Police leadership
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:17 pm by David FarrarAt various times in the past, the Police leadership hasn’t been all inspiring. It it important our Police our well led and effective. So great to see this article in the Herald.
The country’s top cop, Peter Marshall, was out with the rank and file on the late shift on New Year’s Eve helping staff deal with a young woman cutting her wrists with a knife at the end of Princes Wharf.
A few days later one of Marshall’s deputies, Mike Bush, and a few other senior officers went to the mortuary while Disaster Victim Identification staff were assisting with the post-mortems of the Carterton balloon tragedy victims.
Marshall says that in the past executive staff would go out “sporadically, shall we say” with the frontline officers, but now they are out there regularly.
Excellent.
This is the new top echelon of the New Zealand police, and staff all the way down the hierarchy seem to be highly impressed.
It’s unheard of, an officer told us, the Commissioner of Police going out on the beat.
“The guys really respond to that. He’s a very inspiring man.”
And not once as a PR stunt. But regularly.
The new leadership and direction seems to be paying dividends with the troops. Marshall has two deputy commissioners – Bush and Viv Rickard. Of the more than 20 police officers we spoke to around the country, from constables to superintendents, every single one was glowing about the leaders. Some said it was the best administration they had served under in 30-year careers – one even called the three the “Holy Trinity.” Another said they were “good blokes, down to earth, no bullshit, no pretensions”.
Credit should also go to Judith Collins who effectively appointed the Commissioner, and approved the Deputies. She leaves the Police in much better state than what she inherited three years ago.
They also appreciate someone defending them in the media. Several commented on how quickly and firmly Marshall had moved to rebut a critical article by former MP and police inspector Ross Meurant in North & South magazine. Marshall regularly blogs on the police website and sings the praises of the force or points out positive public trust and confidence ratings or tells anecdotes.
Openness also.
It’s not perfect. They still seem to have no idea when it comes to electoral offences. But they are making a real difference.
Tags: Judith Collins, Peter Marshall, Police
January 22nd, 2012 at 3:47 pm
He strikes me as a thoroughly professional person and I assume he will accept another 5 years following this shortened 3 year term with a decent gong at the end of it. The Police should not be involved with electoral law prosecutions and I am sure they will be pleased to get rid of it
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Yes, I read the article and was heartened by some of its indications.
However, it – and the Police IMHO – fall(s) down by the Police still evidently trying to be a de facto social-working agency.
Police should be there to clear up the behavioural and criminal messes in our society, and leave it to other agencies to establish the causes thereof – by all means in concert with Police – and allow those other agencies to take the lead in formulating the necessary remedial and corrective measures.
But then, I’m old and out of touch!!
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 5:24 pm
Basic objectives of Policing:
Protect the community within the law
Detect and apprehend criminals within the law
Prosecute those criminals within the law
Simple or its used to be
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 6:25 pm
It sounds like they know what leadership is about.
cheers
David Prosser
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Credit to Judith Collins? Bollix! Marshall is just a genuine, smart guy who understands MBWA. Like Rob Fyfe does at Air NZ.
Effective government departments are rare. They get like that not because of their Ministers, but despite them.
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 6:41 pm
It is too early to tell whether Marshall will be any better than his predecessors. But his arrogance over the failed terror raids suggests he has a long way to go if he going to restore credibility to his position. He seems to think that an apology is a sign of weakness.
http://october15thsolidarity.info/content/no-apology-over-terror-raids
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 6:54 pm
so right ross. imagine having your kids held up by masked men with guns. Imagine having dad pulled out of his car with the kids inside terrified. Kids whose family freind was the local policeman who was given no say nor no notice of the raid.
Vote:Some still think that the Police acted with integrity. Most around know they didn’t.
January 22nd, 2012 at 6:59 pm
“But his arrogance over the failed terror raids suggests he has a long way to go if he going to restore credibility to his position.”
Why should he?
1. They were almost certainly guilty of the charges being brought against them.
Vote:The procecution was dropped on a technicality (The law was badly drafted).
2. He wasn’t in charge when the raid occured, Broad was. And in this case I will stick up for Broad.
January 22nd, 2012 at 7:14 pm
It’s always interesting seeing a post on Kiwiblog where some public servant appointees are being praised on their own merits, and their own approaches and so on and so forth, and then smack dab in the middle of it all you get “Credit should also go to Judith Collins”
At that point you are forcefully reminded that you are reading a blog written by a fellow, not just affiliated with a political party, but actually IN LOVE with the party and it’s members.
Golly.
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 7:28 pm
Other_Andy,
The police acted illegally….and why did they rely on covert surveillance? Where was all the other evidence against the accused? Presumably it was very weak.
Your other point is rather obscure. So the government should never apologise over past injustices? That makes no sense.
