but no charges were laid.
19/11/13 – Police Senior Constable Keith Rose pleads guilty to assault after grabbing a referee around the throat.
20/11/13 – An innocent man is mauled by a police dog.
22/11/13 – Police Sergeant Brent English is investigated after a junior police officer complains that he made a lewd suggestion and exposed his penis to her.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/229037/police-accused-of-double-standards-by-greens
05/12/13 – police refuse to explain how a dangerous criminal escaped from Dunedin Police Station.
11/12/13 – Sergeant James Casson takes a case to the Employment Relations Authority claiming he was subject to “bullying and threatening behaviour” by members of the Hamilton police management who had “closed ranks” against him.
11/12/13 Tasman district police are ordered by the Emplyment Relations Authority to re-hire its business services manager after finding his redundancy was invalid. Derek Coffey had worked for police for 23 years before losing his job in February as part of a nationwide police restructure.
The ERA found his redundancy was invalid and he was unjustifiably disadvantaged by police’s failure to redeploy him to an available suitable position.
11/12/13 – Police Commissioner Peter Marshall admitted to police failings in the “Roast Busters” case before going on to say that a drop in the public confidence of the police from 82 percent to 76 percent wasn’t much of a change.
13/12/13 – Police Constable Tako Cocker is arrested and suspended from duty after being arrested in Auckland for allegedly damaging a taxi side mirror after a dispute over the fare.
20/12/13 – A group of Christchurch police officers are threaten to sue Police Commissioner Peter Marshall for defamation over comments made about leadership at the Christchurch South Station where corrupt ex-cop Gordon Stanley Meyer worked.
17/01/14 – Christchurch Police officer Trevor Hinkley is convicted then discharged after pleading guilty to stealing $2750 meant to go to a victim support organisation.
22/01/14 – Christchurch District Police Commander Gary Knowles is expected to make an apology to a man arrested in November 2011 when the arresting officers were found to have used excessive force leaving an innocent man bruised and humiliated.
19/02/14 – Police use $12 million of funds set aside for crime fighting to pay for redunancies.
23/03/14 – Queenstown police are accused of closing ranks to protect an officer caught on CCTV assaulting a taxi driver.
04/04/14 – Former Police officer Timothy Phillip Hartnell is charged with assault following an incident when he was working as an officer.
14/04/14 – Another police chase, another serious injury.
24/04/14 – Police refuse to answer an Official Information Act request for details about a government minister interfering in a criminal investigation on the grounds of “maintenance of the law”.
01/05/14 – Another police chase, another serious injury.
01/05/14 – Greymouth police sergeant Matthew Charles Frost who had nine drinks before crashing his car on a West Coast country road was convicted of careless driving but let off without punishment.
02/05/14 – Detective Inspector Mark Gutry resigns from the police before an employment investigation into the circumstances leading to him escaping charges in relation to a criminal sex complaint.
03/05/14 – It becomes apparent Superintendent John Tims buckled to political pressure in January 2014 after receiving a phone call from a government Minister requesting that a domestic violence prosecution be subject to review. Police National Head Quarters claims to have not been advised of the political interference until two months later when an Official Information request was made by media. Police National Head Quarters did not advise the Minister of Police about the situation until 28 April 2014.
04/05/14 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11249346
08/05/14 – Police are found to have acted unlawfully in a ”disrespectful and degrading” breach of human rights when hundreds of New Zealanders taking part in a charity event to raise money for the Christchurch earthquake appeal were unlawfully detained.
24/05/14 – It is revealed that two Auckland police staff allegedly filmed themselves in a sex act during work hours and sent the footage to a junior colleague as an invitation to join them.
05/06/14 – Another police chase, another crash
18/06/14 – Another police chase, another fatality.
22/06/14 – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11279057
26/06/14 – Another police chase another fatality
04/07/14 – Detective Inspector Chris Page admits that a murder could have been prevented were it not for a series of errors by the police.
08/07/14 – Police apologise for failing to tell the mother of a child assault victim about their decision to downgrade the charge.
08/07/14 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10241968/Victims-mum-angered-by-leniency-towards-assailant
09/07/14 – Another police chase, another accident resulting in serious injury.
14/07/14 – It is revealed that Counties Manukau Police have been “cooking the books” with statistics to make it look like burgalry crimes have reduced.
17/07/14 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10275505/Marae-angry-at-cops-waking-kids
18/07/14 – A coroner has criticised the actions of police officers who confronted an armed man, saying their mistakes had a snow-balling effect that ended in him being shot dead.
29/07/14 – A woman who drove straight to Whangarei police station to report an attempted carjacking was told to ring 111 to get a police officer to attend.
05/08/14 – Detective Benjamin Joel admits in court that police bungled the collection of evidence which was subsequently lost before a murder trial.
10/08/14 – Drug dealers, burglars and drink-drivers have walked free after a police botch-up led to officers carrying out illegal investigations. This is the third time the same botch up has occurred.
14/08/14 – http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20145719
15/08/14 – Police pay a pittance in compensation to a women who spent $100,000 to find evidence evidence of murder that police ignored.
15/08/14 – another police chase, another fatality.
15/08/14 – It is revealed that police ignored an IPCA instruction to carry out a conciliation meeting.
17/08/14 – Police apologise to a woman for the second time after botching a domestic violence case. The latest apology was for the assigned police presecutor not turning up in Court for a hearing which resulted in the assailant receiving a second discharge without conviction after having plead guilty to breaching a protection order.
18/08/14 – Former police officer Timothy Phillip Hartnell was discharged without conviction on an assault charge relating to him handcuffing a child for riding a bicycle on a footpath.
28/08/14 – it is found that police officers repeatedly broke the law and used unjustified excessive force when shutting down parties.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20147968
04/09/14 – Police Constable Setu Pio has his conviction for assaulting a pregnant woman overturned.
08/09/14 – Queenstown Police Constable Jenny McNee, 44, was found guilty of using offensive language in a racist tirade against Malaysian-born taxi driver Ganesh Paramanathan while arguing over a fare. McNee was discharged without conviction.
25/09/14 – New Zealand police provided incorrect statistical information to Minister Anne Tolley to bolster moves to give police more powers.
28/09/14 – It is revealed that Manukau District Commander, Superintendent John Tims, instructed staff to not respond to a journalist’s OIA request about the fraudulent nature of the area’s reported crime statistics.
01/10/14 – Lower Hutt police are slammed by the coroner for taking more than seven months to interview a man who supplied alcohol to a teen found dead the next morning from alcohol poisoning.
02/10/14 – It is revealed that a Christchurch police officer ignored two instructions to abandon a chase which posed an unjustified risk to members of the public and which resulted in the death of a 15-year-old.
09/10/14 – It is revealed that two Timaru police officers, acting in collusion with a police prosecutor and an Area Commander, committed perjury.
09/10/14 – Nearly three years after the original incident, is found to have used excessive force by shooting a man with a taser in a manner which was disproportionate to the perceived threat.
11/10/14 – It is revealed that police spent more than three years covering up the fact that illegal drugs were being stolen by police from the Huntly station’s evidence safe.
05/11/14 – Another police chase, another accident resulting in serious injury
09/11/14 – An unnamed Counties Manukau District police constable is disciplined for flirting with a rape complainant he met at a party.
09/11/14 – Two Auckland Central police officers Sergeant Neil Barton and Jo Barton resign before an investigation into them filming themselves in a sex act is completed.
12/11/14 – Police confirm that yet another officer from Central Otago is under investigation. Police would not confirm the name of the officer nor details of what the investigation was looking into. The investigation comes hard on the heels of a series of investigations involving officers in the Central Otago/Lakes District.
16/11/14 – Recruits at the Police Training College are stood down pending investigations of bullying.
20/11/14 – More people are being killed each year as a result of police pursuits.
20/11/14 – Another police chase another accident resulting in serious injuries. The IPCA finds that various unnamed officers failed to follow police policy and one officer broke the law during the chase.
25/11/14 – Another police chase, another crash, this time five people hospitalised.
27/11/14 – Another police chase another accident, this time leaving an uninvolved, innocent man with serious injuries. The IPCA finds that an unnamed police officer failed to comply with policy in relation to communication and site selection during the first attempted deployment of the road spikes. He also failed to comply with Police policy in relation to communication during the second attempted deployment of the road spikes. The IPCA noted: “The haphazard nature of both attempted deployments placed [the officer], Police staff and other road users at risk of harm.
28/11/14 – Police officer Peter Pakau is sentenced to eight years jail on a raft of charges including drug dealing.
02/12/14 – An unnamed Cromwell police officer is charged with assault after an investigation into an allegation of excessive force at the Cromwell police station
03/12/14 – Flaxmere Police Constable Shane Greville charged with dangerous driving causing injury after an accident in September.
04/12/14 – The public’s trust and confidence in the performance of the police has dropped. Acting Deputy Commissioner Grant Nicholls said the results were pleasing.
