Of course there is Police bias against Māori

PM rejects suggestion of racial discrimination in the police

It is a lively question time in the House. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon faced a series of questions from the Te Pati Maori co-leader, Rawiri Waititi, who asked him whether he accepts there is “any discrimination in the police”.

Luxon responded that he disagrees with statements “that there is structural racial discrimination in the police at all”.

It’s important when damning Tamatha Paul over her legitimate criticisms of the Police that the PM denounces any suggestion she might be right, hence Luxon lying about police bias against Māori.

Here are the facts:

a landmark report laying out these biases and the effects they have on Māori and other marginalised communities last year. The report, from the world-leading research project Understanding Policing Delivery, was endorsed by Andrew Coster who was police commissioner at the time. 

Police and independent researchers worked together on the research to scrutinise police data and operations, and found Māori experienced higher levels of Taser deployment, complaints about use of force and warrantless searches. It also notes being Māori increased the likelihood of prosecution by 11% compared to NZ Europeans.  

Higher levels of taser use despite no threat, higher levels of force, warrantless searches and a higher level of prosecutions.

Also consider the deep investigation as to why NZ Police shoot and kill so many New Zealandersand the ongoing criticism of why Police chase policy kills so many New Zealanders.

Tamatha Paul is right, many in the community fear the Police.

The face of the NZ Police is the grim guilt of the colonising settler and the pearl clutching response by ACT, NZF, National and even Labour is the predictable bellow of the State defending their stooges.

I believe New Zealand’s remarkable acquiesce towards Police abuse of power is a terrible by product of our colonising settler culture.

I think we as a culture turn a blind eye to Police abuse because of our colonising settler culture.

When Pakeha settlers grew nervous about angry Māori youth on the edge of town who were already feeling the negative alienations of colonisation,  they gave the mounted constabulary the grim nod of guilty approval to do what ever was needed to ensure our place here on these shaky isles. We turn a blind eye to let the Police ‘do what they need’  because we privately acknowledge the negative impact of our colonisation without ever wanting to rectify that negative beyond heavy handed policing to enforce and ensure order.

The Police get away with abusing their power because we allow them to do it. Holding the NZ Police to account for abusing their power requires us to acknowledge why we’ve allowed them to get away with it for so long, and that’s why the establishment has come down hard on Tamatha for daring to challenge the narrative.

ACT, NZF, National and Labour  are behaving like abusive parents angry no one wants to come to Christmas.

 

Increasingly having independent opinion in a mainstream media environment which mostly echo one another has become more important than ever, so if you value having an independent voice – please donate here.