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The police are "really buoyed" by survey results released yesterday that show more than a third of New Zealanders thought they acted appropriately in recent raids under suppression of terrorism legislation.
A survey of 750 people conducted by UMR Research found that 36 per cent felt that police acted appropriately, 13 per cent felt they didn't, and 48 per cent felt it was too early to say.
Police Association president Greg O'Connor said he felt that the patience of those people "waiting and watching" would be rewarded.
Forty-one per cent of the Maori participants in the survey (82 in total) said they felt police overreacted. Mr O'Connor said this could be blamed on media playing the race card.
"The raids were only ever a law and order investigation which became politicised and turned into a race issue mostly by the media and those commenting through it," he said.
"We're really buoyed by these figures which show that New Zealanders' opinions are different from what has been portrayed by the media in this case."
Sixteen people were arrested under the Firearms Act and the Terrorism Suppression Act on October 15 following the raids in Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North, Hamilton, Christchurch, Whakatane and Ruatoki.
- NZPA
