Anyone noticed the sudden overbearing presence of Police at peaceful protests? Bugging Greenpeace and intimidating lawful activists. 25 Police at a 150-strong anti-deepsea drilling protest in Tauranga. 12 officers at a 60 worker picket at CMP Rangitikei. Are they just hyper because of the Cup or is it about shielding businesses from people exercising their democratic right to protest?
There were 220K unsolved crimes last year. Maybe looking into them would be a better use of resources than this bullshit.
Oh, and by the by, no way should the Police be charging for their services at major events. The right to safety at public gatherings is not dependent on your ability or willingness to pay the Police money. They’re not a private security firm. Don’t want them not showing up to major events where a Police presence is necessary because the organisers haven’t coughed up. Equally, can’t have the Police diverting more resources than needed to events to chase some cash.
The payday shouldn’t enter into Police resourcing decisions. Even if National’s cuts are hurting.
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