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Police Perceptions of Maori - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

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for <strong>Maori</strong> for non <strong>Maori</strong> Same Know<br />

% % % %<br />

Dealing with the general population 7 2 84 7<br />

Dealing with <strong>Maori</strong> <strong>of</strong>fenders 11 24 56 9<br />

Dealing with <strong>Maori</strong> victims 2 36 50 11<br />

Dealing with abusive comments<br />

about race or colour 34 4 50 13<br />

Dealing with deaths 41 9 39 11<br />

* Note: Percentages sum across rows. 'Don't Know' <strong>and</strong> 'No Responses' have been combined.<br />

Table 8 shows that there was overall agreement that dealing with the general<br />

population was equally easy or difficult for both <strong>Maori</strong> <strong>and</strong> non <strong>Maori</strong>. In dealing with<br />

<strong>Maori</strong> <strong>of</strong>fenders <strong>and</strong> victims, about half the respondents thought there was no<br />

difference but one in four said it was more difficult for non <strong>Maori</strong> to deal with <strong>Maori</strong><br />

<strong>of</strong>fenders <strong>and</strong> over a third thought it was more difficult for non <strong>Maori</strong> to deal with<br />

<strong>Maori</strong> victims. When dealing with abusive comments about race or colour, a half saw<br />

no difference but a third thought this was more difficult for <strong>Maori</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers.<br />

And, <strong>Maori</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers were seen as having greater difficulty in dealing with deaths by<br />

approximately 40% <strong>of</strong> respondents. Several respondents commented that it was hard<br />

for <strong>Maori</strong> to h<strong>and</strong>le situations involving a dead body. Some suggested that this was<br />

partly related to concerns about the need to respect <strong>Maori</strong> protocol when the death<br />

involved a <strong>Maori</strong> person. In contrast, the following quotes indicate some <strong>of</strong> the views<br />

about the advantages <strong>of</strong> being <strong>Maori</strong>:<br />

Knowledge <strong>of</strong> cultural issues, especially knowing <strong>Maori</strong> protocol about death,<br />

is important. This is especially so in working with <strong>Maori</strong> victims <strong>and</strong><br />

witnesses. It also makes for good communication in getting information that<br />

leads to solving <strong>of</strong>fences.<br />

Knowing whakapapa <strong>and</strong> tikanga can help you relate to people - it gives you<br />

an edge.<br />

<strong>Police</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficers' attitudes<br />

Two questions were designed to explore police <strong>of</strong>ficers' own views about <strong>Maori</strong>. The<br />

first group <strong>of</strong> 9 items asked about the extent respondents agreed with aspects <strong>of</strong><br />

current <strong>Maori</strong> aspirations. For technical reasons, responses to the second set <strong>of</strong> items<br />

have had to be discarded from the analysis. 12<br />

The responses to items reflecting possible <strong>Maori</strong> aspirations are listed in Table 9.<br />

12 The second set <strong>of</strong> 7 items were an attempt to parallel items from a scale developed in the US<br />

(the Modern Racism Scale; McConahay, 1986) which listed a number <strong>of</strong> items that might<br />

reflect the views <strong>of</strong> those opposed to <strong>Maori</strong> aspirations <strong>and</strong> which were, except for the first<br />

item, likely to be answered in the opposite direction from the first group. Although the spread<br />

<strong>of</strong> responses to the five point scale <strong>of</strong> agreement to these items was satisfactory, correlations<br />

between the two sets were mildly positive. This means that many <strong>of</strong> those who agreed to pro-<br />

<strong>Maori</strong> items also agreed to anti-<strong>Maori</strong> items. The only reasonable explanation for this is that<br />

many respondents continued to use the scale as if all the items were in the same direction <strong>of</strong><br />

positivity. Thus, the second set <strong>of</strong> seven items have been excluded from further analysis as the<br />

responses have to be regarded as unreliable.<br />

19

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