So our toothless police watchdog is having its bark muzzled…
Police watchdog IPCA skips investigations due to financial pressures
Allegations of excessive force by police are going uninvestigated by the country’s independent watchdog, due to financial pressures on the organisation.The Independent Police Conduct Authority says it is “pushing against the wall” as a result of the need for penny-pinching – at a cost to its work.
Speaking to the law and order select committee, IPCA chairman Sir David Carruthers said the authority had run operating deficits for the last four financial years, putting “significant pressure” on its cash flow and eating away its reserves.
…this follows a constant move by this Government to silence, starve and kill off critics or counter weights built into our system to mitigate against corruption and abuses of power.
Look at the way the Government killed off Environment Canterbury for threatening water access to their farmer mates. Look at the way the Government killed off the Problem Gambling foundation because they criticised Key’s Casino deal. Look at the way the Government killed off TVNZ7 because it might make the electorate too aware. Look at the way this Government rammed through mass surveillance powers. Look at the way this Government kills off or denigrates journalists from Campbell Live to Nicky Hager. Look at the abuse of power throughout Dirty Politics. Look at the way Key has handed sovereignty over to the USA. Look at the way the PMs Office colluded with the SIS to frame Goff.
It should come as no surprise at all that the IPCA has been so starved for funding they can’t investigate a Police force who abuse power with alarming regularity.
We should not be surprised that we dropped in the corruption free stats recently, this Government’s abuse of power is only as terrifying as the voter apathy that let them get away with it.
This is the NZ National have built and it is the NZ National voters love. Biased towards the powerful with zero check and balance accountability.
The IPCA should have to ration it’s funds and undertake some form of triage.
The reason is that a large number of the claims are spurious and have no merit, or are complaints made by criminals to try and wriggle out of convictions.
Really?
“A large number of the claims are spurious and have no merit”?
Have we have some figures how many are “spurious” and “have no merit”? I, for one, would be curious to see the data.
Andrew, since you are always badgering me to supply data to back up my comments and claims, then how about doing the same?
Oh, Andrew, Andrew.
I was guilty of similar thinking as yourself.
I used to think the police had a hard job, that they were honest, thorough, fair, impartial. Only took a case to court when they had actual evidence of a crime being committed.
I used to think that the police had built in bullshit detectors…you know, spot someone lying a mile away.
Especially when the person’s lies are really, really obvious.
So much so that when the wrongly accused person (after spending over a year trying to point out the provable lies of the complainant to the police) defends the charge in court, the judge, upon dismissing the charge, says the complainant’s evidence was “unreliable, inconsistent and prevaricating”.
The police got it wrong. Badly wrong. I’d go so far as to say that the police facilitated insurance fraud…maybe even knowingly. They would have happily had me in jail and our home lost.
And the IPCA sent a local cop out to tell us that we were wrong and the cops were right…so suck it up.
And we had to accept that…and what? Move on?
I will never, ever, trust any police officer, ever again.
All I can say Andrew…is just wait until it happens to you…it will totally alter your world view.
“I used to think that the police had built in bullshit detectors…you know, spot someone lying a mile away.
Especially when the person’s lies are really, really obvious.
So much so that when the wrongly accused person (after spending over a year trying to point out the provable lies of the complainant to the police) defends the charge in court, the judge, upon dismissing the charge, says the complainant’s evidence was “unreliable, inconsistent and prevaricating”.
The police got it wrong. Badly wrong.”
Oh yes, that kind of experience sounds soooo familiar, welcome to the club of the harassed and persecuted.
Rosemary:
Sure, there are bent police and there are idiot police (you’d have to be, to do that job for what they get paid!) but most police are good men & women who do a difficult job whilst being open to criticism for making the slightest misstep. They spend their working lives exposed to the worst scumbags that the nation can provide. So it’s no surprise that they sometimes finish up being a little cynical.
But despite the odd aberrant officer, their work is generally very good. I’m sorry you had a bad experience – you shouldn’t let one instance taint your view.
How about a police force that regularly gets it wrong, provides injustice and has no clue about common law but know plenty about colour of law.
The minister denies the IPCA has run out of money. If we had an opposition worth anything all, they would be making an issue of this. Either the opposition is totally useless or the claim is untrue.
One suppose the IPCA has an annual budget like all other organisations and they’ve spent it all.
Are you suggesting they be given infinite funding?
This is nothing new, the government does this with ALL so-called “watchdogs” that we have, or are supposed to have. They do not do much of the type of investigations that we would expect them to conduct, they simply reprioritise their work load and throw many complaints out.
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/ombudsman-complaint-dr-bratt-deleted-emails-refusal-to-investigate-r-paterson-hilit-17-08-15.pdf
It gets worse though, see the comments by Marc C towards the end of this post on Public Address:
http://publicaddress.net/speaker/how-is-government-evaluating-its-welfare/
http://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/speaker-how-is-government-evaluating-its/?p=352864#post352864
Go to the following post:
Marc C, in reply to Ian Dalziel, 2 months ago
@Yes, they do, hence so much gets either swept under the carpet, denied it ever existed, or is just plainly “wrong”, no matter what.
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/11/27/msds-selective-and-poor-responses-to-new-oia-requests-on-benefits-advisors-reports-mental-health-and-sole-parent-employment-services/
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/10/04/how-the-n-z-health-and-disability-commissioner-let-off-a-biased-designated-doctor/
AND how much is this for “fall out”, that the MSM have NO knowledge about?
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/speaker-of-parliament-complaint-abt-ombudsman-hdc-complt-handling-anon-xx-05-15.pdf
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/speaker-house-of-repr-complaint-abt-ombudsman-office-reply-anon-25-08-15.pdf
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/speaker-house-of-repr-complaint-abt-ombudsman-office-reply-anon-hilit-25-08-15.pdf
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/speaker-of-parliament-complaint-abt-ombudsman-rqst-f-inquiry-reply-to-dec-anon-05-09-15.pdf
Heaps more seems to be there, but no one in government seems to care, as the MSM chooses to focus on trivial stuff, and not do their job, which must be, because their masters own them, and do not want to “rock the boat”, which is a “safe hand” government under our esteemed leader John (Not the Baptist) Key.
A government of compulsive liars, that is my conclusion.”
Then click the attached PDFs with letters to the Speaker of Parliament, complaining about the Ombudsman. You will also find the response with a decision by the Speaker.
The government has it all nicely stitched up to suit its purposes, the system that is. They do the same with so-called advocacy and budget services for beneficiaries. They simply say these are the terms for getting funding, and if you do not like it, take a hike.
Hence we nowadays here fewer beneficiary advocates dare complain as they rather not bite the hand that feeds them.
And when the “watchdogs” are neutered the way they are now, we are not far away from a kind of dictatorial system.
Theres a very real pattern here.
IPCA, NZ Police, Schools (except charter schools), Military, Public broadcasting, Health, CYFS, Justice, Corrections (except SERCO), Housing NZ, WINZ, Conservation, to name but a few of the bigger organisations are starved for funds by National. But somehow they manage to meet and improve their government set targets. Hallelujah, glory be National, it’s water into wine miracles! Or in reality very creative accounting!
And on the subject of reality we are all worse served and poorer as a result by the poverty in these public services.
And isn’t it truly ironic and wrong that Judith Collins is the minister of police and corrections? NZ is getting a feel about it like one of those tin pot African dictatorships.
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