 | NORML News: Police Act under review |
 NORML News, Winter 2007
The Police Act is under review. We have made do with the
current one for over 50 years and
surprisingly it doesn’t say what
police should actually do - just that
they should exist.
Submissions on what you would
like a new Police Act to look like
can be made at www.policeact.govt.nz.
It is perhaps a conflict of interest
that the police themselves are
coordinating parts of this review
process, though Parliament of
course gets the final say. While
public meetings so far have been
almost empty (it appears the police
forgot to advertise them), already
there are suggestions that police
should have greater powers and
that these should be embedded in
the new Act. Police powers have
already increased since the ‘60s as a
direct spin-off from the drug-war.
New Zealand now has the highest
arrest rate in the world for cannabis
- more than 50% higher than the
USA. Many people question the
high priority police continue to
place on arresting non-violent drug
offenders.
What do you think? Should police
focus on genuine crime, that is those
acts which directly hurt people,
which drug offences generally
do not? Should they respect all
minorities and cultures? Should
they have a code of conduct -
and how should complaints and
corruption be investigated?
These are important issues. If
you have any ideas on the culture,
structure, behaviour of the police
force of the 21st century, do consider
making a submission.
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