You're listening to the Weekend Collective podcast from News Talks, I'd be there's a lot of news in the world of police and corrections this past week. First bound on gang patches came into force on midnight on Thursday. First arrest was only three hours later. I wonder if they had some sort of sweepstake in the police. Who gets in first gets a set of wine glasses or something. Anyway, there were twelve gang insignia related to arrests in the
first twenty four hours. Richard Chambers has been announced to be the new Police Commissioner after he's been serving as an officer in nine in ninety six, and one of the ten Camp Youth Offender boot Camp participants has been arrested.
Is it a sign? What does it tell us?
And we're gonna have a chat about that right now with the Minister of Police and Corrections.
Mark Mature is with me.
Now, Mark good A good mate, good? How are you?
I'm good good good.
So just quickly, how is the decision to appoint the new police commissioner made? Who sort of sits on that panel.
So that the Public Service Commission unset process. There is a panel sits that both, all the candidates go in front of there's a recommendation that comes back that the suitable candidates go forward as the police commissioner, and then I make a recommendation to the Prime Minister, who then, if he ac sets my recommendation, makes the recommendation to the Governor General.
Okay, what were the qualities that attracted you to the new police commissioner Richard?
Sorry, should put that in another way, But what did you like about?
Sorry, I know what you mean.
I know what you mean. What did you like about?
Yeah, the qualities as a police commissioner. So, look, he's got he's got a very deep operational background. He's been an area commanded district commander in several different districts, and he's he's recognized has been a quiety leader that is connected to his front line but also has the strategic side as well. So he's just a grew very good all out. But what we'll need as a country and the police commissioner, A lot of.
The sort of chat around the place has been it talks about the difference is that there might be between him and his predecessor Andrew Costa. But I mean, what will change effectively.
Well, I mean that's entitled to him. But of course, you know, any new commissioner is going to have their own style, their own focus, in their own way of leading, so and I don't expect that to be any different with Richard.
Okay, do you get a sense that it's been a popular appointment from within the front line of police force?
Resoundingly? I think the feedback that I've had is that it's a very very popular decision. I think that he's deeply connected with his front line and they have enormous respect for him.
Good stuff.
Look, it's a bit disappointing about the news of that boot camp offender. What was your reaction that somebody had reoffended so soon?
Yeah, I mean, we would love to have a one hundred per cent perfect result on that, because these youth offenders that are going into the military academy are the worst, most violent recidivist offenders. They are right at the very difficult tough end the town in terms of trying to invest in them and rehabilitate them and you know, put some guidelines and guide rails and around them and allow them to come back into society with support to not reoffend.
But I think we have to recognize, like I said, that they are at the very top end of the violent offending and presents the real challenges and so it was disappointing to see that one of them has reoffended, but look, we just remain committed the military academy. Feedback has been extremely positive from all those that have visited had been involved in it. We've got outstanding staff from there. We've got over seventy percent of the staff they're are
Maria Pacific. Over thirty percent of them are each police or New Zealand Defense Forces. The young people themselves on the course provided great feedback in terms of they got a lot out of it. And there's one thing that we have done. It's difference is there's very strong reparound support for them. But like I said, it is really
disappointing that one of them has gone out reoffending. Certainly not going to give up on them, and I think that the rest of them have come out, have been lined up for jobs and are actually doing very.
Well well that I was about to ask you how the other nine are going, But so far, so good.
I guess, yeah, no, no, they are, they're going well. But like I said, I mean you know, these are these are kids that had the system had failed them, and and they're already out there doing recidivous violent offending. It's not easy, it's tough, but look, we've got great people supporting them, helping me, helping them, mentoring them, putting guard else in place, and and trying to make sure
that they turn into young keys. They can actually take advantage of the of the great opportunity our country has and not keep them on a fast trek into their doctrinal justice system.
Given the given the cost to society of every sort of offender. You know what the what the negative potential of the offenders is if they go back to reoffend. What what does success look like for you with this program?
Well, well, I mean old stimately for me is that they just stop reoffending, that they do engage in training, that they do actually want to get themselves into some manyful employment, that they want to break that cycle of violent offending. So and keeping them out of the adult criminal justice system, because once they get in there, then it becomes more and more difficult to rehabilitate and and get them back on the right track. So that's kind of what success looks like, for me, do you.
