A team from Western Australia Police Force is visiting New Zealand to study how Police partners with Māori and other ethnic communities.
The delegation was welcomed to Police National Headquarters (PNHQ) yesterday before embarking on a tour taking in Canterbury, Wellington, Waikato and Auckland City districts.
The team is here to gain a better understanding of the work New Zealand Police has done around building relationships with iwi and communities to better address reoffending and victimisation.
The visit follows months of dialogue between WA Police leaders and Assistant Commissioner Wally Haumaha, Deputy Chief Executive Māori.
On appointment last year, WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson prioritised reducing the state’s high rates of incarceration of aboriginal people, and boosting indigenous police recruitment.
At a mihi whakatau welcoming the delegation to PNHQ, Detective Senior Constable Nathan Hansen responded to the Māori greeting with a message of friendship in the language of the Noongar people.
Team leader Inspector Mark Ninyett said they were tasked with investigating how other Australasian jurisdictions framed relationships with indigenous people. Police’s iwi-led prevention strategy The Turning of the Tide stood out as an exemplar.
He said indigenous people made up 3.7 percent of the Western Australian population but 38 percent of the adult prison population and more than 50 percent of young people in custody.
He noted a similar situation for Māori in New Zealand but was impressed with the degree to which Police embraced Māori culture, expressed by the value of Commitment to Māori and the Treaty.
“What makes me happy every time I come to New Zealand is that the culture runs through the government and runs through the police service,” he said.
Also in the delegation - hosted by Māori, Pacific and Ethnic Services - are Senior Sergeant Geoff Regan, who oversees an aboriginal cadet programme at the WA Police Academy, and Constable Maddison Ugle, who has come through the programme.
Their itinerary includes overviews of services provided by Māori organisations in partnership with Police, as well as Police strategy, recruitment and initiatives such as alternative resolutions.
Visits include Ngā Hau e Whā national marae in Christchurch, Te Pae Oranga iwi community panel in Lower Hutt, Te Kohao Health in Hamilton and Tūrangawaewae Marae.
At the welcome yesterday, Wally told the visitors bringing about a mindset shift within Police had been hard work, and acknowledged the strong leadership and support of the Commissioner and Police Executive.
“I’m really excited to say we are going through changes unprecedented in our history,” said Wally.
“I’m really proud of the leadership our organisation now has, and the commitment of all staff to recognise the indigeneity and the culture of the country and the importance of that inside policing.”