Te Puni Kökiri releases latest review – NZ Police

Te Puni Kökiri’s chief executive Leith Comer said he believes the NZ Police force is making progress, and will continue to do so, in its service delivery to Mäori.

Mr Comer made the comments today when he handed over to the Police Commissioner Rob Robinson the Ministry’s review of New Zealand Police’s service delivery to Mäori ‘Te Arotake I Ngä Pirihimana o Aotearoa’.

The report is part of Te Puni Kökiri’s mandate to assess the performance of the state sector in improving outcomes for Mäori.

The report focused on five major areas categorised as: strategy, planning and reporting; relationships with Mäori; organisational capability and responsiveness to Mäori; service delivery and programmes; and information collection, analysis and evaluation.

Chief executive Leith Comer says that the review found NZ Police is committed to developing effective relationships with Mäori and the number of recently introduced initiatives were proof of this commitment.

“NZ Police is building its own internal capability by training staff in issues that are important for Mäori, such as cultural values and practices. The result, for example, is that Police has developed protocols on sudden death incidents that are more sensitive to the needs of Mäori elders and families. These initiatives complement the Mäori Focus Forum that provides advice to the Police Commissioner and supports the Police district iwi liaison officers’ work.”

Te Puni Kökiri’s report also highlighted a number of key areas which NZ Police need to improve on to ensure it builds on the Mäori relationships that have been established. These include: developing and implementing a comprehensive national organisational strategy for Mäori which clearly articulates what it expects to achieve and what priority it places on outcomes sought for Mäori more active involvement from Mäori communities in strategic and business planning a monitoring and evaluation framework for assessing the value to Mäori of NZ Police programmes such as youth aid, adult diversion and road traffic safety programmes.

Mr Comer said that there is strong commitment by the Police Commissioner and his senior staff to improving their service delivery to Mäori.

“The signals from the Police Force leadership gives me confidence that they want to work with Mäori communities, to ultimately achieve the shared goal of safer communities.”

Copies of the report can be obtained from the local regional office of Te Puni Kökiri. The review can also be viewed at www.tpk.govt

TE PUNI KÖKIRI AGENCY REVIEW OF NZ POLICE Information about the review

Why did Te Puni Kökiri undertake a Review of NZ Police Service Delivery to Mäori? Reports in the past by NZ Police and Te Puni Kökiri showed that relations between Police and Mäori were poor. As part of its role in monitoring and evaluating government agencies’ service delivery to Mäori, Te Puni Kökiri thought it was timely to conduct a management review of NZ Police.

When did the review commence? Te Puni Kökiri and NZ Police signed a protocol agreement for the review on 14 May 2001.

What was the purpose of the review? The review examined the role of NZ Police and assessed its organisational performance in meeting its Mäori responsiveness goals. It also examined NZ police’s organisational culture, management structure, systems and processes.

It should be noted that the review did not examine in detail the operations of NZ Police Districts and Areas, or provide detailed analysis of NZ Police and Mäori perceptions of each other. However, feedback from Mäori individuals and groups was included in the review.

Who was involved in the review? There were a number of major stakeholders who participated in the review. These included: NZ Police – Office of the Commissioner, Royal New Zealand Police College, and the Northland, Counties-Manukau, Bay of Plenty, Central, Eastern, Tasman and Southern Districts. NZ Police staff in a variety of roles, ranging from senior, middle, and line managers through to traffic officers, detectives, iwi liaison officers and constables. Members of the NZ Police Mäori Focus Forum. District Mäori Advisory Committees. A selection of nation-wide Mäori community groups, hapü and iwi representatives. Mäori social services providers.

What were the findings from the review?

NZ Police recognises and is addressing the issues raised by the disproportionately high representation of Mäori in crime statistics, and by recent studies indicating a poor relationship between the Police and Mäori. NZ Police has begun to implement an action plan, Te Urupare Whïtiki, to develop a Mäori responsiveness strategy. Te Urupare Whïtiki focuses on two areas: improving Mäori/Police relationships improving NZ Police capacity to recognise and respond to Mäori issues in its work. Feedback from Mäori and the Police strongly suggests that initiatives developed out of Te Urupare Whïtiki are producing real and positive results. However, practical issues (financial and human resource issues, for example) need to be addressed. NZ Police has made substantial progress in developing relationships with Mäori communities and building internal capability to deliver responsive services to Mäori. This is happening throughout Police ranks. NZ Police has established a Mäori Focus Forum, which advises the Police Commissioner, an Office of Mäori, Pacific and Ethnic Services and a network of district iwi liaison officers. It has also set up district Mäori Advisory Committees with representatives from local Mäori communities. NZ Police has trained staff in the Treaty of Waitangi and Mäori cultural awareness, and is considering the wider use of Mäori responsiveness staff competencies. Progress towards achieving key priority 1 (reducing Mäori offending and victimisation) varies from district to district – some districts are setting standards that could be used as an organisation-wide model. Te Puni Kökiri has concerns about key priority 1, as it is not the product of a considered Mäori responsiveness strategy, as envisaged by Te Urupare Whïtiki. Instead, Police districts are developing their own initiatives to implement key priority 1. A comprehensive organisational strategy, which clearly identifies national outcomes, objectives and strategies, should be a high priority. Outputs and resources can then be better aligned. Involving Mäori communities more in strategic and business planning will help NZ Police produce plans that align with community and Mäori needs, and better achieve outcomes for Mäori. Building on existing inter-agency collaboration would help achieve these outcomes. Relationship and capability building are worthwhile objectives in their own rights, but these are vehicles for achieving improved outcomes in community safety and reductions in offending. Several of the recommendations of this review are concerned with systems, such as organisational performance measurement, for ensuring that outcomes for Mäori are achieved. NZ Police’s youth aid, adult diversion and road traffic safety programmes are of clear value to Mäori. NZ Police uses Mäori providers to run some of these programmes. Police achievements in these areas need to be underpinned by a consistent monitoring and evaluation framework.