Think, by the way, do we think we need to come up with a decent name for these facilities because the Children's Commission are clear. Akhmad said she'd visited the facility and she said, I've been to military style academy sort of but and that sort of. I've seen those things, but to be honest, I didn't see anything I would class as military style and character. And the point I'm making is really the word boot camp gets banded around as if that's the beginning and the end of the argument.
But that was that was the term that all the detractors and everyone that was that was against them used. It's a youth military academy. Its stylized off their Limbited Volunce Limited on Test Service program, which has been extremely successful. It's been running for years. It focuses on young people seventeen plus that have gone off the rails a bit
and it's been usually successful. And there is an element of the defense side of it, military side of it in these because there's guardrails, they are in a uniform. There is discipline in terms of getting up at a certain time of the day, learning about basic hygiene, learning how a team work involved in physical activity, you know, and having some strong hadrails put around them, which I
think the young people actually makes them feel safer. Even though they pushed back bit, it actually makes them feel safer in the long one.
Of course, the first view at the first intake is part of I guess what's called a trial. Is this a trial to see if it works or a trial just to test your methods and see what else what you can change?
Well, I think it's a pilot because number one, we had to get it stood up fairly quickly, and the system does not get up to be able to NECESSI adapts that quickly. But we've we've done it. We've been very successful in Karen Chaw is doing an outstanding standing job of leading that long with the team that's been called together. But you know, we want to see how successful it as. We want to learn from it, and and I think that she's very keen to see it rolled out and expended.
Okay, moving on to the gang patch ban.
What's going to define this policy's success?
I think if gag pictures just pear off our streets are quite simply warned to intimidate the community that these gangs operating. They are a symbol of violent offending. There's a trail of tears and victims sitting behind each of those batches. And as a country, I think it's a really good mood so that we're not going to tolerate
them anymore. So I think that, and I think and look, I know that in your opening comments you said that within three hours of the patch coming into effect, there was actually taken It was actually three minutes.
I meant to say, actually, did I say ours?
Okay, yeah you did, But I know what you mean to say. It was actually three months. Listen, the police have got the ability to enforce this that it's now up to the gangs in terms of whether the gangs continue to think that they are above the law and they can con choose which laws they have to comply with. But as a country, as a coalition government, we're sending some really clear lines in the sand that we're not putting up with their violent nonsense anymore.
How important was it for the police to act really quickly.
I think it was important for the public to see that the police could act and could police this because the narrative that had got up through the media and certainly through the opposition parties was that the police had lost the capability to be able to police the gangs. The gangs had become too strong, and so I felt that it was really important for them to be able to show the public. But they've got deep capability and they will enforce the law and that's exactly what they've done.
Is there any validity to the arguments that critics would make that actually, if you just push the gangs further underground and you make them less visible, that's not necessarily great thing.
No, it's a silly argument. Of course, we don't want the public being exposed to the game. Members and police have got intelligence tools and they know exactly who the gigs are and then the serious activities that they're up to, so they don't need pictches to be able to per form them who they are or what they're doing.
What do we know about the first we've had the first sort of twenty four to forty eight hours of it. But have there been have the gangs effectively followed the rules or are they constant risk being made right now?
They have? I mean they have, they've been that there's a high level of compliance. There's probably going to be some that want to test it a bit, and the police are ready to respond to that. And ultimately the police will continue to enforce the law and if the gangs want to test it, then they'll lose the test.
Are you anticipating any legal challenges to it?
I don't know. I mean that that will be up to them, but it's possible. These gangs are well organized, they've rephisticated, well funded, don't do anything to try and avoid to clients. So who knows what it's set to wait to do?
Excellent?
Look, I really appreciate the time. Are you down at the swings or something? Sounds like you children?
No oventually down at the viaduct. It's a beautiful day down here at the moment. So yeah, no, we've popped the end of the videt today.
Oh excellent. You didn't go and see Santa.
No, no are we here? I hid my sin to braid and I rewre used today.
Excellent, excellent, good stuff. Mark. I really appreciate your time in staffing. Thanks very much for more from the Weekend Collective.
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