11/12/14 – Two Central Otago teenagers receive letters of apology from the district’s highest-ranking police officer for the unacceptable actions of some police officers earlier this year. The one and a-half page letters, which were written and hand-delivered by Central Otago sub-area supervisor Senior Sergeant Ian Kerrisk last month, relate to a series of incidents – where the teenagers were falsely accused of committing petty crimes, and the subsequent unprofessional treatment and alleged harassment of the teenagers – over a period of time several months ago.
11/12/14 – An unnamed Tauranga police officer is found to have used excessive force when choking a mentally ill 14-year old boy.
12/12/14 – A Central Otago Senior Constable admits in court to using a police-issued iPhone to make an intimate visual recording of a teenager drying herself after taking a shower.
21/12/14 – The police cover up the fact that National Party MP and former police officer Mike Sabin is being investigated for assault.
10/01/15 – Hamilton police officer, Senior Constable Keith Ralph Paul Day, pleads guilty to multiple thefts from his station’s exhibit room and lost and found section.
15/01/15 – South Island police are criticised for dragging their heels in a homicide investigation into the death of an infant.
15/01/15 – An unnamed Marlborough police officer is suspected being at fault when the police car he/she was driving was involved in an accident.
16/01/15 – A young couple and a police officer escape serious injury when the police officer pulled out into traffic on State Highway One without looking.
19/01/15 – 100 people protested outside the Whakatane police station after an unnamed local constable escaped both criminal charges and internal disciplinary procedures after admitting he had shot a dog which wandered onto his property with a crossbow. The bolt struck the dog on the left side of its chest but missed vital organs. In agony for hours at the time and in discomfort for months after being shot by the police constable, the dog has since made a full recovery.
22/01/15 – An unnamed Tauranga police officer was found to have failed to call a medical practitioner to assess a man who was bleeding from the mouth, nose and eyes after being involved in a bar fight and then, during his arrest, punched in the head several times by another officer. Various other procedural errors were made regarding the man’s arrest but an allegation by the man of excessive force by the police was not believed by the IPCA.
02/02/15 – Auckland police officers are shown to be hypocrites when it comes to speeding.
05/02/15 – Another police chase another accident. This time, the officer involved in the chase is found to have unjustifiably engaged in dangerous driving when pursuing a fleeing driver up the wrong side of the motorway, State Highway 1, near Tawa.
12/02/15 – It is revealed that two unnamed Auckland police officers failed to take action against a security guard accused of the sexual assault of a women patient at Auckland Hospital. The guard, Davinder Singh, was later arrested and convicted of a similar assault a year later.
14/02/15 – http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/66183489/cop-suspended-for-facebook-posts
25/02/15 – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11407502
24/02/15 – http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/warning-man-illegally-tasered-calls-tighter-restrictions-video-6242809
01/04/15 – Police refuse to take another look at a murder case even after the person convicted of it is found by the Privvy Council to be innocent.
03/03/15 – Police illegally intercepted phone calls between a man and his lawyer.
19/03/15 – Police fail to take threats of 1080 being added to bay formula seriously.
25/03/15 – It is revealed that police are collecting personal information from individuals and companies without first obtaining a warrant, instead police are threatening prosecution if the information is not handed over. Some criminal cases have been put at risk and police refuse to maintain any records on this method of information collection.
02/04/15 – The parents of one of the victims of the Carterton balloon tragedy criticise the police over the handling of their daughter’s body.
06/04/15 – Police refuse assistance to a man who received on-line death threats for wearing a turban.
07/04/15 = A Marlborough police officer is to be charged with careless driving after a crash on State Highway 1 in January. The unnamed highway patrol officer performed a u-turn in front of a following car with two passengers on a straight section of road, at Dead Man Stream near Clarence, north of Kaikoura, on January 14.
07/04/15 – A worrying trend is seen in police refusal to take action in following up complaints about crimes even when evidence is made available to them .
. . . and the beat goes on.
New Zealand Police response to freedom of expression and right to legitimate protest.
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Hi,Thanks for all your feedback to Hayden Donnell’s fantasy of communal living. “Camping in summer is really the only time I get to experience village life and I love it so much,” said Michelle. “You’ve infuriated me by writing the article that’s been in my head only much better than ...2 days ago - Toxic positivity and toxicity in the kitchen
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:A study looking at psychological distress associated with climate change has stimulated discussion about the insistent demands for ‘hope’ ...2 days ago
- Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s breakthrough free trade deal with the Gulf
New Zealand’s new free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council is a major win for both sides. Todd McClay, New Zealand’s trade minister, announced the long-awaited deal on Thursday with his counterparts in Doha, Qatar. It is a remarkable, yet also surprising sudden success: the genesis of the agreement ...2 days ago - Todd McClay wins breakthrough for women in Saudi Arabia
In a major international breakthrough, New Zealand has negotiated a free trade agreement with Saudi Arabia and other Arabian Peninsula countries, which includes a provision requiring them to uphold the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Trade Minister Todd McClay signed the agreement in Doha overnight. The ...2 days ago - Gordon Campbell on America’s fear of foreigners
Mike King’s latest comments about the relationship between alcohol and mental health – according to King, alcohol does more good than harm – raises red flags once again about this organisation, and the quality of the “counselling” it provides. Here’s what the scientific research says. The latest example of King’s ...2 days ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #44 2024
Open access notables Communicating the most accurate and reliable science on climate change to society: A survey of editors from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Molina & Abadal Abadal, Geoscience Communication: This study focuses on the perspectives of scientists involved in the IPCC AR5 and AR6 synthesis reports, examining ...2 days ago
- Gumboot Friday’s Founder Says Drugs and Alcohol Is A “Solution”
This afternoon, I turned to the fellow sitting near me and called out:“Guess what? A guy who runs a charity for mental health just said alcohol is a solution!”And his eyes popped out…his mouth opened ajar.That gave me some satisfaction - only because this person has zero care when it ...3 days ago - What can you do about bad journalism?
Day after day of David Seymour being accorded media time and attention like he’s doing this stuff in good faith and advancing these ideas in earnest. Come on. He’s a cosplaying libertarian who is really just a glove puppet for anti-democratic capitalist pigs. Read more ...3 days ago - A collapse in police legitimacy
Last week, the government had a big wank about police raids in Ōpōtiki, crowing about "gangs" and "drugs" and "law and order". Unfortunately the police did exactly the same shit they did in the Urewera terror raids 17 years ago, dragging people off in front of their kids and terrorising ...3 days ago
- 2024 Reading Summary: October (+ Writing Update)
No, I haven’t vanished from the Internet. Or died. Completed reads for October: The Castle of Otranto, by Horace Walpole The Sidereal Messenger of Galileo Galilei, by Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler Jurgen, by James Branch Cabell A very quiet reading month, and a very quiet writing month ...3 days ago - Suicide Rates Continue To Climb (Because We Are Not Treating Suicidal Patients)
Our suicide rates are skyrocketing again, and I’m going to spare you the faux-shock I could put on here, given that it would be frankly more surprising to me if our death toll had gone in the other direction. Preliminary data from 2023-24 shows that our annual suicide deaths have ...3 days ago - Are We The Baddies?
Difficult Questions: Does denying human equality and rejecting the principles of colour-blind citizenship place you among the baddies? Yes, I’m afraid it does.THE DEMON OF UNREST documents the descent of the United States into civil war. The primary focus of its author, Erik Larson, is the period of roughly five months ...3 days ago - Thursday 31 October 2024
Health and safety campaigner Sonya Rockhouse has come out in support of the joint open letter from the NZCTU, Business NZ and others. A new Xero Small Business Insights report shows that small businesses are cutting staff and keeping wages low, while the Salvation Army’s State of the Pacific Peoples ...3 days ago - Today’s Political Roundup – From Health to Self-Certification Risks
The focus on budgets is "going to cripple the health system".1. Cardiac specialist quits, saying Dr Lester Levy, the Part Time Health Commissioner, is "living in La La Land" and has no idea what's happening on the groundDr Dean BoddingtonDr Boddington, an electrical cardiologist, was the only person who did ...3 days ago - A deliberate and unnecessary crash landing
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, October 31: US and European GDP growth figures overnight show the world’s largest economies, along with that of our nearest neighbour Australia, ...3 days ago - Seymour: Swastikas OK
Race hatred cannot stop usThis one thing we knowYour poll tax and Donald TrumpGreed has got to go!You’re bound to loseYou fascists bound to lose.Original Lyrics: Woody GuthrieThere are a lot of things this government doesn’t like. Te Reo - got to go, they said, it’s too confusing for our ...3 days ago - Sumbission: Have Your Say on Work Health and Safety
Health and safety is core union mahi. Unions recognise that health and safety is a fundamental aspect of good work, and that every worker has the right to work that is safe and healthy, and to have a voice on the operation of their work. In this submission on MBIE’s ...3 days ago
- The hidden health toll of hurricanes
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Neha Pathak Disasters can disrupt medical care both during and long after the event. (Photo credit: U.S. Air National Guard / Sgt. Jorge Intriago) Weeks after Hurricanes Milton and Helene tore paths of destruction across the Southeast, pictures of communities ...3 days ago
- First section of Te Ha Noa Opens
Something definitely worth celebrating is the opening of the first section of Te Hā Noa, the Victoria St Linear Park. As we highlighted eight years ago, this project is vital for helping move the thousands of people that will pour out of the Te Waihorotiu station once the CRL opens. ...3 days ago
- Boldness be my friend
When Nicola Willis gave the annual Finance Minister’s speech to the country’s top public servants last week, what she said must have landed like a bomb. “Now is the time for your best and boldest ideas,” she said at the Institute of Public Administration (IPANZ) event. Coming from a minister ...3 days ago
- Wednesday 30 October 2024
The NZCTU has joined with Business NZ and health and safety groups to call on the Government to drop its plans to reform health and safety law. The Postal Workers Union is opposing a plan to reduce rural postal deliveries from five to three days a week. The Government has ...4 days ago
- Yer doin it all wrong mate
Reader Jeff Howell is the best kind of social media friend to have. When there's outrage and denunciation needed he’s in there dishing it with verve; and when those storms pass you get happy Jeff, sharing his projects. His projects are awesome.Until a week or so ago it was a ...4 days ago - Out Of Sympathy.
