Police using their brains a good idea

A judge's clemency set a young Lance O'Sullivan on the right track. Photo / Natalie Slade

What on Earth is wrong with trying to keep Maori out of the court system?

The furore over a Counties Manukau policing initiative was sad, albeit predictable. When One News this week reported police were being told not to ticket unlicensed Maori drivers, I knew I would have a busy night on talkback.

Some, Maori included, objected to policy being race-based. Others thought it a good idea but should be extended to all unlicensed drivers. And a few used the story as an excuse to get up on their hindquarters and froth at the mouth. Most only read the headline.

In fact, police weren't being told not to ticket unlicensed drivers. They were being told to refer all unlicensed Maori drivers to the Access Driver Licensing programme in Manurewa. If they failed to comply within two months, they would be fined. So in effect, all the police were doing was giving the unlicensed driver a little bit of leeway.

I'm sure most of us have had that. I've been given time to get a Warrant of Fitness rather than being handed a fine. Others have been allowed to bring their licence into the station, instead of being fined for not carrying it in the car. Police discretion is used all the time.

In this case, they wanted to break the cycle of traffic infringement notices leading to fines that wouldn't be paid, resulting in court appearances. Instead of continuing to hand out fines, they want unlicensed drivers to comply with the law. That has to be a better result for everyone, not just the offender.

All unlicensed drivers, regardless of ethnicity, were being targeted. Counties Manukau district has a high proportion of Maori, so the majority caught breaching their licence conditions there were Maori.

What's the problem with police trying to fix the root cause of the issue, rather than simply handing out tickets? Police are slagged all the time for being revenue gatherers when they write tickets; now they're being criticised for trying to stop the offence before it happens.

This new initiative is to be commended and Counties Manukau police are doing it in other areas as well. When it comes to domestic violence, they don't simply lock up the offender. Once the dust has settled, they try to find out why the violence happenedin the first place.

If it was fuelled by alcohol or money constraints or gambling or simply because people didn't know how to handle their anger, officers send the appropriate agencies around to the family and try to address the root cause of the problem.

That's a brilliant initiative and there are plenty more like that.

Contrary to what some might think, most men and women don't go into policing so they can lock up other New Zealanders. They do it because they believe they can make a difference.

Sure, they want to catch the bad buggers but they also want to break the cycle of offending.

I had just finished reading the excellent autobiography of Dr Lance O'Sullivan, New Zealander of the Year in 2014.

O'Sullivan could have been another Maori male statistic. He was an angry young man, being raised by a solo mum who'd been expelled from two schools.

Now he's a father and husband, making real inroads into improving the health of Maori children in the far North.

But he might never have made it to med school if not for the discretion of Judge Mick Brown.

When O'Sullivan was at school, he was the sober driver for some of his Hato Petera classmates. He was pulled over by a police officer for no obvious reason, but he didn't have his licence on him.

He attempted to pass a mate's licence off as his own, a silly ruse the cop picked up on immediately. But instead of getting a jolly good talking to, Lance found himself locked up in a police cell overnight facing a criminal charge.

Hard to imagine that happening to a King's College student.

When O'Sullivan appeared before Mick Brown, Judge Brown gave him the benefit of the doubt and discharged him without conviction and O'Sullivan went on to become an exemplary New Zealander.

Obviously, not all unlicensed drivers who are given a bit of compassionate leeway will go on to do great things.

But if they stay out of a merry-go-round of indebtedness caused by the continual imposition of fines and court costs and they stay out of the justice system, that's got to be good for all of us.

So well done to the police. And don't let the hysteria and the media beat up put you off being innovative and proactive.

Kerry McIvor is on NewstalkZB, Monday-Thursday8pm-midnight.