3 October, 2013

Are New Zealanders Losing Their Trust In The Police?
TV3 Invites Kiwis to Have Their Say on October 9 with 'The Vote'

The police are our thin blue line - keeping us safe and enforcing the law. But do we still have confidence that they're on our side and playing fair? This month, The Vote asks whether New Zealanders are losing faith in the police force.

Two teams led by Duncan Garner and Guyon Espiner will argue the moot 'The Police are losing our Trust' in TV3's national debate programme, screening at 8.30pm next Wednesday night. Broadcaster and lawyer, Linda Clark is again the referee, charged with keeping the debaters in line and on topic.

Experts say that the Arthur Allan Thomas case and Springbok Tour opened the door to doubt, and that door opened wider with the Louise Nicholas rape case and a critical Commission of Inquiry report. But where do we stand now?

The police's own public survey says satisfaction with the police is at an all-time high, with 79 percent of respondents having "full" or "quite a lot" of trust in the police. Reported crime has been dropping since the 1990s and we were reminded again in August of the everyday heroism shown by everyday police officers, when Constable Deane O'Connor leapt from a Tauranga bridge into the cold harbour to save a car crash victim from drowning.

Yet questions are still asked as more stories are revealed of police misconduct. In just the past fortnight we've seen Central District commander Superintendent Russell Gibson apologise for describing a 10-year-old rape victim as a "willing" participant in her sexual abuse. Is that a sign of an unhealthy culture?

From the big cases such as David Bain, Teina Pora and the Kim Dotcom and Tuhoe raids to smaller cases such Constable Lou Perese smuggling contraband to prisoners and concerns about the police's response to burglaries, is our trust being undermined?

Duncan Garner will argue FOR the moot. He says: "It doesn't take much for people to lose trust and faith in the cops. 66 police officers have been prosecuted for a variety of serious incidents over the past three years. And it's hard to ignore the horrific pictures of young people beaten up in custody or during the arrest process.

"Then of course there is the shocking Teina Pora case. Even some top cops and former officers doubt he raped and murdered Susan Burdett. Shame he's done 20 years inside.

"Then there's the Louise Nicholas case, the senior police officer who last week said a young girl was a willing participant in a sexual assault - and the cop in the north who dealt drugs and of course the court cop in West Auckland who smuggled contraband to prisoners. The list goes on and on and on."

"Sure the Police might say they're trusted, they have to say that. But do we really trust them? You decide."

Guyon Espiner will argue AGAINST the moot, and says: "The police are ranking as high as ever in public confidence surveys, they remain in the top 10 list of the most trusted professions and they put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis to serve their communities.

"Sure they don't always get it right - and there are criminal investigations they've botched and people who haven't been treated fairly - but you'd have to rate the integrity of New Zealand's police among the highest in the world."

Joining Duncan and Guyon next week are six panellists:

FOR - Led by Duncan Garner

• Michael Bott is a criminal lawyer based in Upper Hutt, Wellington. He is an outspoken barrister, passionate about the causes of social justice and freedom. Michael has experience in cases involving alleged police misconduct, including the 2007 Tuhoe raids and is currently working on a police shooting case. He worries there's a systematic bias that runs through the entire justice system and says the police have an 'unthinking allegiance to the pack', which is destroying public trust.

• Pam Corkery laughs she has held positions in our least trusted professions - as a journalist, broadcaster and politician - but worries that we are losing trust in our police. She says cops on the beat are by and large 'good guys', but what's happening further up the chain should cause concern, including the recent story of a Central District commander who suggested there was 'evidence' of a young girl being a "willing" party in a sexual abuse case. The commander eventually apologised, but Police HQ made no initial statement.

• Marie Dyhrberg is a well-known criminal lawyer who has defended high-profile clients such as Macsyna King and Teina Pora. Dhyrberg fears many New Zealanders are giving up seeking justice, having lost trust in the police system. She says there is a widely-regarded view that New Zealand's Independent Police Conduct Authority is not truly independent and that needs to change before public trust is restored in our police force.

AGAINST - Led by Guyon Espiner

• Greg O'Connor is a Senior Sergeant in the NZ Police, seconded full time to the Police Association. With 18 years at the helm, he is the longest-serving president in the Association's history. Greg has witnessed the recorded crime rate in New Zealand drop dramatically and says that reflects the hard work and dedication of police officers and non-constabulary support staff, even at a time when they are under budgetary pressure. Moreover, recent survey results put confidence figures in the police at an all-time high.

• Mary-Jane Thomas is a Southland crown solicitor, with more than 20 years' experience prosecuting throughout New Zealand. As a former Southland women's rugby representative, Mary-Jane says she's prepared to tackle this tough topic, believing strongly that the police have our trust. While the cops aren't perfect, she says the police are under huge scrutiny and we have a strong judicial process for holding them accountable when things go wrong.

• Ian Lambie is a trained clinical psychologist, associate Professor at Auckland University and author, who has been working with young offenders for 20 years. An award-winning psychologist, Ian now sits on advisory groups with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Social Development. He says the New Zealand Police lead the world in dealing with youth offenders. Police are using their discretion to avoid charging most young delinquents and, Ian says, that relies on a huge relationship of trust with the public.

The Vote is competitive current affairs - a monthly series of entertaining and informative national debates on the big issues facing New Zealanders. The debates take place in theatres with audience participation and voting, but the opinion that matters most is that of the audience watching at home.

Viewers are encouraged to vote for free at www.TheVote.co.nz, via Twitter @TheVoteNZ and Facebook at The Vote NZ. Viewers can also text their vote by texting 'Yes' or 'No' to 3920 at a cost of 20 cents per text.

For information on how to be part of the theatre audience, visit www.eventbrite.co.nz.

The Vote is produced by TV3's News and Current Affairs division with funding from NZ On Air, and screens once every four weeks in the same timeslot as 3rd Degree.

3rd Degree presents 'The Vote'.
The Police are losing our Trust
Wednesday 9 October, 8.30pm on TV3.

ENDS

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