Because we are a colonial country, our forefathers and foremothers knew that they were stealing Maori land, and they turned a blind eye to the abuses meted out to angry natives by the mounted constabulary because deep down where they didn’t want to admit it, our colonial forebearers knew violence was necessary to legitimise them being here. This cultural need to worship authority lives deep in the hearts of middle NZ to this day. Middle class NZ turn a blind eye to the abuses by the cops against minorities today because that thin blue line is all that there is to keep the riff raff out of their plush leafy suburbs.
That’s why no one, not the media, not the politicians , not the journalists will criticise the NZ Police.
Thank god for academics. Bryce Edwards hard hitting feature article this morning highlights how out of control and how totally a law unto themselves this lack of critical scrutiny has allowed the NZ Police force to become.
They have no checks and balances put upon them, the toothless IPCA is a lap dog, not a watchdog. When I helped put a case against the Police for the bullying into suicide of cannabis activist Stephen McIntyre, the Police threatened the family that if they didn’t co-operate with their report into his suicide after being threatened by the Police that there would be no investigation.
Look at the way the Police responded to criticisms after their handling of the Rape Buster case or the investigation into the sado-masochistic gang rape orgies of the 1980s…
The alpha male arrogance of the Police is in evidence every single year when Greg O’Connor gets asked if Dame Margaret Bazley’s 2007 Commission of Inquiry recommendations have been adopted. In 2012, Greg had the audacity of describing Police being asked if they had implemented all the recommendations as a ‘ritualistic humiliation of the Police’.
You read that right, O’Connor describes being held to account for implementing recommendations regarding the Police culture of sado-masochistic pack rapes as ‘ritualistic humiliation of the Police’.
Is sexism so accepted that the Police spokesperson can seriously use that language in light of the case that brought about the report?
No Greg, I don’t think the report into the sado-maschistic pack rape culture of the NZ Police is a ‘ritual humiliation’, I think that’s called being held to account.
I think what happened to Louise Nicholas was ritual humiliation.
I think what happened to the woman raped by Brad Shipton, Bob Schollum and three other men at Mt Maunganui in 1989 was ritual humiliation.
I think Louise Nicholas taking her case to court three times only to be denied justice when Shipton and Schollum were already in prison for the same type of ritual humiliation pack sex attack was a ritual humiliation.
I think the Rotorua woman who claimed she was kidnapped and raped by the three of them in 1984 knows about ritual humiliation.
I think Detective John Dewar committed a ritual humiliation by covering up for his Police mates
And to top it off Greg, I think the 10 women who testified at a secret forum against the Police culture of sexual misconduct who had the hearings recommendations for compensation turned down by John Key and his Cabinet, know more about ritual humiliation than you can conceive…
Police sex witnesses denied compensation
The Government has rejected a secret forum’s recommendation that 10 women who alleged sexual misconduct by police officers get reparation. A letter obtained by The Dominion Post reveals the forum chairwoman, Wellington lawyer Rachael Brown, recommended that the Government pay “financial redress” for alleged misconduct by police officers. But the Cabinet has ignored the recommendation – angering women who spoke at the forum, including Donna Johnson, of Tauranga. Ms Johnson – who alleged convicted rapist and former Bay of Plenty detective Brad Shipton stalked her and forced her to perform oral sex – questioned why the Government bothered with the forum if its key recommendation was going to be ignored.(Don’t you love Finlayson’s comment – “I know this decision will be disappointing. I hope that the opportunity to tell your story and be referred to additional services has been helpful,” – yeah Chris, I’m sure they loved having to recount their sexual abuse at the hands of Police only to get no acknowledgement and completely ignored).
…I’m pretty sure the 300 women Dame Margaret Bazley identified as suffering from Police sexual misconduct who weren’t able to take part in the secret forum feel they have suffered a ritual humiliation.
TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com
…it’s not just their unbelievable arrogance and ability to do as they please with the acquiescence of middle NZ who are brainwashed by propaganda ‘reality’ TV cop shows that’s the problem, the mainstream media who use crime headlines to whip up lynch mob mentality’s means there is never any time or space to have the media critically hold the Police to account.
