The role of the New Zealand Police and when to seek their help
One of the New Zealand Police Force missions is to increase the safety of Asian communities – something we have in common.
Many Chinese people do not know this, and some believe the police only exist to issue infringement notices. However, they do much, much more than that!
The police have a very important role ensuring the security and safety of society. Even when they do issue an infringement notice, it is to ensure the safety of the community as well as the personal who received it.
To meet the safety needs of minority groups, the police have special workforces, for example, they have one to look after Asian communities.
Asian Police Liaison Raymond Wong covers Waitekere, Waitemata and Rodney working with ethnic communities to ensure they understand and get assistance from the police when they need it.
He provides feedback to the police in relation to local issues and problems, and assists the investigating and preventing of Asian involvement in any criminal activity. He also works to prevent crime against Asian communities.
Because of his role, and he is Asian himself, Raymond can help and assist communities to better understand the function of the police in New Zealand. Through his network he provides presentations and workshops for Asians, and assists non-Asian police to better understand Asian culture by providing workshops, strategies and planning advice.
Common problems faced by Asian communities
Raymond shares some common problems:
- Questions regarding self-defense, such as, what can one do when facing robbery or threats to personal safety.
- Worries about possible racial issues when traffic incidents occur, such as the worry that they are being treated unfairly because they are Asian.
- Family violence issues often neglected by Asian communities. This behavior should not be accepted under any circumstance or in any society. Family violence can range from verbal abuse to emotional and physical abuse, and sometimes to homicide. For many families, wanting to keeping face and not wanting to break away from the family unit, the choice is to ignore, or stay in, the violent environment. They don’t seek help and the issues are never resolved or talked about.
- Drug trafficking. Many international students are doing this and end up as criminals.
Asian-specific resources available
The New Zealand Police provides many Asian-specific resources. These include:
- 11 languages available on the New Zealand Police website. If the problem is not too complicated, police are able to provide a translation. If the problems are complicated, they can also get an interpreter for one-on-one services.
- Providing many language pages about preventing crime and safety issues as well as setting out an Asian Police Liaison position.
Further education about police roles needed
Asian migrants often need further education when seeking help from police, Raymond says.
New migrants often bring their own country’s experiences and perceptions about what police responsibilities are, instead of getting clarification regarding the type of work police are involved in in New Zealand.
The Asian Police Liaison’s role does not include investigation. Often they refer people to the right agency for further assistance.
Often new Asian migrants do not know the police in New Zealand do not have the authority to sentence anyone. Sentencing is the role of a court judge.
Many Asians are afraid of expressing their concerns when interacting with the police, mainly because they think they will be discriminated against because of their race. As a matter of fact, none of these things should be feared here, because it is the police’s duty to ensure the safety of the entire community of New Zealand.
Some new migrants do not understand why police work needs to involve the issuing of traffic tickets.
They should understand that here, according to statistics, there are more people killed in road accidents than by homicide or any other course of death. As a result, part of the function of the police is to ensure the rate of road accidents are decreased, and one way of doing this is by issuing traffic tickets for offences committed. This is a government policy.
People also need to be aware that if they are not breaking the law, they won’t receive a traffic infringement notice. Often when police stop cars they also discover some other potential crime, and they can arrest the person if they have failed to attend a court case or have in their possession potential dangerous weapons or drugs.
Raymond recommends people ring 111 if they are in a crisis situation or a potential crisis situation. This can include when someone has:
- been harmed or is about to be harmed
- been robbed of valuable property or money
- found themselves in a life-threatening situation
- witnessed a crime or road accident, or a serious obstruction on the road like a tree.
When contacting police, you must give your name, address and telephone number as this will help them to get to you faster.
Raymond says the police would like to hear about any feedback or problems that may be of concern to Asian communities. This will help police to understand better Asian communities’ issues and problems.
He says, because of a lack of Asian police in New Zealand and lack of Asian people who are interested in joining the police, he would like to encourage Asian people to apply to become a policeman or woman.
Visit the New Zealand Police’s website
