New Zealand Police, in collaboration with Te Puni Kokiri, sponsored this research project which aims to examine police how police view their behaviour and attitudes toward Maori, to look at factors associated with different attitudes among police officers and to assess likely responses to proposed changes for building responsiveness to Māori planned as part of Policing 2000.
Purpose
The specific goals of the research were to:
- describe police attitudes towards Maori;
- identify significant variables which influence police understanding and perceptions of attitudes and practices toward Maori;
- analyse the relationship between perceptions and attitudes towards Maori and socio-demographic factors of police officers; for example, the type of contact with Maori, and the age, gender, socio-economic status, length of service, and rank of respondents.