According to the police commissioner, many children have been let down by police reactions to abuse in state care.
Jamie Tahana writes for rnz.co.nz.
Andrew Coster spent the whole day under cross-examination before the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care, which is interviewing state agencies this week about their role in a system that abused thousands of children physically, sexually, and psychologically over decades.
It’s apparent that many people have suffered immensely, Coster remarked in his opening remarks. It’s also clear that some people have experienced subpar police service. It’s been painful to hear this.
Many of the youngsters who ended up in state care were separated from their whanau due to contacts with authorities.
The Royal Commission heard evidence that many youngsters were placed in state custody for trivial offences such as truancy or stealing lollipops.
Many of those kids were Mori. After witness evidence was read to Coster, he was asked if racism was an issue.
I’m not here to dispute with someone else’s experience, and I won’t. What I can’t say with certainty is how much of that was representative of police practise at the time and what was going on there He stated.
I certainly recognise that different groups have very different starting places in terms of their relationships with police, and there is a long history behind that.
He cited the Dawn Raids of the 1970s as an illustration of how police attitudes frequently reflected societal perceptions. The administration apologised for the raids last year, although the policy was widely supported at the time.
READ MORE: Mat placed over Ardern in official apology for dawn raids
Coster also admitted that children would have been assaulted while in police custody, adding that while he did not believe it was common practise, it may have been widespread.
Under cross examination, he and deputy Tania Kura were asked to respond to testimony about their 1970s and 1980s experiences.
In one example, a 15-year-old was chained to a chair and pummelling with a phone book to avoid leaving a mark. In another case, a young woman was hit with a phone book in areas where bruises would not form, such as the stomach and sides.
Kura, who joined the force in 1987, claimed that while she never witnessed any events, she was aware that they occurred.
There were several occasions for me of knowing – not that I saw – but knowing that perhaps someone had been assaulted for a confession, Kura explained.
What I realised is that that is not a common thing that everyone does. But if you did start, it would surprise me, and other people would talk about it.
Coster was questioned about why children who were mistreated in care feared they would not be believed if they went to the police, and why prosecution rates for abuse in state care were so low between 1950 and 1999.
He admitted that there was most likely a prejudice toward fellow Crown agents and persons in positions of authority.
It certainly appears to be true that during this period, persons in positions of authority’s awareness of the possibility of, say, sexual offending did not match the awareness that we all have today.
Responding to witness testimony from the 1980s, he was asked about a situation in which a sexual assault accusation was dismissed because the victim was deemed promiscuous by officers.
That would be utterly unacceptable today, Coster said of the report’s language. In terms of sentiments at the time, I can’t say whether that reflected a broader bias in the population or whether it was a feature of the police thinking.
However, it’s apparent that you wouldn’t expect to see something like that nowadays, he remarked.
Coster stated that there was no question that many children were disappointed by police replies.
However, he stated that the force today was radically different from the one he joined in 1996, and that he wanted the legal system to be a last resort for children.
According to Coster, police culture and attitudes have evolved considerably and will continue to change.
About Author
