Police Commissioner Andrew Coster concedes police should have consulted the public before trialling their armed response teams (ART). In future, he says, he wants police to carry firearms only rarely.
“My commitment as commissioner is for us to be a generally unarmed police service - so we are not routinely carrying firearms,” Andrew Coster says.
The death of African American George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter marches raised the issue of police brutality across the globe in recent weeks just as the armed response teams were being trialled. The commissioner says New Zealand police received almost 4000 letters.
“I believe the death of George Floyd galvanised a lot of public opinion and helped more people to weigh in on the question,” Coster says.
Criminologist Emelie Rakete recently raised concerns that ARTs would indiscriminately target Māori. Coster says there is a wider issue that Māori outcomes in the justice system are appalling.
“It’s really important for us to take a look at our own practices, and make sure that nothing is adding to that problem.”
He assured the public any outliers in the 14,000 strong police force who defy standard practices will be dealt with.
Addressing the issue of firearms crime, Coster says it’s complicated. Keeping firearms out of the wrong hands, and working with the community remain police priorities.
The commissioner says people actually felt safer with the ARTs. He says training police to deal with dangerous frontline situations will help police reduce frontline firearms usage.