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm
Broad had a lot to deal with and did fairly well. I don’t know that Marshall realises that not everyone will be positively influenced by his asides against former commissioners. I was surprised by Marshall’s response to the Tuhoe charges being thrown out, it wasn’t his ‘baby’ and perhaps he could have kept his own counsel on that. I think Marshall will have trouble sustaining his approach, it seems to me to be the type of job where the commissioner eventually gets worn down in the role and away from his original intentions, tough job by it’s nature and no easy ship to sail, time will tell.
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm
its going to take a long time to reverse the damage the police suffered under the sisters. PC bullshit. they will get there.
viking2 – you seem to have an issue with cops. are you a piece of shit? ever been arrested? or do you come from trash?
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 7:47 pm
“The police acted illegally….and why did they rely on covert surveillance? Where was all the other evidence against the accused? Presumably it was very weak. ”
“The police acted illegally….”
That is was illegal was determined after two courts decided it wasn’t. As I said, it was a technicality, a badly drawn law.
Just because they got off doesn’t mean that they were not guilty.
“why did they rely on covert surveillance?”
You are joking aren’t you? They relied on covert surveillance because criminals don’t like to be filmed openly when they are committing crimes.
“Where was all the other evidence against the accused?”
We would have seen – heard about the other evidence if the case had gone through court. Then the lot would have either gotten off or would have been convicted on the strength of the evidence.
“Your other point is rather obscure. So the government should never apologise over past injustices? That makes no sense.”
Just because it doesn’t make sense to you doesn’t mean it doesnt make sense. I will say it again, they got off on a technicallity. This doesn’t mean they were innocent.
By the way. I would love to see the covert surveillance tapes. If those accused were really innocent and had nothing to hide they wouldn’t object to those tapes being shown now, would they?
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 8:26 pm
dime (3,886) Says:
January 22nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm
its going to take a long time to reverse the damage the police suffered under the sisters. PC bullshit. they will get there.
viking2 – you seem to have an issue with cops. are you a piece of shit? ever been arrested? or do you come from trash?
Dime that’s not very nice.
Vote:I don’t frequent hookers and skite about it. I have never been arrested and have been influential in locking up a few nasties over time.
Have had lots of conversations with policemen and police ladies in their off duty space.
But to automatically assume the police are todays or yesterdays Gods in high places is plain dumb. Its the attitude that allowed people like Pope to lock up the wrong people for crimes they didn’t committ and shit bags like Shipton and co to behave the way they did with apparent impunity. Ive seen the way some of their compatriots behaved during and after that time and I’ve seen the way they treated people first hand and the results. I have talked to ex wives of men in the force at the time it was going down and heard that they were too afraid to dob the nasties in. and a whole lot more.
So don’t bother with you hollier than thou attitude.
Just ensure you stay out of their clutches and stay on the right side of the law in your job.
January 22nd, 2012 at 8:57 pm
yea just as i thought, a typical anti-cop kiwi.
youre the sort that thinks cops should be super heros. “why do they need to shoot people?” etc likes its an everyday occurrence.
the only time ive ever come across an asshole cop was when i was 16 and drunk and guess what? i deserved it.
as for banging hookers – its legal? i dont beat many of them up.
holier than thou? yea thats me. jesus. more like sick of reading typical anti-cop bullshit. they do a pretty good job imho. hanstrung by the likes of you and PC keith locke types. its a dam shame they cant issue the odd beat down. would make the country a better place. go old school. someone gives the cop the finger and says fuck you – he gets a smack. its one of the few things pieces of shit take notice of.
Vote:January 22nd, 2012 at 10:10 pm
“The police acted illegally….”
Really? So they should have asked the terrorists for their permission before filming them in the act…I think NOT….They were caught red-handed with military style weapons and home made bombs (petrol bombs)..And their defence was that they were just l boy scouts??? The police should have charged them with treason instead- It is treason to conspire or act in such a way as to overthrow new zealand or it’s representative government…which is what they were clearly planning to do……A shame that the death penalty was removed in 1989, since it was definitely a situation where it would have been warranted…….
Vote:Problem is not so much the police but the judges since they were almost all handpicked in the 90′s by the then National Government…..would be better if they were elected officials instead by public…….
January 23rd, 2012 at 10:33 am
“They still seem to have no idea when it comes to electoral offences”
I’m going to call you on John Key’s “issues that matter to New Zealanders” measure here.
The police are probably wasting time on stuff like burglaries and assaults when they could be investigating recordings of media stunts or whether somebody put up or took down an election billboard a half a day before they should have.
Vote:January 23rd, 2012 at 10:52 am
I used to have something to do with Police National HQ in Wellington for over 10 years in the 1990′s and many of the cops there were well past it, and many could no longer even fit into their existing uniforms.
In the lead-up to every Christmas, when the Police increased the number of drink-drive checkpoints some of the the cops at PNHQ would volunteer to assist the Wellington Police with the checkpoints for a couple of nights. It wasn’t altruism for their colleagues on the beat, but rather they wanted the local (newer, younger) Police to be able to recognise them, in case they themselves were in the future pulled over for a random breath test.
Vote: