Concerns about the lack of cultural understanding and respect in police interactions with Māori have been highlighted in a two-year report.

The report, Understanding Police Delivery, which was initiated by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster in March 2021, was released a week ago, and included key findings on "equity and fairness" in policing.

Andrew Coster Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone.

One of the evidence reports included an analysis of police complaints data, which revealed "significant" issues in police interactions with Māori.

It found that Māori make up over half of complaints related to police use of force.

"The rates of overall complaints by Māori for the three-month period is approximately 20 percent of the data. However, in complaints regarding the use of force, 55 percent of the submissions are from Māori."

Complaints also highlighted concerns about police behaviour and the lack of respect towards Māori.

One wāhine Māori described a road stop incident and said, "The officer seemed like he enjoyed putting a Māori woman with a moko in her place".

Many complaints also discussed the impact of police actions on whānau who were not the focus of the investigation but were still affected by officers' behaviour.

A kaumātua complainant felt his tikanga was violated during a search incident when police entered his property without permission: "I was the elder. I was put on the ground, detained illegally".

Complaints of harassment

The report found complaints of harassment were also predominantly from Māori.

In some cases, force was used inappropriately while the complainant was in custody.

"He removed me to a space where there was no camera … he spat in my face and physically assaulted me. I said I was going to make a complaint, and the officer stated, 'Go on, lay another complaint'. There are issues with the officer in the community. I know of multiple people making complaints," a Māori man says.

The report also found a pattern of force being used during bail checks or search warrants, including incidents where property was damaged and doors were smashed, even when the person in question had not been bailed to the address.

"Armed Offenders pointed their guns at my children, who are aged four years old and 13 years old, whilst executing a search warrant. Yelling at my 13-year-old who had his hands in the air while the lasers were over his body. This is disgusting and has left my children traumatised," a wāhine Māori complainant says.

Complaints of cultural sensitivity

The report revealed that 81 percent of complaints regarding cultural sensitivity were from individuals who identified as Māori, Māori/Samoan, or Māori/European.

Although these complaints did not explicitly use the term "racism," they addressed their interactions from a cultural perspective.

One wāhine Māori felt disrespected during a police investigation and says, "I asked to speak with a Māori officer, and he stated I couldn't. I felt he didn't respect my request or consider my culture".

A small proportion of complaints referred to the broader police-Māori relationship and a lack of understanding.

"This is why they need more police in (town) and Māori ones who understand our people," another wāhine Māori says.

"Police attitude towards us Pacific peoples and Māori people in the community is just one too many complaints getting ignored just because police have power," a Māori-Samoan woman says.

Recommendations

The report made several key recommendations to improve fairness and equity in policing, particularly regarding cultural competency and engagement with diverse communities.

It said police should analyse how characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender/sexualities, socio-economic status, and disability influence police behaviour and interactions with diverse communities.

Police PR won't help Māori - academic

Emmy Rākete Photo: RNZ / Mabel Muller.

A lecturer in criminology at the University of Auckland and spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa, Emmy Rākete, says the issue of police-Māori relations was not about cultural understanding or respect.

"The police exist in order to punish transgressions of the law, a law established on the back of the conquest of Māori and written to keep the poor, poor."

Rākete says no amount of public relations campaigning from the police would change their "fundamental purpose", which she believed harmed Māori communities.

"It doesn't matter if the police speak our language, it doesn't matter if the police put our words on the sides of their cars, it doesn't matter if the police know how to behave at a pōwhiri. It matters that the police terrorise poor neighbourhoods and take individuals who need help and support to concrete cages where they are left to suffer.

"No amount of public relations campaigning from the police is ever going to be able to change that."

Police declined to comment in response to Rākete's statements.

So far, police have committed to progressing eight of the report's 40 recommendations over the next six months.

Coster earlier said community trust was fundamental to policing.

"With this research from the independent panel, I believe we have found, possibly for the first time, a way to talk about these issues together and to find ways to lift trust in the future."

Speaking to Māpuna last week, Sir Kim Workman, the founding chair of the independent report panel, said police were open to implementing the recommendations.

"I believe that this whole research is based on the clear understanding that if we don't engage with the community and with Māori and other diverse groups, fairly and equitably, then we will not gain trust and confidence."

-RNZ