Take the horrific case of Teina Pora, the media in NZ still couldn’t bring themselves to state the obvious, that the cops stitched Pora up…
Beyond the fact that all evidence points to serial rapist Malcolm Rewa, beyond the fact that the interrogation process bordered on Police State, beyond the fact that paid evidence was used to convict, beyond the fact that Pora couldn’t actually identify the house, beyond the fact that Rewa would NEVER take a member of an opposite gang along for a shared rape experience – beyond all that is the physical evidence that the amount of force and violence required to kill Susan Burdett was well beyond the capacity of a 17 year teenager.
The Police framed a young brown kid to take the fall and what we now see represents the worst miscarriage of justice ever in NZ history.
What must be most worrying however are the retrospective powers John Key has rammed through Parliament to give the cops massive search and surveillance powers that allow them to bug legally privileged conversations, break into your house and plant spy cameras without you knowing, warrantless search orders and they can trigger these powers by linking 3 people who know each other.
We are becoming less of a democratic state and more a functioning Police state.
+100…very worrying…great Post!
is it common for those who bully and humiliate to turn it back and say that the victim(s) or those who support the victim(s) is the humiliator?
….when all that is being attempted is justice and a calling to account?
In New Zealand, police corruption is investigated by . . . the police.
As my own real-world experience shows, even a confession of criminal wrongdoing is covered up, written off and buried by police administrators.
Some of your readers might be interested in my related letter to the Queen:
• https://obrien.wordpress.com/crown/
wow that sure as hell takes courage…may many more do similar
….and I think I remember the publicity surrounding this…it certainly made people think about what had been going on ….and applaude courage…while there are police like this, who speak out, all is not lost.
That took guts. A person with no soul has no conscience.
Clean hand makes a happy heart.if only the police could confront their crimes and confess!
Brilliantly put Martyn and quite disturbing at the same time.
Just as concerning is the fact the police investigate their own! How is this supposed to get a fair outcome for victims? It doesn’t! So is that the whole idea of it all? I think so. Closed ranks in the police old boys’ (& girls’) club!
Interestingly this piece from Bryce Edwards in today’s Herald on Sunday (at the time of my post) isn’t accompanied with a chance to comment!
Yet more provoking thoughts emerge with this post you present today Martyn, – with this new expose’ of the NZ Government now using the thin blue line as a self styled Key copy of (1936) Heinrich Himmler, & Goering’s (1934) infamous civil police operatives as (secret Police) called Gestapo, and later referred to as Hitler’s storm troopers.
Not surprising when you see that John Key has as one of his “Hobbies” reading old war stories and probably pre war German history stories at that particularly.
So Key may be styling his own secret Police style Gestapo using the thin blue line paid for by all us taxpayers, this is a stealing of public funds for his own political ends equal to tyranny.
Key and his high command lieutenant Joyce should be fired on the spot.
Great article Martin, especially the piece from Patrick O’Briens. Yes, the New Zealand Police needs an overhaul, along with the National Party, the corporate operations involving themselves in fraudulent acts. Things certainly need to be pulled back under control, and the Monarchy need to step in and put things into place. What’s happening now is corporate operated politics undermining laws, sovereignty and democracy.
During the early 2000 I was arrested by the Rotorua polce for disorderly behaviour when I was a bit pissed and telling under cops to fuck off that were parked not far from me and friends. Now people would say yeah well you deserve what you get cause you were cheeky to the law. But what happen was that as I was still waiting for our taxi and had stop abusing these undercover cops a paddy wagon pulled up beside us and police uniform of guys and girls approached us and said your under arrest for disorderly behaviour. I first asked why and then when I had my question answered I grudgingly obeyed and was handcuff and leed to the wagon. AS I was hopping into the paddy wagon with my hands handcuff I was pepper sprayed multiple times and had problems breathing. I was in agony and taken to the police station where they gave me access to a tap to wash the spray off my face. Then when I thought things were scaling down I was rushed by cops dressed in full riot gear with shield and batons and thrown to the ground stripped naked and dragged to a cell where I was left till the morning still naked. I was released early in the morning clothes given back to me and charged with disorderly behaviour. I seen the names on my arrest form of the detectives who I was accused of being disorderly to and wrote to the PCA about my plight it took them a year to get back to me but not until I wrote to the then Minister of Police Margret Wilson who just did her utmost to protect these officers. Anyway the moral of this experience is if that shit ever happens to you make sure you have a camera recording it then maybe your be taken seriously and not being rail roaded like I was.
