Both the Police Minister and the Commissioner appear either to have lost touch with reality or to be in denial. In fact this accusation could be made across the whole of government. They have lost touch because of their inability to deal with reality. Both the Minister and the Commissioner are floundering in their positions as are the Ministers of Justice, Faafoi, and Corrections, Davis. Under this government, the criminal elements in society, particularly the gangs, must think they are living in the equivalent of the promised land.
To date, gang members are being let out of prison in order to reduce the number of inmates, are given millions which will be spent on acquiring guns, have hosted various MPs, and have used firearms illegally while law-abiding citizens were required to hand theirs in.
Gang numbers are up while police numbers are down. It is in this climate, which the government itself has created, that the Police Minister, Poto Williams, thinks the Police en masse should not be armed. In order to justify her thinking she, not unsurprisingly, brings out the race card. She has spoken to Maori and Pacific Islanders in South Auckland and been told that they would prefer the Police not to be armed.
I’m sure this came as a great surprise to Poto, but not to the rest of us, as a reaction to her interview on Newstalk ZB proved. Poto went to the country’s crime capital and they told her they don’t want the Police armed. Is she so devoid of acumen she couldn’t put two and two together? Instead of doing that she does the obvious and trots out the crime stats showing more Maori are arrested than other ethnicities. I presume if you asked her why, she would answer that police treat Maori unfairly. As Judith Collins said, “The police force deserves a Minister who does not look at them as if they are all violent racists.”
Poto Williams has shown from the start she’s not up to the job. She is an illustration of just how little talent there is in the rabble of 69. The reaction to her interview will alert the Police to the fact that they are in the same boat as the farmers. They have the backing of the public but not of the government. The same goes for those working in Corrections. The public will be behind them but the government isn’t. It has been obvious, particularly in this term, that this is not a government for the people but rather a government that foists its Marxist doctrine upon the people.
The Commissioner of Police seems bemused, perhaps somewhat confused, as to what is going on with crime in this country. Most of us could tell him. We have a government that is soft on crime, that is cuddling up to the gangs, that is laundering our money to the gangs, that is letting criminals back out on the streets and that is allowing the gangs to be armed but not the Police.
Surely, the Commissioner must be awake to at least some of that. The Police, as an organisation, also need to toughen up. They should know that they have the backing of the public to do the job for which they are paid. Commenting on an incident where a police officer on the ground was repeatedly punched, the Commissioner called it a scuffle. IT’S ASSAULT!
In my view, both the Minister and the Commissioner should resign. Both positions require people of strength and neither is showing any. I’m not surprised at the comments from the Police Association. If things are allowed to continue the way they are, applications to join the Force will dry up. I think I am right in saying recruitment has stopped at the present time. There is a growing sense that Police should be armed and politicians of all parties should recognise this changing attitude.
ACT’s gang injunction orders are a good idea whereby police could apply to the courts for an injunction to an individual on the National Gang List–of which there are 3,000! The injunction could be used to stop a person from being in a particular place or associating with particular people. It could also be used to require someone to attend rehabilitation. According to ACT, gang numbers have exploded 50 per cent under this Government. ACT would also abolish the prisoner reduction target, make rehabilitation compulsory to be eligible for parole and keep the Three Strikes Law. I also support National’s Simeon Brown in his call for a reinstatement of the Armed Response Teams.
We cannot have a government that is ostensibly criminal friendly. Giving taxpayer monies to gangs is unacceptable and giving koha to gangs is unacceptable.
Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt is another woke Commissioner who needs to go.
This government is wrapped up in woke stuff like hate speech while major crime is out of control. Nearly every day now we hear of police officers either being assaulted or having to deal with guns being pointed at them. Two more years of lawlessness to survive before, hopefully, we get a change of government. The next government should take heed. The public are saying enough is enough.
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