KEY POINTS:
Meet Kefeng Chu - one of three strategic Maori/Pacific/ethnic advisers in the police national headquarters.
He is also a scholar, teacher, would-be psychologist, a double masters graduate, avid fan of Shakespeare and Robert Burns, social worker, traveller and former diplomat.
Those academic achievements and a probing intellect would have secured any man a coveted job easily in the higher echelons of society.
Not for this mainland Chinese. Landing a suitable job here was more a frustration than a given. In a country he describes as having "the best race relations in the world", Mr Chu arrived with youthful aspirations and great expectations. After all, he held bachelors and masters degrees in British literature and the English language from Chinese universities and had studied American literature at New York University.
He and his wife, also a masters graduate, spoke good English and both had successful careers behind them but neither could find satisfying work that drew on their work experience and academic background.
While Mr Chu considered his options, his friends and other Chinese migrants asked him to be their interpreter when they had communication difficulties with Work and Income and with the health system.
With that social experience under his belt, Mr Chu then enrolled at Massey University for social work studies and graduated in 1997. However, a local degree did not turn out to be a passport to success.
"I still had to knock on many doors. The struggle was still there."
For a while, Mr Chu taught foreign students English for beginners at a language school in Auckland. After a brief stint with Child, Youth and Family, he joined the Compulsive Gambling Society as a counsellor and was one of the principals behind the creation of the Asian Problem Gambling Service.
He said problem gambling harmed the Asian communities and Asians were the targets of some gambling industries.
"It's not that Asians have a particular predilection for gambling. It is more a visibility problem.
"Asians are seen often crowding around a casino gambling table and this gives a perception they are all problem gamblers."
When the police national headquarters set up an office of Maori/Pacific/Ethnic Services in 2003, Mr Chu was one of the first appointments.
With a growing Asian population, police chiefs saw the need to work closely with the community and Mr Chu was put in charge of the Asian community. His expanded portfolio included Middle Eastern, African, Latin American and some Eastern European communities as well.
Mr Chu advised police in relation to safety issues and cultural needs of all these ethnic communities plus refugees and international students.
He said it was a huge responsibility in a diverse society.
He also looked at directions for police in the next few years - the way police could respond to key issues and identifying emerging trends in these communities and also overseas as well.
"Some incidents overseas have a bearing here like the London bombings in 2005, the Sydney Cronulla riots. They have a huge impact on policing here."
As one of his tasks, Mr Chu monitors the development of police ethnic strategy in the districts and the implementation of that strategy.
"This covers a big area, for instance, recruitment, which is a police priority, especially recruitment from Asian communities and the training of the recruits.
"We developed a 'burqa' policy, for instance. It is a policy guideline on the need to exercise patience when we come across Muslim women wearing the burqa."
A reference handbook on religion and culture was developed for frontline officers and the book helped police to understand the differences between cultures and religious observances.
"The book covers issues like taking blood samples and the sensitivities involved - gender issues, how to enter a Buddhist or Hindu temple or mosque appropriately."
Mr Chu has also launched a pocket-sized multilingual phrasebook.
Immigrant religions and cultural sensitivities had an effect on police policy, he said.
"We developed a police website in 12 languages. We did that with comprehensive consultations with community members. They gave us the information they'd like included in policing and we adopted this approach."
Despite the odds, Mr Chu finds his job rewarding and challenging.
He works closely with community groups and government agencies for an inclusive approach to problems.
"There is a lot of goodwill among the police - at national and district levels. The goal is to get that message of tolerance and goodwill to the communities."
Mr Chu cited Auckland, which is home to the largest Asian population in the country, as an example where changes were occurring. In 2003, it had a handful of bilingual Asian police officers - today there are more than 50.
Mr Chu hopes that in a few years this country will have its first Asian inspector and in maybe 10 years its first superintendent.
Media cop a lashing over stereotypes
Race-hate crimes, ranging from harassment and physical violence to property damage, are not uncommon here, says police strategic ethnic adviser Kefeng Chu.
He said immigrant scare stories were also more likely to crop up in the lead-up to elections.
"Some people just do not realise the extent they hurt these communities by the comments they make." People tended to feel insecure and uneasy.
On race relations, Mr Chu hoped to change the stereotypical thinking that "new migrants, refugees, international students coming here, it is our country and they must take whatever we give to them".
On crime, the issue of triads here was misrepresented in the media. "There are no triads here. We do have organised crime involving Asians but that is quite different.
"Crime gangs see opportunities in New Zealand. Once the target is achieved, the opportunist group is often no longer there."
On Asian drivers, he said the perception that such people were bad drivers was wrong. "Our statistics say otherwise. It is merely a problem of perception and the stereotyping is negative."
In terms of serious road crashes, Asians were under-represented.
On race relations, Mr Chu blamed the media for taking a generalised and negative approach.
"The media generalise incidents. Some of these communities are new to New Zealand. They are still in the settlement process and, if we want these communities to develop, it will take time.
"We need to assist them and develop their capabilities."
New Zealanders had too many expectations from migrant communities. The immigrants' perception of police also needed to change.
"Police in some countries were often seen as corrupt. Although some migrants carried that distrust of police to a host country, most migrants have high expectations of police here because of the NZ Government's clean reputation. We find that many migrants see a career with NZ police as challenging and rewarding."
On the latest spate of kidnappings among the Chinese community, Mr Chu had a different story to tell.
"Kidnappings associated with Asiatic people [not including Indians] are on the decline. In 2003, there were 72 recorded kidnappings and extortion, in 2004 there were nine, in 2005 only eight but, last year, it increased slightly to 11."
Sometimes kidnappings in the Chinese community were not seen as kidnappings or extortions at all.
"Again, it was a question of perception.
"What we have to do is tell the new Asian migrant community that detaining people against their will is a crime in New Zealand.
"Perhaps with the new awareness, there would be even fewer kidnappings involving Asians here."
- NZPA
