Last week I celebrated Waitangi Day along with many other New Zealanders in Waitangi.
There was a large crowd and the atmosphere was one of calm and a feeling of goodwill from everyone present. Uniformed staff and plain clothed ILO’s kept a low-key presence throughout the week which worked well. The relationship between police and local iwi has improved continuously over the years and this was reflected at Waitangi 2018. I’m pleased to say the day went very smoothly with no issues and it was very much a family event that was enjoyed by all .
As usual the people of Waitangi were extremely welcoming and gracious hosts. I had a fantastic day and was proud to be attending on behalf of NZ Police alongside DCE: Maori Assistant Commissioner Wally Haumaha and Northland District Commander Russell Le Prou.
While in Northland, I visited the Te Ara Oranga pilot with the Police Minister.
This pilot is a great example of local Police partnering with the Northland District Health Board to reduce the harm caused by methamphetamine in the area. A team of eight Police officers target the suppliers of methamphetamine and refer users of the drug into treatment services. Reducing the demand for methamphetamine in this way will reduce the profits able to be made by methamphetamine dealers at the expense of our communities. It was heartening to see the strong working relationships and the results that can be achieved when we all set our minds to it.
Rainbow car launches
Last night we launched a specially designed one-of-a-kind Rainbow Police car for this year’s Pride Parade and the associated Pride festival week events.
The Rainbow Car has been created to mark NZ Police’s commitment to diversity and to acknowledge the important relationship between Police and New Zealand’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ+) communities.
As an organisation we look to encourage staff to ‘use who they are’ not ‘lose who you are’ when becoming a police officer. We are a diverse organisation and I am proud of the work we’ve done over recent years to build relationships with the LGBTIQ+ community.
I also encourage members of the LGBTIQ+ community to join us as future Police recruits as part of our current recruitment drive.
On 17 February I will accompany the Rainbow Car at the Pride Parade, alongside uniformed staff and members of the Police Executive Team.
Cybercrime in New Zealand
Last weekend the Sunday Star Times gave an insight to cybercrime. Cybercrime is becoming more prevalent for Police as New Zealand becomes more global and more comfortable conducting business online. You can read the article here.
Cybercrime can relate to all types of digital devices from smart phones to computers, and involve crimes as diverse as distributing damaging electronic viruses to fraud, harassment, and distributing objectionable material such as child pornography.
Police do a lot of great work in this space, much of which takes place behind the scenes. We work closely with our partner agencies such as CERT NZ, DIA and Netsafe. NZ Police is internationally recognised for our work in the cybercrime space having been instrumental in resolving crimes with an online aspect in countries all around the world.
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