When public confidence and trust in the Police is high, it enables us to be effective. Members of the public are more likely to come forward with quality intelligence, more likely to report crime, and more likely to be open to engaging constructively with Police. This is why effective policing requires the support of all communities.
To earn trust and confidence Police needs a system that treats everyone fairly and equitably. Fairly means everyone can expect impartial and just treatment from Police without preference or discrimination. Equitably means recognising that each person and whānau has different circumstances and that policies, procedures and interactions need to respond to these circumstances ensure positive outcomes.
To achieve this we need sound evidence on how policing is delivered in New Zealand.
Understanding Policing Delivery (UPD) has been designed to help us build trust and confidence by better understanding the experience of all communities, acknowledging this is different for different communities.
It is a research programme looking at who Police stop, how we engage, and how we make decisions around use of force and charging.
The research is looking at whether Police policies, procedures, practices, structural design, legislation, or training produce worse outcomes for some people, and communities, than others. Ultimately UPD is about the policing system, not about individual Police staff.
The research is being conducted with Police and with Māori and communities to ensure it benefits from the experience and insights of public facing staff alongside evidence from those with lived experience.
This includes an Operational Advisory Group of 30 frontline officers from all districts who are advising the researchers and the Independent Panel managing the research.