2012-11 - New Zealand Police Association

News/viewsUnfairly judgedWhen police come under attack for allegedbotch ups or operational failures, the barbsare directed at the organisation as a whole,meaning we all wear the criticism. However,as we all know, it is the individuals involvedwho will feel the blowtorch on their netherregions as their actions are dissected.That is why we, as an Association, takea very proactive stance where we believethose individuals are being malignedunjustly, and this often involves attemptingto get the true facts out not only to thepublic but also to our members whogenerally have to rely on the media for theirinformation, and can be influenced by that.Because we don’t write the editorials ordecide who is interviewed, or get to selectwhich sound bite is used, it can be difficultto get the facts across.The recent High Court decision to stayproceedings against 21 gang membersbecause detectives, with the permissionof the Chief District Court Judge, put anagent through the court system, is a verygood example.The High Court judge disagreed withwhat happened, as is his prerogative.However, instead of criticising the judge,now deceased, who authorised the action,he criticised the police officers for notgiving him enough information.What the public, and many policeobservers, were not told was that thesenior officers who briefed the judge wereprepared to give him any informationhe required, in any form, but he did notrequire any more.So whether the actions were justified ornot, the point we struggled to get acrosswas that the criticism should have beendirected at the judge for not requestingmore information, not the police for notproviding it.Perhaps it was a case of it being mucheasier to criticise police than your owncolleague, especially one who had sincedied. I wonder whether untimely deathwould have spared any of the police officersfrom criticism?The outcome is another beating, largelyunjustified, of several of our colleagueswho were simply doing a difficult andchallenging jobthe best way theycould. And, as withOperation Eight,the rules have beenchanged, mid-game,by the judiciary andpolice take the flack.The commentators, mostly membersof the legal profession, climbed over eachother to get more outraged at, as JusticeFrance continually mentioned in hisjudgment, the discourteous way the courtswere treated.Sounds like they all got a little huffy tome! The real losers are the public of Nelsonwho, due to the totally disproportionateresponse in staying the charges, nowhave an even cockier group of criminalsin their town extending their sphere ofintimidation.And it has just got a whole lot harder toinfiltrate criminal groups.president@policeassn.org.nzA fitting gift: Police Association President Greg O’Connor accepts a framed, official South African Policing Union shirt from the union’s general secretary, OscarSkommere, at the end of the Association’s 77th Annual Conference last month. The four-man South African delegation, led by union president Mpho Kwinika, livedup to their reputation for breaking into song at a moment’s notice and delighted the conference with a rousing African chant during the presentation. See page 261.new zealand police aSSOCIATION november 2012 251