4 days ago
- Two States – But No Solutions.
My Enemy’s Enemy Is My Friend: Mohammad Amin al-Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, at the opening of the Islamic Central Institute in Berlin, December 19, 1942. The elimination of the Jewish state has been the unwavering ambition of successive generations of Palestinian leaders.AMIDST ALL THE HORROR of the Israel-Hamas War, ...4 days ago
- NZ For Sale: Chris Luxon Is Concierge To The Wealthy
Watching a Christopher Luxon press conference is a masterclass in gaslighting. You just know what he’s saying is disingenuous - if not outright deceptive and lies - but out he comes - with confidence and vigour - telling me black is white, and white is red.According to the Prime Minister, ...4 days ago
- Will banks & insurers back self-consented homes?
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, October 30: The Government’s move to allow qualified builders, plumbers and drainlayers to self-consent their work faces potential hurdles from reluctant insurers and bankers wanting protection against ...4 days ago
- Ātahu from Moana Maniapoto
We are blessed in Aotearoa with certain people that you might call National Treasures—those with great talents and a strong affinity for this place they are the custodians of. It’s not an official list; the people you think of might differ from those I think of.What are the attributes of ...4 days ago - Henderson Station Upgrade but will it Improve Customer Experience
Over the long weekend rail shutdown a new project got underway, an upgrade to Henderson station but the plans highlight that improving the customer experience by making it easier to use public transport is not a part of Auckland Transport’s agenda.
...
4 days ago - Climate Adam: Is climate change fuelling mega hurricanes?
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). From hurricanes like Helene and Milton, to typhoons like Gaemi, vast storms are causing devastation: destroying cities and tearing up lives. ...4 days ago
- Get in the sea, old mate
For the State Highway One traveller, some sights remain dramatic no matter how many times you see them: Wellington harbour opening out at the bottom of Ngauranga Gorge; the first glimpse of Ruapehu; three quarters of the South Island. Also: the moment when you reach the top of the Brynderwyns and ...5 days ago - Taking the piss again
Remember Casey Costello? The government's most ignorant Minister? First she was referred to the Chief Archivist after claiming that key advice on her cancer promotion policy had simply magically appeared on her desk one day, and that she had no idea where it came from. Then, when the Ministry of ...5 days ago
- Monthly Employment Data shows weakness in economy
Monthly employment data released today by Statistics New Zealand showed our continuing labour market weakness, and particularly challenging conditions for young working people, said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “There are 21,000 fewer filled jobs than this time last year, and the fall has been led by those ...5 days ago
- Copy of Rwanda’s Kagame: from Saviour to Tyrant?
Is Rwanda turning into a country that seeks regional dominance and exterminates its rivals? This is a contention examined by Dr Michela Wrong, and Dr Maria Armoudian Dr Wrong is a journalist who has written best-selling books on Africa. Her latest, Do Not Disturb. The story of a political murder ...5 days ago - We’ve got issues
5 days ago - ‘Happy to watch your grandkids grow up in Australia via WhatsApp?’
Globally, NZ has the second-highest share of its population living overseas permanently, many of them now permanently in Australia. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, October 29: A ...5 days ago
- October-24 AT Board Meeting
Today the Auckland Transport board meet again as a whole for the first time in two months. AT note: Members of the public are welcome to join the meeting via Teams. Please note, due to technical difficulties, the video feed will be unavailable. However, attendees will still be able to view ...5 days ago
- The fourth article of the Treaty
While Parliament struggles with David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill, a Christian scholar and some heavyweight mainstream church leaders have developed a different perspective on the Treaty of Waitangi. Theologian Alistair Reese presented a petition to Parliament’s Petitions Committee on Thursday asking Parliament to legislate to recognise the oral agreement “4th ...5 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on why so many young males like Donald Trump
To foreigners, the fact that so many millions of Americans are buying the used and poisonous goods that Donald Trump is selling is an unfathomable mystery. However, some clues to the allure of Trumpism can be found in the gender gap of unprecedented size that has opened up between those ...5 days ago
- Building a Safer Future for Every Worker
Every New Zealander deserves a workplace that puts safety and wellbeing first. Too often, we’ve seen the real cost of a system that doesn’t fully protect workers. Lives are lost, families grieving, and communities bearing the burden of preventable tragedies. That’s why, alongside Business New Zealand, the New Zealand Institute ...6 days ago
- Not all authoritarians are fascists.
A few days ago I responded to a post about Trump being a fascist on one of my friend’s social media page, then made a few comments on the consultancy social media page by way of follow up. Given the … Continue reading ...6 days ago
- Keep the Vampires From Your Door
I'll protect you from the hooded clawKeep the vampires from your doorWhen the chips are down I'll be aroundWith my undying, death-defying love for youEnvy will hurt itselfLet yourself be beautifulSparkling love, flowersAnd pearls and pretty girlsLove is like an energyRushin' an' rushin' inside of me, ehSongwriters: Brian Philip Nash ...6 days ago - The Odd Couple.
Strange Political Bedfellows: Matthew Hooton’s support for Winston Peters’ New Zealand Futures Fund reflects the Radical Right’s newfound reluctance to bet everything on the efficacy of market forces.AS IF HE WASN’T IN ENOUGH TROUBLE, Matthew Hooton has now come out for Winston Peters’ New Zealand Futures Fund (NZFF). Not only ...6 days ago
- Your Friends Should Be Close By
Hi,I’ll never forget the time the guy next to me on the plane got really angry because the Wi-Fi wasn’t working. Here we were, 40,000 feet in the air, and he couldn’t get Facebook. He was huffing, he was puffing. He was insufferable.I’m constantly amazed you can get the internet ...6 days ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #43
A listing of 30 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, October 20, 2024 thru Sat, October 26, 2024. Story of the week As an experiment, we asked Google's Gemini for help categorizing the articles we shared during the week. ...6 days ago
- Labour Weekend
Stand up all victims of oppressionFor the tyrants fear your mightDon't cling so hard to your possessionsFor you have nothing if you have no rightsLet racist ignorance be endedFor respect makes the empires fallFreedom is merely privilege extendedUnless enjoyed by one and allSongwriters: Eugene Edme Pottier / Petrus Christianus De ...7 days ago - Fact brief – Do volcanoes emit more CO2 than humans?
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Do volcanoes emit ...1 week ago
- People of Courage & Decency. And Everyone In Between.
Today, news broke that Jeff Bezos, the American billionaire with a net worth of $206 B (NZ $344B), personally vetoed Washington Post’s Editorial Team from endorsing Kamala Harris.That stops the decades-old tradition of the Wapo for endorsing Presidential candidates. And editors have resigned - that includes Editor at large Robert ...1 week ago - Let’s Talk About… Anything.
Can't we talk about anything else but love?Love that launched a thousand shipsPlease! Let's talk about anything else but loveLove that causes war and famineCan't we speak about real estate?Love of wifeWatergate?Love of children!Seasonal fluctuations in the prime interest rate?Love of chocolate, you must love chocolate, everybody loves chocolate, say ...1 week ago - Can you hear me now?
