Deputy police commissioner Wally Haumaha thanks community for ongoing support

Deputy Police Commissioner Wally Haumaha is hoping the Māori culture can help stop Māori youth to a life of crime. Photo / NZME

Deputy police commissioner Wally Haumaha says the past three years have been pretty tough and challenging for both police and the community.

But he told teaomaori.news that he was particularly thankful for community partners who stood by police and worked hard during the tough times.

“Regardless of what events that we come across, I can only thank those for their tireless support, our Māori and Pacific leaders and communities across the country, Māori providers, and youth organisations like Blue Light and Youth Town.

“Can I also take the time to say thank you to all of our Police staff, who have faced some really horrific incidents over the past three years and again have worked hard to keep our community safe.”

Haumaha said that currently the issue front and centre for police was the ram-raiding done by rangatahi aged 10-14 years old.

A composite image shows damage to the Paekākāriki village store and the car used to ram-raid it early on Thursday morning. Photo / Supplied / Bhavesh Morar

And with Māori likely to be more affected by crime than any other ethnic group in New Zealand, concern was growing among many whānau.

“There is a whole heap of factors that have led to this: The fact they are not at school, that there is high truancy, their social settings in their households.”

Haumaha said he had been talking to some of the Māori wardens taking these children home and dealing with no food in the home. Some of those households had a lot of violence and dealt with the high impact of drug use.

He said the police have launched the Te Pea Oranga iwi community panels in six regions with the goal of dealing with crime and preventing reoffending.

Te Pea Oranga aims to provide a service for those who require assistance to get their lives back on track. This involves assisting individuals in overcoming issues including addiction, abuse, financial hardship, and challenges in finding work or attending school.

“This programme is something we will expand. Currently, we are in 22 locations; we’re looking into launching six family harm programmes working with iwi, and the rangatahi panels will be incredibly supportive in the process that we are following.”