BLiP View: Crusher missing in action
Over the last 12 months we’ve seen Chopper Tolley, Basher Bennett, and Pansy Wong all exposed as incompetents. As Ministers, these Nats sit atop portfolios in a manner rather akin to sitting atop a portaloo. Yet, there’s another Minister who needs to be brought into focus Crusher Collins.
It seems now that ‘bash-a-cop’ is becoming a bit of a weekend sport. The reason for this, we are told, is that police no longer have the respect of the community they claim to serve and protect. Since Crusher took on the role as Minster for Police, lets have a wee look at what’s been happening with the police.
- 05/12/08
- Wellington police officer Jason Manu Casson is discharged without conviction for stealing $90.
- 16/12/08
- tab;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.
- 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.
- 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
- 25/07/09
- Northland police run down two pedestrians, killing one and injuring another.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 22/11/09
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
Every few weeks yet more news of the police and their antics.
Obviously, not all of the incidents have occurred during Crusher’s tenure and not all of them are specifically her fault. There are other incidents which indicate the attitude of the police to their community, ranging from high speed pursuits at the weekend and their behaviour during recent protests being of relevance. But, given this litany of fuck ups, isn’t it just a wee bit possible that the police have something to do with the lack of respect they receive from the community? Are the police actually under control? What about the stress of their job, petty government policies, the economic environment, being trained by drunks, and the culture of the organisation itself? When does one begin to look at the Minister and ask what is going on?
Are the media to blame for bringing all this to our attention, as the Police Association would have us believe? And, speaking of the media, where are the banner headlines announcing the end of society as we know it as per the sensationalist nonsense when Labour was in power? Questions, questions, questions.
And what has Collins got to say about things? Well, as of this afternoon absolutely nothing That’s right: nada, zip, zero. Missing in action.
Instead, its that nice Mr Key who’s come storming down from on high to grab the headlines and paint his image as crusader for the good cause – and what’s his solution to the situation yep, you guessed it: harsher sentences. No policies for improving the police image, no comment on the real causes, no insight into the implications for society when its guardians are subject to such violent scorn. Just more media mendacity driven by a relentless desire to say something, anything, to seize the headlines and manufacture yet more ‘oohs and aahs’ from his treasured focus groups. So much for change.
Are we lovin’ it yet?
BLiP
lprent: We have commented previously on assaults on police in this post from 2008. I suspect that at best the graph will show another minor lifting per sworn police officer in 2009. Of course if the number of police are increased then you get a rise in absolute numbers, which is what is being spun in the MSM at present.
You have to wonder who is puffing figures to make a do-nothing government have a meaningless PR opportunity. I’d like to see what the rate is for traffic injuries per sworn officer – probably as at least as dangerous as assaults.
