Rawiri Waititi is the MP with a gripe about police powers to crack down on guns and gangs (but perhaps there are others)
The headline on a One News report – Police use new powers to hit gangs, but not all MPs happy – alerted the public to political concerns about search powers granted to the police to crack down on gangs.
Actually, it was an RNZ report but One News has republished it, and it kicked off:
Bay of Plenty MPs are split over special powers granted to police to crack down on gangs.
The powers at issue are provided through the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act, enabling police to be given temporary warrants to freely search vehicles and properties owned by suspected gang members in circumstances such as …
Gun shots and gang crime in Opotiki at the weekend serve as an example.
Police say recent shootings throughout Ōpōtiki are related to rising tensions between Black Power and Mongrel Mob.
On Sunday, a woman was shot in her car and hospitalised.
It was another in a series of shootings in the town that police believe are gang-related.
But police don’t “believe” the gun shots and gangs are related. Ōpōtiki rural response manager Senior Sergeant Richard Miller emphatically has been quoted as saying :
“These incidents all involve gang members targeting each other.”
In the more recent report, the district police chief acknowledged that the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act (CAIL) was brought into play:
In a statement, police said they were already using those powers.
“Over the long weekend staff executed nine CAIL warrants – two at addresses and seven vehicles,” Eastern Bay of Plenty commander inspector Nicky Cooney said.
“Police will continue to be out in the community, ready to respond to any unlawful behaviour by gangs and anyone who believes that they are above the law.”
Police said they arrested two people and seized $27,000 in cash over the long weekend.
A social worker expressed her anguish at what was happening:
Ōpōtiki social worker Te Owai Gemmell told Morning Report she was hurt that such violent acts were occurring in her community.
Not hurt as badly as the woman who was shot, may we suggest?
Gemmell went on to say
“It’s sad that the situation has gotten to this point. I find it really quite unacceptable and sad that somebody has been hurt.
“I wish our whānau could pull together and sort out some of the behaviour that’s been happening – it’s been going on for generation after generation.”
Then she mentioned the police response:
Gemmell said she had seen more cops on the beat as they tried to prevent further violence between the gangs.
“It’s obvious that they’re present,” she said. “I think that’s a reassurance for the community.”
Reassurance is admirable, you might think – so how many MPs are unhappy with the police response to gun-brandishing law-breakers?
Point of Order scoured the RNZ/One News report and found mention of…. would you believe just one?
Mind you, Opotiki is served by only two MPs – the members of Parliament for the East Coast (a general seat) and for Waiariki (a Māori seat) – and only two MPs are quoted:
The newly elected National MP for East Coast is one of them:
Recently elected East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick said the police response in Ōpōtiki was encouraging.
“Ōpōtiki’s such a wonderful town with so many fabulous things going for it, and it’s such a shame that it ends up in the national media for reasons that are not so salubrious.
“I’m really pleased that police are using everything in their power to deal with this.”
Kirkpatrick said the extra powers helped officers do their jobs more effectively.
“I think that the powers through the CAIL is something that is required so police can deal with these issues quickly,” she said.
“If this is a power police feel is useful to them, then that’s good and we need to give police the tools they need.”
And then – at long last – a contrary view is expressed by …
Guess who?
Yep …
Waiariki MP and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi worried police had been given too much power.
“You’ve got to be careful that there’s not an overreach – we voted against this because we thought we would be disproportionately targeted.
“I think it’s an overreach because they don’t need that legislation to do the job that they do.”
Waititi said police could already search properties they suspected contained firearms. He said police would be more effective if they partnered with social groups.
“Police, if they work with the community, will find it’s a lot easier to deal with many of the whānau within those communities.
“We need social intervention, and police need to be able to do their jobs, but I think if we worked collectively to deal with these issues we would come out with a better result.”
Waititi’s worrying about the police exercise of search powers should surprise nobody.
The Māori Party earlier this year announced its “transformational” justice policy, which promises the establishment of a Māori Justice Authority and a path toward the abolition of all prisons by 2040.
