A response to Police Commissioner Mike Bush

Police Commissioner Mike Bush has reacted to the excellently researched critique of the NZ Police force by Bryce Edwards with all the alpha male privileged arrogance that remarkably underscores Edwards argument.

Let’s dissect Bush’s insincere sophistry column by column…

I challenge Dr Bryce Edwards to get out from behind his desk and see first-hand the outstanding work 12,000 New Zealand Police staff do every day.

…ahh, the good old ‘wimpy intellectual sitting behind their desk’ argument. Nothing deflects well thought out criticism in NZ better than by appealing to our anti-intellectualism. Bush may as well call Dr Edwards a commie pinko, because writing his criticisms off with such a broad statement is designed more to attack the messenger and focus attention on them than what is actually being said. It’s a tactic Key uses every time he is caught out lying about a mass surveillance lie.

I have no doubt this would give him a better-informed picture of modern policing, rather than re-visiting a selective handful of high-profile issues dating back over the past 50 years.

…Oh that’s the defence is it? These events took place half a century ago? Luckily for Bush, BLIP at the Standard has recorded every abuse of Police power since 2008. Let’s have a brief look shall we?

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.

…and the list goes on and on and on. So let’s knock this rebuttal by Bush on the head right away shall we? We are not talking about issues that are half a century old, we are talking about an ongoing and worsening culture whereby the Police have become a law unto themselves. To suggest Bryce is basing his argument on ancient issues is false and misleading.

Back to Bush’s column.

Space does not allow me to respond point-by-point to his assertions, nor am I in a position to re-litigate the historic cases.

Well let’s take up some space here shall we Mike? How about the over 300 woman who were sexually assaulted by the NZ Police Force? How about the Police Association Cheerleader Greg O’Connor describing being held to account for the implementation of the recommendations to stamp out the sado-masochistic gang rape culture of the Police as ‘ritualistic humiliation’ manages to sum up everything wrong with the Police? Simply shrugging off most of the evidence Bryce is using because Bush doesn’t have the space is convenient.

I can, however, say he grossly misrepresents New Zealand Police, particularly our victim-focused frontline staff who work tirelessly every day to prevent crime and deal with the worst behaviour in our communities.

I’m sorry what? In the wake of the appalling manner in which the NZ Police framed Teina Pora and the RapeBuster case, Bush – who praised the Detective who planted evidence in the infamous Crewe murders– dares to pull the ‘victim focused frontline staff’ line is he? Let’s ask the young woman who were victims of the Roastbuster rape club if they feel they were victim-focused?

I can, however, say he grossly misrepresents New Zealand Police, particularly our victim-focused frontline staff who work tirelessly every day to prevent crime and deal with the worst behaviour in our communities.

Police staff make difficult decisions every day while displaying courage and resilience.

On behalf of the communities they serve, they deal with situations which, thankfully, most of the public don’t have to experience.

Every year police respond to 1.94 million phone calls for advice or assistance and about 772,000 emergency calls.

I am proud to say the overwhelming majority of these are dealt with in line with our core values of professionalism and empathy.

This is ridiculous. Yes there are plenty of officers who do amazing work in trying situations that most NZers would have difficulty identifying with. The job is stressful, emotionally damaging and dangerous, and for those doing that job well we offer our support and thanks. BUT we aren’t talking about those cops, we are talking about the cops who are abusing their powers, we are talking about the cops who turn a blind eye to those abusing their powers, we are talking about an alpha male complex that sees their actions as above the law. The cops doing their jobs properly aren’t the problem, holding them up to deflect attention on the problem ones is again simply misleading.

This is why New Zealand Police has levels of trust and confidence that are the envy of most equivalent overseas jurisdictions.

This is so important to us that we continually measure public perceptions of police using the independent research company Gravitas.

The overall result for last year showed “high” or “very high” trust and confidence at 78 per cent, from a sample of 9260 members of the public.

But don’t just take our word for it.

Recent reports from the State Services Commission and the independent research company UMR ranked police highly on public perceptions.

The police force was the second highest Government institution in which the public had “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence”, according to UMR.

This is pure sophistry. NZers have an authority worship complex, they slavishly side with cops no matter what the issue, and that’s part of the problem . Holding up stats that show the sleepy hobbits of NZ are easy to con isn’t any proof NZ Police not being corrupt, these are the same sleepy hobbits who elected John Key despite knowing his office colluded with the SIS to falsely smear the Leader of the Opposition months before an election.

As Commissioner I am not complacent about these numbers. We can only achieve the best outcomes for communities – that they be safe and feel safe – if we have the consent of the public.

This is why our overall vision is to have the trust and confidence of all.

We must earn that trust every day, and be continually focused on achieving it.

Trust is also built on owning and being accountable for our mistakes. We don’t claim to get it right every time and our staff are only human. We apologise and work hard to put things right when we get it wrong.

Remember all those top cops who were rolled out onto current affairs shows to lie about their incompetence over the Roastbuster case? Where was this leadership last year? Has it just turned up now has it?

Police is rightly one of the most scrutinised of any Government agency, be it from the courts, Government, media, the public or other agencies, especially the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

I reject outright any suggestion that police is “thumbing its nose” at the IPCA. The authority is vital in helping us learn from our mistakes and continuously improve.

Oh come on! The bloody IPCA is still cops investigating cops, and when they are critical it’s a mere slap on the wrist recommendation that is issued. The cops don’t need to thumb their nose at the IPCA because the IPCA can’t do anything meaningful.

I must also challenge two other points Edwards raised.

Does he really think that a 100 per cent resolution rate for murder is just a “box-ticking” way for police to “prove themselves”?

I’d say it is something the public should rightly expect.

This is selective rebuttal that still doesn’t address Edwards core criticisms.

And are 23,000 incoming social media contacts from the public every week just a product of “slick marketing” as he seems to think?

In my view, our 40-odd Facebook pages are vital tools for engaging with local communities to prevent and solve crime.

No, Bryce is referring to the crime porn reality TV you produce that is little more than outright propaganda that keeps the sleepy hobbits bound to the myths that Police authority should never be challenged.

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.

Oh this is nonsense, Edwards is an academic who has presented a well researched critique of the Police, insinuating that he is some anarchist who dislikes the Police is shallow and petty.

But I take issue when he undermines and misleads about the good work of modern police staff.

I will leave the final word to a young constable who contacted me directly after reading the article.

He represents the New Zealand Police of today, not 50 years ago.

“As a cop who is 2-years in, I’m learning to tolerate negative and inaccurate media reporting. But this article is the worst I’ve read since joining.

“It just bugs me that my colleagues and I bust our guts to catch criminals and help victims, yet all we get is negative publicity. Having said that I’m still loving the job.”

Hiding behind a young bushy tailed bright eyed cop to deflect criticism simply confirms this as a puff piece. Who polices the police is a fundamental issue in a democracy, it is not the ravings of niche academics who supposedly have a chip on their shoulder with cops, that Bush has not responded in any meaningful way is as disturbing as it is empty. The vast powers that Key has handed the police and the manner in which the Police are consistently abusing those powers demands a response far better than this shallow crap.