1 week ago - Why Nations Fail
This year’s Nobel awards in economics raise critical issues about the future of the world.I was not alone with high hopes when the Soviet Union collapsed. It has been good to see various nations leave the yoke of the Soviet Empire and move towards liberal democracies with thriving economies although ...1 week ago - All very instructive
1. Who played the sax solo on Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street?a. Kenny Gb. Lisa Simpsonc. Bill Clintond. Raphael Ravenscroft2. What did Nicola Willis, addressing a large gathering of senior public servants this week, ask them to do?a. Come up with fresh ideas and innovative audacious out of the box thinking b. ...1 week ago - More Sabotage
The Waitangi Tribunal has been one of the most effective critics of the National government and its racist, anti-Māori agenda. So naturally, they're sabotaging it with a crony appointment: Former ACT Party leader Richard Prebble has been appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal. Prebble, a Commander of the British Empire, ...1 week ago
- Ghost of a (Mad) Dog
How can that dog be barkin' in the backyard?We ran over him years agoHow can that dog be runnin' by the backfence?We ran over him years agoGhost of a dogBarkin' in the backyardSongwriters: Edie Brickell, Kenny Withrow.I have to say this one caught me by surprise. I had to check ...1 week ago - David Seymour’s School Lunch Provider Has Questionable Record – Including Listeria, Hors...
Yesterday, I looked into Seymour’s school lunch provider and found out it was Compass Group - a group that has had a long list of food quality issues and settled out of court for corruption and bribery of officials.Never mind the food looked like slop - heavy, process laden food ...1 week ago - After years of cover ups and hacks, the truth on gas is out
Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:Gas is worse for the climate than coal, over any timeframe that is relevant for a ‘bridging strategy’. The ...1 week ago
- Brown orders motorway building to start before business case done
Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, October 25: Scoop of the day: Oliver Lewis reported for BusinessDesk-$$$ this morning that Transport Minister Simeon Brown ordered construction to start on the four-lane Hawkes Bay ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to October 25
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including another extreme climate event in the United States; on the escalating conflict between Israel, Iran ...1 week ago
- Weekly Roundup 25-October-2024
Happy Friday, even more so as we’re head to a long weekend, so welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #43 2024
Open access notables The rate of global sea level rise doubled during the past three decades, Hamlington et al., Communications Earth & Environment: The rise in globally averaged sea level—or global mean sea level—is one of the most unambiguous indicators of climate change. Over the past three decades, satellites have ...1 week ago
- Does New Zealand need Vegas-style transit security on our busses?
There’s a reason why people are supposed to stay on the Strip when they go to Las Vegas, and it’s not just proximity to the best attractions. This city of fluorescent lights and gambling halls extends in all directions across the Nevada landscape, for as far as the eye can ...1 week ago - No Enemies To The Left – Or The Right.
Wrong Turn: Labour and National can only reduce the toxic influence of their electoral competitors by rejecting their extremism.“NO ENEMIES TO THE LEFT” has always been Labour’s rule-of-thumb. What, after all, does a moderate, left-of-centre party gain by allowing its electoral rivals to become repositories for every radical (i.e. congenitally dissatisfied) ...1 week ago
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- Greens call for bottom trawling ban and call out Minister for lacklustre response
The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to ban bottom trawling, following news a New Zealand bottom trawler caught 37kg of coral in international waters, prompting the suspension of all fishing in the area until 2026. ...2 days ago - Mark Patterson: Farmers understand we have their backs
Spring is here which means the start of the A&P show season. Those treasured community days where town meets country. There's no rural-urban divide here, just a chance to meet up with family and old friends and celebrate all things that make rural New Zealand so special. I'm embarking on ...3 days ago - Release: Funding for Gumboot Friday should pause
The National Government should review its support for Gumboot Friday after unacceptable comments by its leader and champion Mike King. ...3 days ago - Louise Upston cherry-picks data to punch down on the poor
The Government has very conveniently cherry-picked data from the latest MSD projections to justify its cruel agenda and punch-down policy when it comes to people living in poverty. ...3 days ago
- Luxon needs to address the cow in the room
The Green Party was appalled to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon claim we are “doing everything we can” on climate change, while his government does nothing to address emissions in our most polluting sector. ...5 days ago
- Govt Must Clean Up ‘Its Shit’ From Sunken HMNZS Manawanui
Te Pāti Māori is calling out the Government and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) for their inaction and disgraceful downplaying of the impact caused by the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa. “We demand the Government move without further delay to clean up its shit from the sunken HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa,” said co-leader Debbie ...7 days ago
- Jamie Arbuckle: Inquiry into Banking Competition
This week was the start of the bank inquiry hearings into banking competition. The inquiry was confirmed in the NZ First/National Coalition agreement. 140 submissions were received on the inquiry, and we will hear from over 60 submitters including all the major banks. ANZ, New Zealand's largest bank, was first ...7 days ago
- Tanya Unkovich: It’s time to start the debate on palliative care as a ‘right’
There is one topic that is the great human leveller, and that is of death and dying. One day, we will all have to face it, and I am of the belief that being able to pass away with grace and dignity is a vital, basic, human right. How we ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour backs Christchurch City Council sanctions on Israel
Labour is backing Christchurch City Council’s decision not to do business with firms involved in Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories. ...1 week ago
- Release: Government driving away offshore wind industry
The Government has created a hostile environment for companies seeking to build offshore wind farms. ...1 week ago
- Another step towards Pasifika justice
The Green Party acknowledges the historical importance of MP Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, Restoring Citizenship Removed By Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982 Bill, passing its second reading in Parliament today. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions Soar, Jobs Vanish – National’s Cruelty Exposed
Te Pāti Māori is enraged at the National government’s ruthless punishment of beneficiaries, all while jobs are disappearing. MSD data shows a 133% increase in sanctions over the past year, with over 14,000 sanctions in just three months. The kicker? The jobs this government insists people should find are nowhere ...2 weeks ago
- Police Perpetuate Siege on Ōpōtiki
Te Pāti Māori MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi, says today’s police-sponsored terrorism in Ōpōtiki is a continuation of the State’s predatory behaviour towards the iwi of Te Whakatōhea. "Ōpōtiki is once again being intentionally targeted and is the direct byproduct of this Government’s 'tough on crime' legislative changes,” said MP ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt cuts school lunches even further
The Government has gone back on its word and cut the full school lunch programme in primary schools after saying it wouldn’t. ...2 weeks ago
- Time to shut down failed Youth Justice Residences
The Green Party is calling for Youth Justice Residences to close, following a protest in which a group of young people spent the night on the roof of an Oranga Tamariki justice facility. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Appalling process on three strikes law
The Government is subverting parliamentary process on laws the evidence already shows don’t work. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour calls for investigation into tobacco tax cut
The Government’s decision to award a $216 million tax break for Philip Morris’ heated tobacco products reeks of tobacco industry interference and needs to be thoroughly investigated. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Delay to retirement village review won’t help residents
The National Government is treading water on a much-needed review of the Retirement Villages Act, kicking any amendments down the road till the next parliamentary term in 2027. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Serious concerns ignored in Govt’s fast track bill
National’s fast track bill enables the most radical and unbalanced consenting regime in living memory. ...2 weeks ago
- Fast-Track, off the rails: Submitters show strong opposition to Bill
Despite resounding public opposition, the fast-track legislation is being pushed through Parliament with provisions that could have real consequences for people and planet. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour supports continuing fight for dairy access
Labour welcomes the National Government’s decision to further pursue our access to the Canadian dairy market under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Job losses devastating for Timaru
Confirmed news that the Smithfield meatworks will close is devastating for the hundreds of people who work there, Timaru and the wider region. ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand First Member’s Bill to Improve Access to Palliative Care
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill which aims to improve access to palliative care for all New Zealanders, ensuring kiwis have better access to the compassionate palliative support they may need. The ‘Improving Access to Palliative Care Bill’ seeks to guarantee that every New Zealander has the right ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Further uncertainty for Kiwirail as jobs set to go
KiwiRail offering voluntary redundancy to all its staff is hugely concerning given the future of New Zealand’s rail system is under threat. ...2 weeks ago
- ASA Declares Hobson’s Pledge Advertising Misleading and Socially Irresponsible
Te Pāti Māori Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer welcome today’s ruling from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which found that a Hobson's Pledge advertisement regarding customary marine titles was misleading and socially irresponsible. The two-page wraparound ad, published in The New Zealand Herald, suggested that nearly the entire coastline ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Benefit numbers continue to soar under National
National’s all pain approach to beneficiaries has yielded no gain as benefit numbers continue to surge past projected figures. ...2 weeks ago
- Casey Costello: What Once Was…
Entering politics is a privilege afforded to very few and, as the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Being an MP is a call to service. Whatever your politics you have a duty to show up. Whatever your party's policy, you have made a promise to those who ...2 weeks ago
- Soaring benefit sanctions push more into poverty
Sanctions on beneficiaries have sky-rocketed since the Coalition Government came to power, pushing more families into poverty. ...2 weeks ago
- International Energy Agency issues wake-up call on climate action