That’s one way of tackling the awkward matter of Māori representing 53 per cent of men in prison and 67 per cent of women in prison in 2022
The Māori Party’s justice plans include the redistribution of state funds to a parallel Māori justice system “based on tikanga and self-governance.”
“20% of the Corrections, Police, and Courts budgets will be reallocated to the [new] Māori Justice Authority, marking a significant shift in power and resources to Tangata Whenua.”
Further proposed changes include the establishment of Māori Legal Aid Services and investment in kaupapa Māori legal units, as well as increasing the Steps to Freedom Grant from $350 to $1000, reinstating the right for all prisoners to vote, and enhancing community mental health and addiction services.
The age of criminal responsibility would be raised to 16.
“We are asserting our tino rangatiratanga to oversee our own tikanga-based models of restorative justice,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi. “This is the only path to equitable justice in Aotearoa.”
The former MP for East Coast was Kiri Allan who – in the days when she was Minister of Justice – was in charge of the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill as it passed through the legislative process.
During the second reading debate, Allan mentioned the new gang conflict warrant which
“… will provide police with new powers to search for and seize weapons. It’s not acceptable for warring gangs to terrorise the communities around them the way that we saw in Auckland last year. This power will enable police to act swiftly and remove weapons whenever tensions between gangs arise”.
Allan said the bill, as reported back from the select committee, was clearer about the matters a judge must be satisfied of before issuing a gang conflict warrant, and enabled the judge to require a search warrant report.
“This better aligns the new power with the other warrant powers in the Search and Surveillance Act.”
The amended bill also required police to provide, where reasonably practicable, a redacted copy of the warrant to the person being searched.
“This appropriately balances privacy and operational concerns with a person’s right to see the warrant.”
We wonder if the people of Opitiki support the approach to gang violence taken by Kiri Allan and her National Party successor, Dana Kirkpatrick – or the race-based remedy promoted by Rawiri Waitiri.
The powers at issue are provided through the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act, enabling police to be given temporary warrants to freely search vehicles and properties owned by suspected gang members in circumstances such as …
Gun shots and gang crime in Opotiki at the weekend serve as an example.
Police say recent shootings throughout Ōpōtiki are related to rising tensions between Black Power and Mongrel Mob.
On Sunday, a woman was shot in her car and hospitalised.
It was another in a series of shootings in the town that police believe are gang-related.
But police don’t “believe” the gun shots and gangs are related. Ōpōtiki rural response manager Senior Sergeant Richard Miller emphatically has been quoted as saying :
“These incidents all involve gang members targeting each other.”
In the more recent report, the district police chief acknowledged that the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Act (CAIL) was brought into play:
In a statement, police said they were already using those powers.
“Over the long weekend staff executed nine CAIL warrants – two at addresses and seven vehicles,” Eastern Bay of Plenty commander inspector Nicky Cooney said.
“Police will continue to be out in the community, ready to respond to any unlawful behaviour by gangs and anyone who believes that they are above the law.”
Police said they arrested two people and seized $27,000 in cash over the long weekend.
A social worker expressed her anguish at what was happening:
Ōpōtiki social worker Te Owai Gemmell told Morning Report she was hurt that such violent acts were occurring in her community.
Not hurt as badly as the woman who was shot, may we suggest?
Gemmell went on to say
“It’s sad that the situation has gotten to this point. I find it really quite unacceptable and sad that somebody has been hurt.
“I wish our whānau could pull together and sort out some of the behaviour that’s been happening – it’s been going on for generation after generation.”
Then she mentioned the police response:
Gemmell said she had seen more cops on the beat as they tried to prevent further violence between the gangs.
“It’s obvious that they’re present,” she said. “I think that’s a reassurance for the community.”
Reassurance is admirable, you might think – so how many MPs are unhappy with the police response to gun-brandishing law-breakers?
Point of Order scoured the RNZ/One News report and found mention of…. would you believe just one?