I may be naïve but I believe that the NZ police force is in the main a good organisation but with the following caveats;
a) They are a human organisation with all the failings and susceptibilities of any human organisation.
b) the nature of police work necessitates and encourages strong espirit de corps
c) all clubs, teams, belief systems, professional bodies, army units and so on have limited ability to self examine / criticise and protect their own.
d) they hold a unique position of authority and credibility that can not but encourage hubris
Therefore it is clear ALL these “human” failings absolutely necessitate a strong, totally independent oversight group. This really is an example of Caesars Wife and the police association etcetera by opposing such an independent oversight authority are doing the body much harm.
+100 …very good points…and there are a lot of very good police…they are let down by the bad ones and the system
1000% Chooky.
I don’t wholly agree. If the majority are very good, as we are continuously exhorted (without any evidence) to believe, then they are egregiously silent about a sizeable minority that are not.
If the non corrupt are in the overwhelming majority they should speak up and demand a thorough clean up the police service, and stand firm in their demand regardless of any systemic pushback.
That they haven’t indicates to me a degree of complacency or even acceptance of corrupt practice by the majority, for minor corruption through to serious.Because of the creeping nature of corruption, zero tolerance is the only solution.
Complacency in regard to corruption is the sibling of complicity to corruption.
I guess it depends very much on your experience(s)…thus far I have met only very good ones
…except what i saw during the Springbok Tour was both shockingly bad and extremely good in very provoking situations…they were the meat in Muldoon’s political sandwich
I guess it depends very much on your experience(s)…thus far I have met only very good ones
That is nice for you, but for others, maybe not so nice …..
…. it’s usually best to leave leave personal experience out of such assessments; as the saying goes, the plural of anecdote is not data.
sorry I am an existentialist and no one is going to dis my experience….i won’t dis yours or others eg that of Louise Nicholas…which i know can be/are very different!
…and as I say I saw things during the Springbok Tour which I wont forget eg the row one ahead of me on Molesworth Street which was batoned…but I also saw police pleading with people not to go on that march…and I heard some say they did not want to be there
imo… the police force in general is only as good as its political masters…and if the governing politicians are corrupt then so will be the police…who will be used to the politicians’ ends
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/67617030/police-shut-30-stations-in-effort-to-combat-budget-cuts
They live very isolated lives, don’t they? Removed from reality and less-criminal people. Allowed to play up so long as they move the statistics in the ‘right’ direction…
Working under the ‘lock ’em up and throw away the key’ mindset with little access to anything that would challenge and change their defensive-offensive style.
Now. Which of our Opposition parties is going to crack the egg and insist on better practice in this country? We’re certainly small enough to get into change and innovation. And I’m sure the Howard League will help all it can.
No good looking at most of the current crop of conservatives. Who, then? And how do we support the initiative?
An interesting link and about the only coherently intelligent comment I’ve ever read from Greg O’Connor.
+100 … “O’Connor says stations are being moved from low-socio economic areas, because residents tend to put up less of a fight. “That’s why we are a little cynical about this . . . people there often do need somewhere to go running to.”
This is just hysterical hyperbole.
Calling the Police in general corrupt, when you can only name a series of isolated incidents over the past 40 years that can be counted on the fingers on one hand is ludicrous.
Doctors are also governed by their own body, as are teachers, midwives and lawyers. And based on the logic exhibited here we could brand teachers as predatory pedophiles, midwives as murderers, doctors as incompetent killers and lawyers as endemically corrupt.
… “Calling the Police in general corrupt, when you can only name a series of isolated incidents over the past 40 years that can be counted on the fingers on one hand is ludicrous.”
The USED Group is a unique phenomena in the history of New Zealand Policing: around 50 police officers and undercover agents admitting they have misused drugs, tampered with evidence and committed perjury to obtain convictions against their targets in following the orders of police administrators.
Should you be interested, my full post can be read here:
• https://patrickobrien.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/used-group/
[…] a chance to speak on any issue, he’s constantly pushing for Police to be armed with guns. Seeing as we can’t trust the cops with rape prosecutions, tasers, people held within custody, … – why the hell would arming them result in anything else other than a jump in civilian […]
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