Today’s report from the International Energy Agency highlights how far this Government’s actions are dragging us backwards in the fight against climate change. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Lack of funding puts pressure on frontline Police
News that 173 roles are being cut at Police will only put more pressure on the frontline. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Bipartisan agreement on outdated marriage law
Changes to outdated relationships legislation has passed its third reading giving family violence survivors the power to quickly dissolve abusive marriages. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Cuts to Apprenticeship Boost will fail future NZ
The Government’s cuts to the Apprenticeship Boost programme will leave New Zealand without the workforce it needs to build homes, schools and hospitals. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Sluggish economy means struggles ahead for Kiwis
While today’s inflation numbers are good news for Kiwis, there are still struggles ahead with rising rents, rates, insurance and high unemployment. ...3 weeks ago
- CPI figures show rents continuing to soar
Stats NZ has confirmed that higher rent prices were the biggest contributor to the annual inflation rate. Almost a fifth of the 2.2 per cent annual increase in the CPI was due to rent prices. ...3 weeks ago
- New Charter to guarantee better access for hunting and fishing
Minister for Hunting and Fishing Todd McClay has today launched an Access Charter (the Charter) to ensure better access for recreational hunting and fishing on public conservation land (PCL) across New Zealand. “This Charter establishes guiding principles for the Department of Conservation (DOC) to provide clear and transparent decisions on ...22 hours ago - Pou Whenua blessing honours Tongariro
A beautiful new Pou Whenua at the beginning of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing will introduce visitors to the sacred landscape they are entering, says Conservation Minister Tama Potaka. Mr Potaka attended a blessing for the specially carved Pou Whenua at Mangatepopo, at the start of the track on 1 November. ...2 days ago
- New members appointed to the NZTA Board
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today announced two new appointments to the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) Board. Mary-Anne Macleod and Mike Rudge have both been appointed as members for three-year terms commencing 1 November 2024 and ending 31 October 2027. “Transport is a critical part of our Government’s plan ...2 days ago
- Welcome relief from new oestradiol gel funding
Associate Health Minister David Seymour is welcoming Pharmac’s funding of oestradiol gel, following global shortages of oestradiol patches earlier this year. “I’m well aware of the stress caused by the global shortage earlier this year. At the time I said I was confident Pharmac was working hard to find a ...2 days ago
- Deputy Prime Minister visit to Australia
Foreign Minister and Racing Minister Winston Peters will visit Australia next week. “Australia is New Zealand’s closest partner, and we are pleased to make this second official visit there for 2024 following the first ever Foreign and Defence Ministers 2+2 Meeting between our two countries in Melbourne in January,” ...2 days ago
- Applications now open for new training pathway
Applications have now opened for tertiary education organisations to seek Government funding to develop New Zealand’s first postgraduate diploma programme for associate psychologists, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey announced today. “Investment in this new training pathway supports the Government’s target to grow our mental health and addiction workforce and ...2 days ago
- Increased medicines access continues following budget boost
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see further increased availability of medicines for Kiwis following the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this Government assumed office, ...2 days ago
- New Zealand concludes high quality trade deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
New Zealand and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have concluded negotiations on a trade agreement that will open up significant opportunities for New Zealand exporters in the Gulf region, Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay announced from Doha today. Today’s announcement follows significant reengagement with the GCC following meetings ...2 days ago
- Government seeks views on remote court attendance
The Government is exploring how to modernise the law around people attending court remotely, to support access to justice and enhance court performance. Courts Minister Nicole McKee says the current law has not kept up with evolving court practices and public attitudes to the use of remote technology, nor been ...3 days ago
- Breast screening age extension begins in Nelson Marlborough
Free breast screening has been extended for 70 to 74-year-old women living in the Nelson Marlborough district, ahead of a national roll-out late next year, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “Breast cancer is the most common cancer in New Zealand with about 3,400 women diagnosed with the disease ...3 days ago
- Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust Board strengthened
He toi whakairo, he mana tangata. The reappointment of one trustee and the appointment of four new trustees to the Te Māori Manaaki Taonga Trust Board will enable the legacy of Te Māori to be carried forward into the future, Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka and Arts Minister Paul Goldsmith ...3 days ago
- Affordable housing project supporting home ownership
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Are we in a police state yet?
I’ve been bullied by police and have lost the respect I used to have for them. Very sad.
Whoever put this together – BLiP ? ? maybe ? – good job, well done !
Outstanding work, Blip
standards are lower these days.By and large the Police are like any cross section of society…a small % are excellent,a large % average and another small % are a hopeless indictment on the whole force.
“standards are lower these days.By and large the Police are like any cross section of society”
I think there might be some truth to that les, but the stakes are so much higher in the police and justice area than in most other areas of life.
A hopeless-to-average shopkeeper can ruin your morning, but a hopeless-to-average cop can ruin your whole life.
And where are the consequences for these hopeless-to-average coppers? A hopeless plumber might ruin your house, but they won’t stay in business long with insurance companies on their case.
Hopeless cops on the other hand are routinely protected, their crimes excused, their disgraces covered up, their jobs secure, and after ten years they PERF out at our expense.
We just can’t afford hopeless-to-average cops. The job is too important. But the culture of the police seems to attract people with pretty low-to-average standards, little education and less experience, a “boys clubhouse” mentality about the job, and frankly backwards attitudes to large sectors of society.
Actually, I believe that such organisations as the police don’t follow the same sociological breakdown of the populace as they attract higher numbers of authoritarian types:
That may well be true. My point was that even if it isn’t, “average” isn’t good enough anyway.
which accounts for so many of them becoming National MP’s maybe
Surely the previous governments were also culpable? There is a trend, probably cos so many politicians rely on the Law and Order scare-mongering in campaigning to score points, to talk up the danger we are all in, and how hard it is for the police to do their work making it very hard to criticise the police?
My biggest concern is the continual reassurance that there has been or will be a “cultural change”, and then something else unacceptable happens… IF the police were under resourced out there in West Auckland and that is why some errors were made in Roastbusters, then the Police Commissioner needs to say so, instead of protecting their political betters.
For over 30 years I have read of mistakes of the police in sexually related contexts and read that there will be or has been a cultural change. It only takes 30 years to make a cultural change if you weren’t really making as big an effort as you should the first time.
+1 They haven’t addressed the culture problem at all, they’ve just gotten slightly better at making the right noises in public and quite efficient at defining every transgression as an isolated incident.
At least some honesty from Tracey.
Blip, It is not as if everything was sweetness and light until September 2008 and then the police just went crazy under the direct instructions of the Ministers. You know an instruction to the Commissioner that went something like this, “Make sure your officers start committing crimes, kill as many people as possible in car crashes, beat up suspects, they are all guilty anyway”
A list of this nature could be put together under any government, and it would equally prove nothing particular about that govt, except that in large organizations not everyone is going to live up to expectations.
It is about as dumb as your lists about John Key.
So Wayne, do you reckon a Labour led government would:
1) Sit on the knowledge that one of their MPs ( and a former senior cop) was allegedly indulging in serious criminal behaviour?
2) When the police begin an investigation… ensure that knowledge of the investigation is withheld from the public until after the General Election?
3) The MP in question is then promoted to Chairman of the Law and Order/Police Select Committee despite the ongoing investigation?
4 And finally encourages suppression of all details so that the public never gets to know the real story?
Yes, the police have been out of control for a long time and governments need to work to change that. This list is to show that this government still isn’t doing anything about that so is rather important.
BLIP’s lists about John Key are irrefutable evidence that he’s a lying schmuck and needs to be held to account. Not surprising that you don’t see that. Like most RWNJs you demand personal responsibility from others but not yourself, your leaders nor anyone else in the same ‘club’.
the police consistently fail women and girls Wayne. Consistently. So does the justice system. You had a chance in parliament, in Cabinet and now the Law Commission to put that right… Third position of influence lucky?
Of course it’s not new, Wayne.
So why is the govt doing nothing about it?
Labour had nine long years etc.
But Wayne, isn’t it sooo interesting that the police, MP’s and sundry other groups continue to offend at a far greater rate % wise than the group blamed by Nacts , that much maligned target demographic for all the country’s ills, the single parent.
Maybe your lot could get on with changing police culture to reduce offending figures.
I think you will find that it is gang members who have the highest offending rate, which is why the police focus on them more than any other group in society.
The police certainly act like a gang when it comes to protecting their own; right or wrong. They are; a group of three or more people who conspire to commit and/or conceal criminal acts, so I suppose that supports Wayne’s contention. Though there are not so many gangs of single-parents I would imagine, which was more RBCV’s point.
However when it comes to; “highest offending rate”, my money would be on; finance companies, and other white-collar criminals, who have computer programs to steal for them even while they’re asleep. However, for some reason, the police don’t; “focus on them more than any other group in society”, quite the contrary.
Those statistics about gangs spouted by Anne Tolley that turned out to be made up? Can’t rely on those now, nothing to see there move along.
From memory there are fewer active gang members than cops. Actually cops may have a higher % offending than gangs – stats anyone ??
Still nice try for a diversion that does not explain why the single parent group is held up as the problem rather than those who are actually offending.
