Road fatalities and serious-injury crashes were not trending down and accountability was a joke. This led to a more strident approach - so warnings went out the window and zero tolerance became buzz words.
But this led to a worsening in police and public relations, which previously had always been excellent, so new approaches on some infringements were initiated.
If infringements were issued that were not driver-behaviour related, then a ticket could be withdrawn on proof that the matter had been rectified.
A ticket for a broken tail-light would be withdrawn when the tail-light was fixed.
A ticket for a recently expired warrant of fitness or registration could be withdrawn when proof of a new WOF or rego was provided.
The police called this "compliance". But this did not apply to safety-related infringements like speeding tickets, because you can't rectify having broken the speed limit, and speeding presents the greater danger than just an expired certificate.
This also moved into the court process. If drivers were pulled up for offences such as driving without a licence, then the courts would defer sentence until the licence had been obtained, then a lighter sentence or no sentence was imposed.
The object of the regime was to get people driving legally rather than loading fine on top of fine so that no money was ever available to sit a licence.
All this seems perfectly reasonable until this latitude was found recently to be extended on a basis of race - and that should never be.
The very blunt policy that said Maori caught driving without a licence should be given time to comply was wrong.
If it works for one, it should work for all - and now it will.
Sometimes being caught doing the wrong thing for the right reason can be embarrassing and casts aspersions on the integrity of good policy.
I am pleased to see that police have clarified the policy and it can be extended to everybody on a case-by-case basis regardless of race culture or ethnicity.