What were the recommendations from the review? Te Puni Kökiri recommends that NZ Police: Strategy, planning and reporting clearly identifies national priorities, objectives and strategies that will contribute to key priority 1—reducing Mäori offending and victimisation integrates these into its existing strategic framework and associated strategic and business planning documents develops appropriate national targets and performance measures for achieving key priority 1 develops information that clearly demonstrates how resources and output classes contribute to key priority 1 reviews how feedback systems can be improved to support two-way information flows between districts and national office on the risks and benefits of strategies that contribute to key priority 1 reviews how it can better coordinate planning, monitoring and reporting systems and processes between national and district offices, and across business units within national office, to help achieve key priority 1 reviews its performance monitoring and reporting systems to ensure that district and national office managers include NZ Police’s outcomes for Mäori in staff performance agreements actively uses its external Mäori advisors, particularly at the district level, to help plan, report and evaluate processes to define and monitor outcomes and strategies for Mäori assists district commanders, and area controllers in particular, by providing the tools, development opportunities and incentives for them to work with Mäori community leaders in the planning process

Relationships with Mäori maintains, through the Office of Mäori, Pacific and Ethnic Services, good practice relationship models, consultation guidelines, and memorandums of understanding to share amongst districts ensures wider representation on the Mäori Advisory Committees that reflects local needs, as well as the offending issues, of its local communities commits financial resources in annual district budgets for Mäori community input into Police business, including the Mäori Advisory Committees, district planning processes, and other operational matters

Organisational capability and responsiveness to Mäori develops a strategic approach to developing future Mäori responsiveness capabilities within NZ Police that aligns with its proposed Mäori responsiveness plan develops minimum Mäori responsiveness competencies for all positions that impact on service delivery establishes an ongoing monitoring and evaluation strategy to assess the quality and cost-effectiveness of Mäori responsiveness training programmes develops specific Human Resources strategies tailored to Mäori needs, which are designed to recruit and retain Mäori within NZ Police generally, and in management in particular develops flexible criteria, processes, and national office support, to enable district managers to make business cases for appropriate levels of specialist Mäori resourcing to meet district needs

Service delivery and programmes continues with the progress it has made in leading changes in the attitudes and behaviours of staff in being culturally responsive to Mäori maintains, through the Office of Mäori, Pacific and Ethnic Services, a national database on good practices in operational service delivery to Mäori builds on and extends the programme design and delivery model of the road traffic safety programmes to all programmes extends the monitoring and evaluation framework of the 1997 and 2001 youth programmes to all other programmes continues to support Mäori groups in the design, delivery and evaluation of community-based programmes that contribute to key priority 1

Information collection, analysis and evaluation continues to work with Statistics NZ on how it can improve ethnic data collection methods improves the strategic information it collects on Mäori uses this information to better inform NZ Police’s strategy, business and project planning for reducing offending and victimisation of Mäori uses data it collects to inform and contribute to the measurement of organisational performance assesses information as part of senior managers’ performance to evaluate how they are contributing to key priority 1 seeks external advice and expertise to identify data collection and analysis, programme design, delivery and evaluation that is responsive to Mäori uses the results from research and evaluation to inform higher level policy on Mäori crime reduction strategies with the justice and welfare ministries.

What, if any, impact will this report have for Mäori? The report provides a road map for how NZ Police can work in collaboration with Mäori community leaders to implement initiatives that actually reduce Mäori crime. This has already happened, for example, with the successful road traffic safety and driver licensing programmes where Mäori offending has dropped. These programmes were successful because Police, with the Land Transport Safety Authority, worked alongside Mäori providers to design and deliver these programmes for Mäori, most of which were held on marae.

Who will ensure the recommendations are implemented? Te Puni Kökiri expects that NZ Police, under the leadership of the Police Commissioner Rob Robinson, will implement the report’s recommendations. A key element will be utilising the Mäori Focus Forum and district Mäori advisory committees in Police decision-making to achieve the outcome of reduced Mäori crime and victimisation. Te Puni Kökiri will also assist NZ Police in its strategic planning.

What follow up work, in relation to this review will Te Puni Kökiri be undertaking? In two years time, Te Puni Kökiri will revisit NZ Police to assess the extent to which it has implemented the report’s recommendations.

Where can I get a copy of the report? Copies of the report may be picked up from the local Te Puni Kökiri office or by contacting Information Services, Te Puni Kökiri, PO Box 3943, Wellington. The report of the review can be viewed on www.tpk.govt.nz/publications/agency.

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