by pukeko
Heather Roy’s Diary | ACT New Zealand
March 21, 2009 in Daybook by pukeko
The last gov’t tried to turn the police into a socail agency. They are not. They are civilian version of the army — mainly because they keep the peace (and the army, which used to have to do this, is bad at it as any effective army specializes in breaking and killing, not preserving and saving).
I’d argue for incompetence. Perhaps due to spending too much time filling in forms for the various bureaux (Te Puni Kokori, Women’s Affairs, PM office etc) and not enough time on the streets.
The next day it was revealed that, while investigating gang intimidation in the area, it seems police left classified information relating to the HNZ eviction in a Mongrel Mob house.
The document also detailed the investigation into the intimidation case, and the eviction of 10 members of an allegedly gang-related family from five State houses in Lower Hutt.
Even worse, the document – labelled “restricted” – contained the names and responsibilities of 50 officers working on the case, a risk assessment of the street, details of how raids would be carried out and the radio call signs police used to identify themselves. It also included details of the woman whose original complaint sparked the investigation, and details on the HNZ staffer who was under police protection.
Police Minister Judith Collins was right when she described the incident as embarrassing, and said it is important for police to take care to ensure that internal documents don’t fall into the wrong hands