A challenging time for relationships
by Superintendent Wally Haumaha, National Manager Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services.

The actions of Police on 15 October as part of Operation 8, and in particular our relationships with Māori, have come under intense scrutiny from many quarters.

The impact of the termination shifted public opinion from the activity of the alleged offenders, to the way we conducted the Police operation.

As National Manager Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services, it was my role to provide a link for the Commissioner to interact with Māori stakeholders, engage with Māori leaders and interact with Māori communities as a key part of the post-action planning.

This included personally briefing members of the Commissioner’s Māori Focus Forum, Māori leaders throughout New Zealand, Members of Parliament, Māori Warden’s and Iwi Liaison Officers, soon after the termination.

Since then, other staff and I have continued to interact with Iwi representatives in response to the issues arising from the operation.

We have made a concerted effort to create opportunities for dialogue and discussion.

In private meetings with Māori leaders and public forums, including on several Marae around the country, the Commissioner has been challenged on the state of relationships.

We have fronted up under protest from action groups of all descriptions, but we have not backed away in the face of heated debate.

Sometimes in the heat of accusations against Police, we forget there are communities whose support for Police is wholehearted. The feedback from these quarters has been welcome and encouraging.

There’s no doubt recent issues have polarised sections of our communities and the relationship between Police and Māori has been through a torrid time.

In policing as in life, we will hit rough patches in the road, but the true value of what we have developed means we have the strength and tenacity to carry on: because this relationship is too important to policing.

Evidence of this is seen in the commitment of our Police staff who have established strong bonds and trust with their communities during the past 15 years.

This means, we’ve been able to work through issues face-to-face with key people.

Responsiveness to Māori

Responsiveness to Māori (RTM) and community policing can be a bit like modern art. People talk about it, but many struggle to truly understand what it means or represents.

If this is the case, we must continually challenge ourselves to value all the different parts that make up the ‘whole of policing’.

It’s generally understood RTM has something to do with improved relations with Māori. But how it actually works in practice is harder to grasp.

The Police Responsivess to Māori strategy is a novel, rather than traditional, means of policing.

During the past 15 years, we have taken significant steps to demonstrate our commitment to building relationships with Māori in response to the pressing issues of reducing crime and victimisation.

There’s no doubt we’ve worked hard to partner with Māori on crime prevention techniques and problem solving on major crime types, as well as deploying to major events such as the 2004 Hikoi, Waitangi Day, recent rival gang shootings ... the list goes on. Is this real policing or soft options?

I’m confident we have significantly contributed to and addressed many different aspects of wellbeing and safety in communities using the Police Responsiveness to Māori and Community Policing approach.

In my view, Police are to be applauded for their efforts and investment in this area of policing. Consider the alternative if we hadn’t taken this approach 15 years ago.

The NZ Police Responsiveness to Māori is not an add-on activity. It’s an integral part of policing.

It provides a strong platform to work through the difficult times and challenges us to do the right thing to ensure these relationships continue to be nurtured and grow for all the right reasons.

Ma te ātua koutou hei manaaki hei tiaki, e ngā wa katoa. Kia kaha koutou.