New Zealand

INNOVATION: A new digital notebook app being rolled out across NZ Police – the latest step towards Commissioner Andrew Coster’s goal of a fully digitalised case environment – offers a real-time facility with clear time and date stamps, improved case management, and transparent audit trail to generate greater confidence in the criminal justice process, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: Speaking at a recent Police Foundation event, Mark Evans – Executive Lead for Future Policing at New Zealand Police – explained how forces can build effective partnerships and take steps to improve trust and confidence, the benefits of listening to ‘angry friends’, and what senior officers must do to change the organisations they lead, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

INNOVATION: With many forces around the world looking to enhance their intelligence analysis systems as part of the fight against crime, Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons spoke to New Zealand Police Director of National Intelligence Dan Wildy about the force’s success in adapting and improving their existing systems to deliver results, rather than investing too heavily in new and unproven technology.

FEATURE: The police disciplinary processes in New Zealand and the UK have been overhauled in recent months; but despite the reforms, staff associations representing frontline officers in both countries are still voicing strong concerns over the lengthy delays involved in misconduct investigations which – in the worst cases – can leave officers waiting years for allegations to be resolved, significantly impacting both their own health and public confidence, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

New Year Honours: We are pleased to publish and recognise the policing and public safety recipients of the UK and New Zealand 2024 New Year Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

OPINION: The New Zealand Coalition Government has made a crackdown on gangs a priority in its first 100 days, setting out its expectations in a letter to the Police Commissioner and promising new police powers; but Auckland University of Technology Law Professor Kris Gledhill argues that necessary laws to tackle the problem are already in place, and a focus on diverting people from gang membership would be more effective.

FEATURE: A joint approach between New Zealand Police and multi-agency partners to fast track action plans for young offenders and provide wrap-around support has led to significant reductions in some crimes, stronger police-community relations, and improved youth engagement, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: This year’s Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA) Conference attracted almost 600 delegates and more than 70 speakers from 17 countries, with a focus on exploring partnerships and collaborative working; ANZPAA CEO Dr Tracey Green reflects on the learning and outcomes from the two-day event, and how these can help to shape and improve policing moving forwards.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Embracing technological modernisation in the police force will not only enhance safety for both officers and those they serve, but deliver operational efficiencies which can greatly improve response management.

FEATURE: The most recent member survey carried out by the New Zealand Police Association has highlighted a drop in morale, with officers voicing concerns over increased levels of crime and violence, the need for more mentoring and support, and a shortage of frontline resources despite the recruitment boost of 1,800 additional officers, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by New Zealand Police to identify, analyse and investigate criminals and criminal activity; but University of Auckland Associate Professor Alexandra Sims believes that new legislation and independent monitoring is needed to protect against the dangers of the erosion of privacy and algorithmic bias, and ensure compliance with existing frameworks and principles.

FEATURE: With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) expanding rapidly across society, police face increasing opportunities and challenges around its safe, ethical and reliable adoption and implementation; Caitlyn Kennedy, Policy & Research Officer for the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency (ANZPAA), outlines the context and key points behind the Agency’s recently launched Australia New Zealand Police Artificial Intelligence Principles.

ANALYSIS: The recent change of Prime Minister in Vanuatu comes after a period of political crisis during which China sent officers and equipment to strengthen the Pacific island’s police force; John Coyne, head of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, believes its crucial that Australia and New Zealand return to working with others across the Pacific to support law enforcement in the islands, and prevent a slide into the undemocratic policing model favoured by Beijing.

ANALYSIS: With gang membership on the rise in recent years in New Zealand, the country’s novel approach – prioritising deep engagement with gang communities through bodies such as the Gang Harm Insights Centre, alongside tough enforcement – is under more pressure than ever, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

OPINION: Earlier this month the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) published its security threat assessment – the first time the public has had access to the information; University of Waikato Professor of Law Alexander Gillespie argues that while the threat assessment makes for welcome but occasionally unsettling reading, having such conversations in the open demystifies aspects of national security.

FEATURE: The latest New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey shows that while public perceptions of policing overall remain strongly positive, high-profile controversies and ‘gross failings’ in police behaviour in other countries – coupled with a fall in support for the ‘public sector brand generally’ – has prompted a dip in public trust and confidence in NZ Police, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: PTSD can have a devastating impact on police officers’ wellbeing, and lead to problematic behaviours including risk-taking and poor decision-making; former paramedic and New Zealand Police officer Allister Rose, Managing Director of the Hatikvah Blue Hope Foundation, believes NZ Police should learn from the experiences of policing in other countries including the UK, and take steps to prioritise the mental health of its officers through early identification, intervention and support.

FEATURE: With the UK’s continuing participation in the Horizon Europe EU research programme still unresolved, the signing of a new agreement between the European Commission and New Zealand last week means that NZ police innovators and researchers will now have access to an innovation programme with a budget of more than €95 billion until 2027, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

KING'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS: We are pleased to publish and recognise the New Zealand Police recipients of the 2023 King's Birthday Honours. The team at Policing Insight offer our congratulations and thank all the recipients for their service.

ANALYSIS: The decision earlier this year by TVNZ to cancel Police Ten 7 – the channel’s longest running reality series – sparked claims of wokeness and cancel culture; but new research by Auckland University of Technology Associate Professor Antje Deckert, and Juan Marcellus Tauri, Adjunct Associate Professor at Macquarie University, found that the programme had over-represented Māori and Pasifika suspects in violent offences, and under-represented the proportion of Māori and Pasifika police officers.

OPINION: A series of recent cases in New Zealand has seen offenders under the age of 25 given home detention despite being found guilty of sexual assault, on the basis that were too young to fully understand the consequences of what they were doing; University of Canterbury Associate Professor Debra Wilson believes these and other cases underline the need for the country’s Sentencing Act to be reformed.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Presented by the Australia and New Zealand Police Commissioners and supported by Policing Insight as media partner, this two day conference will bring together police personnel and the law enforcement community and industry to explore how partnerships can improve community safety.

OPINION: A new report into the policing of the 2022 occupation of parliamentary grounds in Wellington describes a largely successful operation with a positive outcome; but Professors Alexander Gillespie and Claire Breen of the University of Waikato warn that while policing has moved on significantly since previous high-profile demonstrations, there is still room for improvement around practice, equipment, legislation, and ensuring police independence.