Look at MP’s their offence rate (like the cops) is very high % wise and this is a group where charges are brought reluctantly.
So why does Nact hound those who don’t rather than those who do??
Answer the question Wayne.
“08/12/09 – Former constables Reuben James Harris and Benson Lyle Murphy are accused of making false statements in regard to the prosecution of a third officer who was charged with manslaughter. Harris and Murphy had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring to defeat the course of justice. Their jail sentence was subsequenrly quashed by a judge who refused to explain why.”
Interesting story behind this one. Harris and Murphy were apparently two fairly new recruits, compared to the other officer in the car. I understand he was off-duty when they gave him a ride. They saw George Harris – drunk & disorderly(?) – and the off-duty officer asked them to stop, and then he apprehended him. However, George Harris was unsecured, and during his escape from the other side door and scuffle he fell under a street sweeper, and died.
The VERY interesting part of this story is purely anecdoctal. They all went back to the police station where the sergeant came up with the story to protect the main officer involved and threatened Harris and Murphy with losing the respect of their colleagues and their jobs if they did not supported the agreed upon story.
A strange case of work place bullying.
What really concerns me is how effectively useless the Police are in investigating matters of alleged corruption – particularly when it involves politicians at local or central government.
Interesting that a petition calling for an Independent Commission Against Corruption was knocked back by the Law and Order Select Committee – then chaired by Mike Sabin?
Penny Bright
‘Anti-Corruption / Anti-Privatisation Public Watchdog’.
http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz
Love your work and we will only get progress on police behaviour by having an independent watchdog with teeth biting them when they err.
Boys club review processes and committees have no place anymore as our force has descended into scary territory of late taking advantage of that good old mate the national party.
“12/12/14 – A Central Otago ”
This one bothered me ( so did all the others). The cop peaded guilty and wanted to be discharged without conviction. The law said there was to b a restorative justice
conference.
The defence lawyer (his) contacted the woman and got told off by the judge. The prosecutor (a police prosecutor? who is also really also part of the police cohort?) had tried to get the woman to see- wait for it- a clinical psychologist in Dunedin (hand picked by the cops – one of theirs? ) but she had refused.
The woman isn’t the one with the behavioural problem, that’s him, but this level of suggestion, pressure? looks like they are gaslighting her, maybe trying to suggest that she is over reacting etc, etc minimising her complaint
Here we have the organisation the abuser belonged to also dealing with the complainants needs.
Do the complainants, where there is police offending, get an outside lawyer to represent them and their needs to prevent the system swallowing the complaint? Not as far as I can see.
Lastly, look at how all the senior officers who had complaint against them, many of them confidential, continue to rise , no wonder the problem continues.
This line from the Police Commissioner’s “article”:
Edwards may be one of the minority who just don’t like police. I have no issue with that and we have broad shoulders when it comes to criticism.
… is just dripping with irony. “Maybe he just doesn’t like the police because he’s a meany doodoohead, but *I* am totally above that kind of thing and the 700 words I spend whining about his criticism totally prove it.”
Actually Stephanie….I had to chuckle at that line myself….”Edwards may be one of the minority who just don’t like police. “, as during and after our wee run in with the police and the court system, we fast came to realize that our prior (blind) faith in the ‘system’ was misplaced.
Most folk we share our tale of woe with can’t believe we ever trusted the cops.
And….we tend to move in fairly middle aged, law abiding circles.
I hazard a guess that the majority of people “just don’t like police”.
Indeed – but obviously this is because we’re meany doodooheads, and not because there’s any actual problems with the police force’s behaviour or culture!
An excellent article. No surprises, but constructing such a well linked list certainly offsets the the official line that police failings are usually minor and occasional.
Well done, BLIP.
Those of us who have asked ourselves the question “are the police stupid or corrupt?” will have long since lost all faith in the protectors of law and order.
The IPCA regulary dismisses so called minor complaints and focusses on the high profile events that simply cannot be ignored.
The rest of us, who have evidence of crimes commited, have encountered police refusal to investigate, have been pursued by the police through the courts on not only flimsy evidence against us but actual, provable lies from a “victim”….what do we do?
When a complaint to the IPCA results in a senior uniformed policeman coming to our home in a marked car to tell us that “he has known Sergeant X for years, and he’s a good cop…”, so basically piss off…
We NEVER, EVER trust the police….any of them…ever again.
Accountability….
Integrity…..
Competence….
Your experiences ring a personal bell Rosemary McDonald.
Not always that minor either as you have clearly also experienced.
There’s absolutely nothing you can do unless you have a truckload of cash and can afford lengthy legal action. That discounts 75% of us right from the start.
I can attest to that.
I don’t normally comment here, I read and pass it over, but I do think in this case a ver important question needs to be asked, ( or maybe one or two),
Bunji [r0b: A pedant should get the name author correct] you state the quote was from a non-existent police officer, do you have evidence to support that assertion, if not it sounds like you are writing something you think is right and stating it as fact with no evidence. This loses you a lot of credibility for those who come here like I do for some informed opinions from the left of politics in NZ.
Also Stephanie, the police are allowed to have a right of reply, we still allow freedom of speech in this country, but by calling it whining you sound petulant and you ungracious, and you give the impression you don’t think the police had the right to reply to a criticism, which I am sure is not the case because that would be you wanting to stop opinions different to yours being published, which is censorship.
Agree with you Pedant.
While the Police are not perfect, (neither is any government department), they do a fantastic job and I support them 9 times out of 10.
Blaming Police for car chases is absurd. Police do a lot to avoid chases and pull out of dangerous chases frequently. But those issues are null and void if the criminals weren’t running away in the first place. Clearly Blip thinks they will nicely hand themsleves in.
Plus, a right of reply being dirty politics?? Spare me…
“the police are allowed to have a right of reply”
Yes. And we, the public they are supposed to protect and serve, are allowed to point out that the Commissioner’s reply is disingenuous, snide and self-serving, with no actual effort made to address the serious and proven criticisms people have of the force.
Please don’t make assumptions about what I think, especially when you have to spin my comment to make ridiculous comparisons to “censorship”.
Freedom of speech is not freedom from criticism.
Get a grip Blip! I could give you a list of all the naughty things my three sons have done in their lives but so what? It means almost nothing in terms of making an overall judgement of their behaviour or character unless it is compared with the lists for other boys their age. Same with the not so perfect NZ Police. As I understand it the NZ Police compare favourably with their international counterparts on the usual measures. This doesn’t of course mean they are without fault, but a list (or even a litany!) of publicised faults, errors and the usual cock ups could be interpreted as bias against the police if the list is not placed in some sort of statistical context.
Two questions need to be answered before anyone can reasonably assess the relevance of your sons’ naughtiness as a comparison.
1. Are your sons charged with keeping the peace, protecting citizens, investigating serious crimes and bringing prosecutions to the courts?
2. How many of the (many illegal) acts listed in the post have your sons committed?
sorry you’ve lost me … my comment is about the statistical relevance of Blip’s list.
I don’t think I can make the point any clearer, so I’ll try another.
In your opinion, how many of the acts (many illegal) on BLiP’s list constitute acceptable behaviour for a police officer?
The Stupid, It Burns.
FFS, the police are there to enforce the law and are expected to behave appropriately, and yet you think police misuse and abuse of the law is some how even comparable to the behaviour of children who are still learning (and relearning) where the boundaries are?
/facepalm
JanMeyer…..faults, errors, cockups? What this record shows is a culture within the Police which protects corruption, sexual violaters, criminal activity on the part of their own and where Police do as they like, lie and get away with it. Successive Police Ministers have failed to change anything. And the findings and recommendations of the Bazley report still stand waiting for attention.
Comments I’ve heard from those with intimate knowledge of the justice system from the bottom are that nothing’s changed, the pigs just have better PR and that corruption here takes the form of them being well trained to lie in court to get a conviction. They know how bad their own culture is and they just don’t care. The successive commissioners are as guilty and corrupt as all the underlings. The subtext to all their crocodile tears and “there is no problem/there was a problem but we’ve fixed it since the report was written” is “Ha ha FUCK YOU.”
Doubtless Greg O’Connor of the Police Association would argue that the primary cause is lack of immediate access to Firearms & providing all cops with guns would fix all & sundry issues.
Every time our family hears Uncle Greg whining about police not routinely carrying firearms…we collectively shudder.
Seriously….until they stop hiding behind the ” Oh, we have such a difficult job to do under trying conditions.” line every time they stuff up…..geeze, these guys can kill accidently with their bare hands!
While some of these facts are truly inexcusable I would like to point out that a lot of these cases went through the system and the appropriate result was reached.
And as for the “police chase ends in a crash “what do people think would happen if police didn’t chase offenders who ran ,I bet you would get a lot more people running
You’d rather they chase people till they crash and die? The concern is about the way they conduct chases.
Again, it comes down to culture.
