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RICKY WILSON / THINGS
Blair Atkinson is one of 47 sworn and non-sworn staff members who have taken Mandarin classes, as of Jan. 31. (Video first published in September 2019)
There are high expectations that the country’s Pasifika Police Prime Minister, Poto Williams, will address the unconscious biases recognized within the police service.
Williams’ predecessor Stuart Nash said there was no systemic racism in the police force, a view contradicted by then-Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster.
During the Black Lives Matter protests, Coster acknowledged the poor results for Maori in particular, saying: “We have to make sure that we are not part of the problem and we are part of the solution.”
MONIQUE FORD / Things
Police Minister Poto Williams said she is glad Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern offered her the position.
When asked for his opinion on the matter, Williams made it clear that he was acting carefully, but agreed that there was room for improvement.
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“While I’m not one to put on the boots, so to speak, I understand that as a society we are not that good at dealing with problems like this, and we are all in a process of learning to deal with this better.”
Williams said there were opportunities to make a “significant change” in addressing the issue of inequitable outcomes.
The newly sworn minister said she did not ask for the job but, on reflection, felt that her experience in preventing family injuries made her a good candidate.
Hagen Hopkins / Getty Images
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has recognized the need to improve cultural competence within the police force.
“If you think about how many times the police are called for family injury cases and the work I’ve done with the shelter and in family court, that’s one aspect of police work that I have a relationship with.
“The arrest rates for Maori and Pasifika are higher than for other population groups, so that speaks to some issues that we need to address, right?”
He commended the large number of new Maori, Pacific and Asian graduates he had observed at his first graduation ceremony.
“That is one step, there will be others as well, but only in terms of the police recognizing that if you are going to support New Zealand you have to look like New Zealand.
“That will give you a greater understanding of the particular pressures those unique communities have.”
MONIQUE FORD / Things
Williams said he wanted to address the disproportionately higher arrest rates for Maori and Pasifika.
Tania Sawicki Mead of the criminal justice reform organization JustSpeak said she would be watching closely to see how Williams responds to the problem of unconscious bias.
“Systemic racism and the ability to respond well to hate crimes are closely connected.
“If as an organization you have a hard time recognizing, acknowledging and starting to do something about the way systemic racism plays out in your organization, you are going to have a hard time responding to it in the community.”
The ongoing work in the police since the attacks on the Christchurch mosque on March 15, including how hate crimes are reported, is also of interest to the new minister.
ROSA WOODS / Things
Criminal justice reformer Tania Sawicki Mead hopes Williams will address the issue of unconscious bias in the police.
In the absence of specific legislation on hate crimes, the police have the option of recording the racist motivation for the crimes, information that the courts can take into account.
But there has been little responsibility in the police handling of such complaints.
Recognizing the serious gaps in the reporting of hate crimes and race, the police began a body of work to improve their performance since late last year.
This included improving IT systems, developing educational and operational resources, and greater engagement with affected communities.
Despite the work, as of October the police were still unable to provide data on hate crimes to Things.
Islamic Women’s Council spokeswoman Anjum Rahman said she is pleased that the police are putting in place systems to record hate crimes.
“The purpose of recording crimes is to get the data … and once you get it, you can plan prevention strategies.”
He wanted hate crimes to be incorporated into the Crimes Act to make sure they would be dealt with in the same way as any other crime.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Anjum Rahman would like to see hate crimes included in the Crimes Act.
“I really don’t think it should depend on the whim of the police commissioner on duty or whoever is in charge. If they do it now, we want to make sure they have to keep doing it. “
Williams said his priorities would be guided in part by the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attacks on the Christchurch mosque, which are expected to be released on Thursday.
He said the government was committed to strengthening responses to hate speech.
“There are other parts of the justice system that need to be involved in this as well, so I hope it is a work program where we will all participate in the entire justice sector and there will be more to come in that space. “
Scott Hammond / Stuff
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said he is committed to advancing amendments to the hate speech law.
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi said the Labor Party was committed to extending legal protections for groups that experience hate speech.
“There are some clear and significant gaps in the protections against hate speech under the Human Rights Act of 1993 that are out of step with the thinking of today’s society.”
Faafoi said he intended to make an announcement in the near future on the proposed amendments to the law.
