New Zealand Police, in collaboration with Te Puni Kokiri, sponsored this research project with the aim of providing information to enable organizational change in the Police. This organizational change would contribute towards an improved perception by Māori of the police.
The research begins by explaining the research methodology and the history of police interaction with Māori. This is followed by the results which are then broken down into four key areas; suspects, victims of crime, Māori youth, and complaints against police. The report moves to discuss “What Works Best” concerning participants’ perceptions of current police relationships with iwi and Mäori communities and how these relationships may be improved. Finally the report concludes with a summary of findings.
Purpose
The specific objectives of this research were to:
- identify Māori attitudes towards the police;
- identify all significant variables which influence Māori understanding and perceptions of, attitudes towards, and satisfaction with the police;
- and, analyse the relationship between perceptions and attitudes towards the police and sociodemographic factors of Māori ; for example, the type of contact with the police, the age, gender, socio-economic status, and geographical location of respondents.