It’s a rock and a hard place for the ,cops can you not imagine what sort of caos would happen out there
A; If people new that all you had to do to avoid that dic was floor it.
B; If the cops didn’t bother policing high risk driving because of the bad PR when things go wrong.
Yes it is tragic every time some dim wit runner kills him self but how many more would die if it was still a free for all out there like it was in my youth,
That does sound awful, glad I haven’t suggested any of those things.
You’re treating it as a binary. As if the only two options available are for the police to behave like boy-racing fuckwits or to do nothing at all.
“You’re treating it as a binary. As if the only two options available are for the police to behave like boy-racing fuckwits or to do nothing at at all”
What’s the third option?
Determine whether the reason they are pursuing the vehicle warrants the possibility of high-speed chases.
ie. should a car avoiding a registration check be followed at high speeds, or should the number be recording and a precautionary letter sent?
Or, you know, go to their house. Which is the usual practice when a known suspect leaves the scene of a crime.
How’s this for an option if an law man puts his lights on behind you , you pull over and you show them a little respect and if you’re brakeing the fucking law you take you punishment .
That’s what I’d recommend too.
Now if you can get your head around the fact that we’re talking about situations where that hasn’t happened, it’ll be a lot more useful you participating in the discussion.
“you show them a little respect and if you’re brakeing the fucking law you take you punishment “
Actually mate you couldn’t be more wrong about that.
It is not any part of the job of the Police to dish out punishment of any sort.
You’re thinking of Judge Dredd.
I wasn’t meaning a beating ,a ticket is punishment a trip to court is punishment.
No, you couldn’t more wrong.
As I said above, it’s about the way they conduct pursuits. Being a boy-racing fuckwit and pushing kids to drive as fast as they can until they lose control because their car doesn’t handle as well as the police car does is not the only way to stop someone.
If the NZTA get their way it’s going to get worse. The AA have a member survey out at the moment asking members opinions on NZTA proposals, many of which are about new tech. That includes the ability of police to tell if a car that they drive past has a driver with a valid drivers licence in it. Lots of other proposals around collecting personal information/data and using it to track people in real time.
Agree.
(… and I have never driven along the Southern motorway at maximum speed, and have a police car stay behind me. They always pass at quite a steady clip. Lights or no.)
I can identify plenty of evidence of possible corruption in that list for Penny’s Commission to investigate. My view is that any police force attracts authoritarian bullies and acts over time to exclude decent human beings. Police forces all over the world work at the limits of what society expects of them. Our present society doesn’t expect much except that the “middle classes” don’t get routinely tasered. Until there are real consequences for poaka malpractice and law breaking, nothing will change.
Hi Murray Rawshark.
Nice to see you back.
Thanks Anne.
That was Part 1 (operational). Suggests there’s more to come. Recently knighted and terminally ill criminal lawyer & QC Sir Peter Williams could provide a few hoary chestnuts.
I wonder if there is any way of finding out how many former cop’s have become MP’s over the past 20 years and for what party, along with the current intake?
As far as I am aware Atiawa all former cops – and current cops – who have become MPs over the past 20 years were/are National MPs. That tells me the police are, in the main, tunnel visioned with conservative black and white ideals.
Yep and not content with enforcing the law (and often poorly) some of them want to make more and preside over their enforcer mates.
Power crazy fuckers.
It shows a lack of critical thought to say that because national recruit s some of it’s MPs from the police that all police are of a right leaning.
Good thing no-one said that then, eh?
Atiawa asked a question. I answered it.
You show a lack of critical ability to comprehend what you read because I didn’t say ALL police are right leaning.
O come on if you weren’t calling the whole police force a bunch of right wingers I’ll eat my hat.
Bon appetit. Most of them are though, that’s self evident to anyone who’s had much to do with them.
Been arrested 3 times and moved on more then once and I found them to be good buggers in general . of course because I’m a realist I tend to know when I’m in the wrong so take my medicine.
There not perfect and corruption needs to be jumped on but I prefer a world that has a thin blue line .
And?
No-one is arguing otherwise.
ps isn’t it strange how whenever someone suggests that violent thugs, rapists, bigots and criminals should have no place in our police force, the response is to accuse them of not wanting a police force at all.
It’s that stupid binary again. It’s got to be “this” or nothing at all.
It’s the idiocy at the heart of conservatism, the idea that whatever we have now is as good as anything could possibly be.
“ps isn’t it strange how whenever someone suggests that violent thugs, rapists, bigots and criminals should have no place in our police force, the response is to accuse them of not wanting a police force at all.”
A bit like Mike Bush showing his true low brow colours by casually suggesting that “Edwards may be one of the minority who just don’t like police.” I believe it to be a not so distant cousin of the stfu response to criticism. (I like the lack of irony in his next sentence claiming that “we have broad shoulders when it comes to criticism.” Clearly not they are not so broad when you lip warbles enough to drop stupid school boy ad homs into your article.)
“It’s the idiocy at the heart of conservatism, the idea that whatever we have now is as good as anything could possibly be.”
Yep, essentially a failure of imagination. A reflexive defending of the status quo. Along with the cognitive dissonance involved in that any admission of systemic problems implies some degree of failing/incompetence at the higher levels.
Bush’s response was a bland PR brochure that presented a ‘look at all the good work we do’ bunch of stats that was in no way relevant to Edwards’ criticisms. Thus either he has the intellectual capacity of a toothbrush, or Rhinocrates’ interpretation is correct and his piece can be a read as “Please, feel free to examine my extended middle finger.” Neither option is good for inspiring respect and confidence.
I was like you once b waghorn. Thought the sun and moon shone out of their backsides. Then I had cause to seek police help over a series of harassment and intimidatory behaviour (including blatant criminal acts) that had been occurring over a long period of time. Guess what… they did nothing – didn’t want to know about it. All up, I was treated like shit.
I’ve had no time for them since.
Funny, isn’t it?
Ditto Anne.
I was a staunch supporter of the police. Brought the kids up to trust the friendly bobby in blue.
Held the belief that despite condradictory reports from defence lawyers and the media that the cops had stuffed up and got the wrong man, planted evidence, lied….there was no smoke without fire, and the bad guy was really a bad guy even if the poloce couldn’t prove it…..
Tried REALLY hard through our troubles to find a path for the cops to regain my trust.
The more I tried….the more that path faded.
No pathway now.
It seems to me that two things would help rectify this situation.
1. We need a fully independent prosecution service which would be answerable to a minister of the crown not the police minister.
The police job is to investigate offences and prepare information for the Prosecution Department. Police should not be in charge of prosecution in any way and should not be the ones to decide which prosecutions should proceed.
2. We need a greatly strengthened audit of all police behaviour and systems. It would not employ any former Police personnel and should be in charge of auditing not only police actions but also access to police computer systems. Maybe its reporting structure could be part of the Ombudsman activities but definitely not any reporting line into Police Department.
“The police job is to investigate offences and prepare information for the Prosecution Department. Police should not be in charge of prosecution in any way and should not be the ones to decide which prosecutions should proceed.”
Now there’s an idea.
I, (upon pleading ‘not guilty’ and receiving all police documents under disclosure) went back to the local cop shop and pointed out numerous errors, discrepancies, inconsistancies, lack of any evidence to support claims from the ‘victim’ was told in no uncertain terms that it was the prosecutor’s call to pursue the matter through the courts….” they are lawyers, you know, they know what they are doing.”
So, off to see the police prosecutor….the wife of a local top cop no less…who dismissed all of our issues and concerns and told me if I insisted on pleading not guilty and I was found guilty…then the court “will take your home to pay for damages”. “What damages?” I asked. There was no evidence of damage to anything…much less any evidence that I was the cause of any alleged damage.
“Well” said Mrs. Top Cop’s wife, “It could go to a civil court where the burden of proof is lower…” WTF?
A trial….an awfully traumatic experience for all the family, bouyed only by the absolute certainty I had done nothing wrong. Grounded by the ever increasing knowledge that my fate was entirely in the hands of a judge who could (as others have done) fail to consider all the evidence.
Charge dismissed. “Victim’s” evidence deemed to be “unreliable, inconsistant and prevaricating.”
No shit, Sherlock.
Judge acknowledged my right to defend myself and others from trespass and perceived threat, and despite the police prosecutor’s assertion, we should not have to flee from our own property to be safe.
There is clear evidence that the “victim” lied.
There is clear evidence that there were irregularities in various legal documents he signed.
There is clear evidence that the police fabricated evidence to back up the “victim’s” claims.
Why? Because the “victim” had worked for and with the local police?
We will never know. We tried to get answers, tried to get the police to have a proper look at the whole issue, admit they got it wrong…..but to no avail.
As far as the local cop was concerned I was “lucky to get away with it”.
So, here’s me….forever in the margins, on the fringes, almost an outlaw because of police ignorance, incompetence, obstinacy and corruption.
I have all the documentation. Why? God knows.
