Pressure to lower stats – MP
Police were under government orders to “minimise” the number of domestic violence charges they lay to make crime statistics look good, Labour MP Andrew Little claimed yesterday.
This latest allegation of Police downplaying domestic violence and prosecuting fewer offences even though they have investigated more incidents follows a long list of complaints from stake holder groups that the Police decision to hide the true enormity of domestic violence by merging the stats with all assaults committed at home was a backward step and a worrying lack of priority.
Domestic violence demands a level of attention that is unquestionable yet recent Police commitment seems to have broken down into a pattern of insulting behaviour. Such blatant manipulation of the process is an affront to those being abused and gaining no protection as it is, but the suggestion this is being done as some sort of budgetary response is utterly unacceptable when this Government is borrowing billions for tax cuts.
There seems to be a trend here where the pain committed to women is some sort of acceptable collateral damage, we saw it with MFAT allowing a diplomat accused of rape to walk free, we saw it with the way Police dealt with the Roast Buster case and we see it here with the masking of stats to reduce costs.
This requires political leadership.
“This requires political leadership.”
I thought it has, Martyn, of the John Key kind……….
Women make up about half the voting population of this country and if they got together and demanded changes as a prerequisite for their votes then the two main parties would change their tunes very quickly, I think. However, Labour and National were formed when politics was still basically a male thing and despite some reforms and changes of attitude over the years, they both are still something of an old boys club, despite their protestations. The Greens were an equal opportunity party from the onset and Labour are trying to bring violence against females into the election arena now but women need to get politically organized and use their votes for real change. They have enough votes to completely make or break a party, if they wish to do it that way.
It is obviously true what you are saying here Martyn.
It isn’t only domestic violence that the police don’t seem too interested in – it’s sexual violence too.
Violence against women and children is rife in NZ, and that is a statistical fact.
I reckon the police only want to manage the ‘juicy’ cases, ones they can get their teeth into, like murder. They aren’t really interested in the women or children until they are forced to handle the matter when they are killed. Domestic violence and sexual abuse are so common for them that they must get quite bored with dealing with the same violence against women crimes day after day after day. Insulting behaviour alright!
This isn’t to say that all police are this way inclined, but there are lots and lots of women out there who would indeed have this perception of police from their own first hand experience. Very sad.
Opinion and belief.
Another disquieting thing is when they do publish statistics on violence (actually of most kinds, not just domestic or sexual violence) they will publish stats on the victims but not the perpetrators.
The information is there and published by researchers who have obtained it from the police, but its not easy to find and its not comprehensive.
When one does find good stats on perpetrators one can see that most of the violence police prosecute is done by men. Even deaths of children in NZ, most at the hands of men.
I strongly suspect the police, being rather male dominated and old school, don’t want the public to have this information. I think it makes them uncomfortable.
I don’t trust them. Not the tiniest little bit.
Police, government and media manipulate thought. Be the artist http://serious.kiwi/betheartist
One doesn’t “mask stats to reduce costs” – one “reduces costs and then masks the stats” – A matter of emphasis.
A matter of emphasis – “one doesn’t mask stats then reduce costs” – “one reduces costs then masks stats”.
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