5. Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) Link to this
to the Minister of Police
Does she stand by her recent statement “If you tell people don’t call the Police if you’re getting beaten up at home, because that’s a family issue, then you’re going to see your crime rates drop. That’s not something I’m prepared to do.”?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Police) Link to this
Yes. That is why I expect everyone who experiences or witnesses family violence to report it to the police so that the victims can be helped and the offenders held to account.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
What is she, therefore, prepared to do about the new policy of the Gisborne police to restrict which crimes they report to the media in order to—to quote the Gisborne police commander—“make people feel safer”?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The Gisborne police area commander, Inspector Sam Aberahama, is a hard-working police commander, not a spin doctor, and his press release certainly ruffled some feathers. My understanding is that the Gisborne Herald’s complaint arose from police calling for an end to a historic tradition of a reporter wandering in daily, sitting at the senior sergeant’s desk, and going through the paperwork. That practice is not common in the rest of the country. I suggest that everyone calms down, has a cup of tea, and sorts it out.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Was Jeremy Muir, the editor of the Gisborne Herald, correct when he said that the most important duty of the police is “actually making communities safer”, rather than engaging in a crude public relations exercise by selectively releasing information to make communities feel safer, as the commander of the Gisborne police district said?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
I am very pleased to say that New Zealand police have a good working relationship generally with the media. As I have already explained, the situation in Gisborne was completely out of kilter with all other practices around the country. I do not think it is acceptable for a reporter to wander into a police office, sit at the senior sergeant’s desk, and go through the paperwork everyday.
Dr Cam CalderWhat steps are being taken to help front-line agencies tackle New Zealand’s appalling record of child abuse?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
The New Zealand Police and Child, Youth and Family are two of the front-line agencies that deal with the terrible results of child abuse every day. When a child’s life is marred by the horror of abuse or violence, that child must have somewhere to go and someone they can turn to for help. This morning I was very pleased to attend the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the New Zealand Police and Child, Youth, and Family, along with my colleague the Minister for Social Development and Employment, the Hon Paula Bennett. This memorandum will strengthen the relationship between the police and Child, Youth and Family staff, and will help ensure that children are kept safe, child abusers are brought to justice, and child abuse is reduced. We will do everything we can to help make that happen.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Is this new police policy in Gisborne an attempt to mask the reality that total crime in Gisborne increased by 8.6 percent last year under her watch, including an increase of 19.8 percent in violent crime; can we expect to see a similar policy implemented in Counties-Manukau, considering that there have been five homicides in the district already this year, including two last weekend?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
There were about six questions in that; I will answer accordingly. I have already said twice today that the situation in Gisborne has been brought into line with that of the rest of the country. The police are not worried about publishing crime statistics; in fact, only last month they instituted a new policy of making sure that crime statistics for every month are on the police website, so that people in every district and every area can access them, as can the media and as can that member, if he ever bothers to have a look.
Hon Clayton Cosgrove Link to this
Given that answer, can she confirm that she also asked police national headquarters to change the way that it reports crime statistics so that they appear more positive; is that not just another attempt at spinning the reality to mask the fact that crime under her watch has been soaring?
Hon JUDITH COLLINS Link to this
No. I have said to the police that I think it is a great idea to get the statistics out every month so that everyone knows what is going on.