Mind you, Opotiki is served by only two MPs – the members of Parliament for the East Coast (a general seat) and for Waiariki (a Māori seat) – and only two MPs are quoted:
The newly elected National MP for East Coast is one of them:
Recently elected East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick said the police response in Ōpōtiki was encouraging.
“Ōpōtiki’s such a wonderful town with so many fabulous things going for it, and it’s such a shame that it ends up in the national media for reasons that are not so salubrious.
“I’m really pleased that police are using everything in their power to deal with this.”
Kirkpatrick said the extra powers helped officers do their jobs more effectively.
“I think that the powers through the CAIL is something that is required so police can deal with these issues quickly,” she said.
“If this is a power police feel is useful to them, then that’s good and we need to give police the tools they need.”
And then – at long last – a contrary view is expressed by …
Guess who?
Yep …
Waiariki MP and Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi worried police had been given too much power.
“You’ve got to be careful that there’s not an overreach – we voted against this because we thought we would be disproportionately targeted.
“I think it’s an overreach because they don’t need that legislation to do the job that they do.”
Waititi said police could already search properties they suspected contained firearms. He said police would be more effective if they partnered with social groups.
“Police, if they work with the community, will find it’s a lot easier to deal with many of the whānau within those communities.
“We need social intervention, and police need to be able to do their jobs, but I think if we worked collectively to deal with these issues we would come out with a better result.”
Waititi’s worrying about the police exercise of search powers should surprise nobody.
The Māori Party earlier this year announced its “transformational” justice policy, which promises the establishment of a Māori Justice Authority and a path toward the abolition of all prisons by 2040.
That’s one way of tackling the awkward matter of Māori representing 53 per cent of men in prison and 67 per cent of women in prison in 2022
The Māori Party’s justice plans include the redistribution of state funds to a parallel Māori justice system “based on tikanga and self-governance.”
“20% of the Corrections, Police, and Courts budgets will be reallocated to the [new] Māori Justice Authority, marking a significant shift in power and resources to Tangata Whenua.”
Further proposed changes include the establishment of Māori Legal Aid Services and investment in kaupapa Māori legal units, as well as increasing the Steps to Freedom Grant from $350 to $1000, reinstating the right for all prisoners to vote, and enhancing community mental health and addiction services.
The age of criminal responsibility would be raised to 16.
“We are asserting our tino rangatiratanga to oversee our own tikanga-based models of restorative justice,” said Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi. “This is the only path to equitable justice in Aotearoa.”
The former MP for East Coast was Kiri Allan who – in the days when she was Minister of Justice – was in charge of the Criminal Activity Intervention Legislation Bill as it passed through the legislative process.
During the second reading debate, Allan mentioned the new gang conflict warrant which
“… will provide police with new powers to search for and seize weapons. It’s not acceptable for warring gangs to terrorise the communities around them the way that we saw in Auckland last year. This power will enable police to act swiftly and remove weapons whenever tensions between gangs arise”.
Allan said the bill, as reported back from the select committee, was clearer about the matters a judge must be satisfied of before issuing a gang conflict warrant, and enabled the judge to require a search warrant report.
“This better aligns the new power with the other warrant powers in the Search and Surveillance Act.”
The amended bill also required police to provide, where reasonably practicable, a redacted copy of the warrant to the person being searched.
“This appropriately balances privacy and operational concerns with a person’s right to see the warrant.”
We wonder if the people of Opitiki support the approach to gang violence taken by Kiri Allan and her National Party successor, Dana Kirkpatrick – or the race-based remedy promoted by Rawiri Waitiri.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
2 comments:
The racists are dreaming and if they had their way we would all end up in a nightmare. Nearly there already, ask a shopkeeper.
MC
waititi should remember that much of maori crime is against other maori. In light of that, he should be pleased the police are keen to crack down with new rules and support nearly in place.
Can only assume he knows that it is very often maori v/s maori. But, being a bit more 'special' he has prob never been robbed or assaulted.
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