It’s not as if anytime soon the world is going to tilt on its axis and shift us into an alternate universe where those mandated to uphold the law, respect the law.
Similar situation for me but I never ended up in court. By the end of it all, I was too cowed and stressed to go through with it.
The chief perpetrator of the crimes against me was a Justice of the Peace no less. I suspect she was playing the role of ‘victim’ among other things. Whatever, she had influence with the police – and elsewhere – and they believed her. Case closed.
Its time a good investigative journalist collected the stories many of us have to tell and published them so that some form of justice is finally served.
Mmm I used to have a lot of respect for Phil Kitchin then I saw in paper yesterday that he was now working for Paula Bennett. Whilst it is the right of anyone to work where they choose I wonder what would induce anyone to work for Bennett. Sad news indeed
Kitchin may have held himself out as an investigative journalist but he was always more like Ian Wishart than Nicky Hagar. He was no John Pilger that’s for sure. I remember dealings with him in the 1990s where he’d approach left-leaning people for their take on issues and deliberately twist what they said to try to make them look silly or unbelievable. It was something I experienced from him a number of times. I’m not surprised in the slightest he’s now working for Bennett. Thinking about it I’m probably more surprised it didn’t happen sooner.
“We need a fully independent prosecution service which would be answerable to a minister of the crown not the police minister.”
I’d suggest a cross-party panel. Looking at who FJK recently thought would make a good minister, I don’t think we want to leave it to one person.
yes I would endorse that.
Mike,
I see again that you are trying to defend the corrupt actions of yourself and the police executive by attacking Bryce Edwards and the statements he has been making in relation to the police.
As you are aware I am still waiting for you to respond to my complaints against the large number of police staff, including Deputy Commissioner Rickard, Assistant Commissioner Cliff, Inspector Banks, Superintendent Knowles, yourself, the Christchurch crown solicitor Stanaway and others in relation to the fabricated investigation against me.
As you are aware these people and others forged documents, made false statements and memorandums, committed perjury etc
When we last spoke in June 2012 you stated to me you were investigating Banks etc for these offences. You have the tapped admissions of Banks in which he confirms he forged the documents and that he had never interviewed me and as such the police staff and Stanaway could never have disclosed the documents to me.
You are aware that police staff told the IPCA, Privacy Commissioner, two Ministers of Police, two MP’s and others that all of the 190 documents had been disclosed, but then they refused to supply copies of them.
Since we spoke in 2012 you have failed to respond to any of the correspondence sent to you re updates etc and are aware that your staff have ignored over 1`00 OIA requests for documents etc but during this time you and other corrupt and incompetent staff have stated that the police always investigate their own etc.
As you are aware Bill Peoples the very corrupt PNHQ lawyer has ignored all of my requests since 2012 but he stated many times the documents had been disclosed to me and the complaints had been investigated, but you and others including him then refused to supply me copies of the investigations and failed to exp-lain why the code of conduct had not been complied with.
You are also well aware that Peoples had to finally admit to the Ombudsman in November 2014, now some 5 months ago, that the documents Stanaway and the police staff had all stated to have seen and disclosed to me, in fact have never existed.
These admissions prove beyond any doubt that the police staff and Stanaway committed over 100 criminal offences and have perverted the course of justice in relation to me as the documents that they had stated to have disclosed, in written memorandums and oral arguments, have never existed and they knew this. (Banks and Cliff had already admitted to you that the documents did not exist).
You were advised of this as were all senior police executive staff but to date you and them have ignored my correspondence and complaints as it is clear that Peoples had also covered up the very clear police offending and that of Stanaway.
I again reminded you of this offending and cover up when you came out with all of the warm and fuzzy bullshit statements about the poor investigation etc over the RoastBusters shambles and how the police focus was on victims etc.
Again you were too cowardly to reply to me as to why I as a victim of massive police corruption have not had my complaints investigated. That is apart from the obvious that 20 police staff and Stanaway would go to jail for a very long time for the perversion of justice and the other offences just as ex Inspector Dewar was when he failed to investigate the complaints against police staff over the Louie Nicholas rape matters. In sentencing Dewar to 4 and 1/2 years jail the High Court judge stated in the sentencing that Dewar did cover up the complaints and as you know the admissions by Peoples re the non existent documents relating to me equally shows that you and others have for the last 7 years intentionally covered up my complaints because of the fact the crown solicitor Stanaway has been caught out. I attach the Dewar sentencing as this shows that you and your staff have case law to use and have failed to do so.
You have again recently made more false statements to the public over the new code of conduct implemented.
You state, lie,
“The code of conduct really is just to contemporise where we are and also to bring it in line with our new values in the New Zealand police.”
Mr Bush said police had started working on the new code of conduct six months ago.
“We went out and consulted with our staff. This is a joint piece of work between the police staff and the police executive.”
He said while many of the matters explored in the new code of conduct went without saying, the high expectations of people within police needed to be articulated.
“It’s also [about] the expectations of the public, and that’s why we have made the document public.
So whilst it’s my and the police executive’s expectations of how we will be professional in the service we provide, it is also really important that the public can understand and have their expectations very clear of their police service.”
Mr Bush said police were “rightly” the most scrutinised organisation in the country.
“I’m all for that. People need to know exactly what’s going on in the New Zealand police … we are the New Zealand public’s police service.”
It is very clear the public of NZ would expect the police to investigate why 20 police staff and Stanaway fabricated and entire investigation against me, forged documents, failed to comply with judicial directions, filed false memorandums etc and then when I obtained confessions etc and police staff admitted that other police staff and Stanaway had lied, that you took no action and continue to cover up the very serious criminal offending that has jail terms up to 14 years.
The public would also like to know why Maarteen Kleintjes was not interviewed, arrested and charged for the perjury complaint you have had for five years, but to date was not investigated and he was allowed to retire from the police without the investigation and that when reporters wrote requesting details on my complaint they were told that they did not exist. (See attached).
As you are aware I knew he was back in NZ to give his questionable evidence in the Lundy re-trial. I phoned Superintendent Anna Jackson, PNHQ professional standards, (the biggest oxymoron statement ever invented), and also Kim Watson and informed them that he was in the Wellington High Court and as such could be interviewed on my complaint, which was resent, after he gave his evidence.
I also faxed to Deputy Commissioner Clement a copy of the complaint and a fresh complaint against Kleintjes and Peoples, as Peoples had also failed to investigate it.
I also emailed Deputy Commissioner Rickard with a copy of the Kleintjes complaint and you were copied in on all of them.
To date the complaints have never been acknowledged and Rickard, Clement, Jackson and you have failed to reply to any correspondence over why he was never investigated for the perjury and the perverting the course of justice complaint. You all had his own admissions stating he had not done as he had claimed.
So again so much for “the honesty and integrity of police” the police treating victims etc.
So please explain to me, the victim of police corruption and the continued cover up of police offending and that of Stanaway a crown solicitor, that has all been proven by the admissions of Cliff, Banks, McKeown, Busby, Richardson, Peoples and so on, why I am still waiting for justice and why corrupt police staff are still working and have not been investigated and charged, while other police staff who have committed less serious offences, who are not senior staff, have been jailed.
I also remind you of all of the outstanding OIA requests and the complaints re Knowles that need to be addressed before he leaves for his overseas posting, as he is facing some very serious jail time.
I also require an update on the complaint re Peoples who failed to supply me the documents i needed for the ERA as it is now too late to file the matter and as you are aware he had stated many times to have seen the very same documents that he has now admitted to not existing.
You also have my complaint against Clements etc for failing to investigate Kleintjes while he was in NZ. Please reply to this. It is also still not too late to charge Kleintjes as there is sufficient evidence you have that has been supplied by me that meets the criteria of, reasonable prospect of conviction” and the police can then apply for him to be extradited from the Netherlands
I am sure Bryce Edwards would be more interested in the matters contained in this email than actually taking up your offer because we all know that if he took up your offer he would be paired up with very safe PC staff to take him around very safe and PC jobs or even worse be taken out by you for photo opportunities.
I won’t hold my breath in any expectation of hearing from you as you are well aware you have problems explaining the continued cover up to protect yourself and senior staff as well as the corrupt crown solicitor.
“Peoples”???
Now where have I read that name?
Oh, yes, here….
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9964140/What-it-costs-when-police-get-it-wrong
When the man said this….”Police officers often operated in fast-paced, stressful situations, and sometimes got the law wrong, Peoples said.
“It’s a big organisation and you do a lot of sharp-end stuff. People don’t set out to stuff things up and, if they do, it’s dealt with very quickly.”
Sound familiar?
And he goes on to reassure us all that….”Officers who made mistakes were sat down for a “professional conversation” and sometimes retrained, ”
….and to further put our vexed minds at ease…
“A culture change in recent years putting emphasis on respectful attitudes from police officers had reduced litigation, he said. ”
Now, where was that picture of pigs flying?
(No insult intended, of course.)