Police Minister Mark Mitchell and NZ First deputy Shane Jones have come to the defence of Northland police, who have been accused of racism and poor culture.
A Northern Advocate report today said racism and poor culture within the police force is behind the departure of multiple Northland staff.
The story referenced an email from an officer who used racist language to describe an alleged offender.
It follows a report in the Herald that dozens of officers have been sent to Northland to cover for staff shortages.
Mitchell replied: “Like any organisation, police are always looking for constant improvement and it was very good to hear the District Commander highlighting a positive culture, receiving strong support from other policing districts and making good progress with recruiting new police officers.
“My experience with Northland police has been nothing but positive. They are deeply connected and part of the communities they serve and take pride in that.”
Ninety extra police officers have travelled to Northland to relieve pressure on the beleaguered force, with 30 staying for five weeks at a time.
An anonymous Far North officer told the Advocate the extra cover was needed as so many staff were leaving due to the poor culture within the force.
They shared an example of "systemic racism in the force“: a Far North officer referring to an alleged offender as a “little black 1″ in an internal email that was accidentally sent to all Northland staff.
The email, sent by an officer who is Māori, was in reply to a routine internal email asking for assistance to identify several suspects. The response was accidentally sent to all.
“Dogg this fulla the little black 1 ...” the email said.
Far North area commander Inspector Riki Whiu followed with a response to all, acknowledging the message had caused alarm and offence to many and had failed to meet expected standards.
While Whiu said the matter was being addressed with the individual, the anonymous officer was concerned the response lacked transparency and accountability.
District commander, Superintendent Matt Srhoj, said vacancies in Northland have dropped and the culture had never been better.
While the accidental email was “highly unprofessional”, it was an isolated incident, front-footed by the embarrassed officer who had sent an apology to everyone, Srhoj admitted.
The mistake email included slang language and text-speak, giving some context to the tone, he explained.
“I acknowledge it was unprofessional, but I don’t think there’s a racist motivation behind it.
“We work very hard and are always trying to improve culture across our organisation.
“It does have an impact. It makes us feel sad because that’s not who we are.”
Srhoj said a surge in violent crime this year – including nine alleged homicides – resulted in Northland police putting out a “call for help” from officers around the country.
Jones, a Northland resident, said police around the country were facing tough challenges, but claims of racism and culture could not be based on a single email.
“I’ll leave operational matters to police but I’m raised in Taitokerau and the police face huge challenges in the North because of the spread of P and gang culture,” Jones said.
He said it was up to iwi and the community to stand behind police.
“My advice to iwi leaders and other politicians is, the hardest thing for a police officer is to do their job without high-level criticism. We need iwi leadership up North confirming the role of police and their ability to push back against this tide of violence and drug-run culture.
“From time to time people will be a bit injudicious with their language. I have made a career myself over it, and that matter of the email remains rightly within the police official guidelines.
“But to take that single incident and stigmatise the entire police culture in Taitokerau is wrong and playing into the hands of those who have a vested interest in destabilising policing, so they can get on with their criminality.
“Better law and order outcomes in Taitokerau depend on leadership within the Northland community, specifically the Iwi community and fewer excuses of victimhood and rationalisation.
“Providing an atmosphere for law and order activity is built on strong iwi and civic business leadership against the ferals that are blighting the lives of businessmen and women and the scores of garden-variety every-day Kiwis.”
Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.