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Allegations
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The reputation of the police has
taken a battering in recent months, most recently with claims it is common
for them to take photographs of their prisoners being humiliated. Are these
incidents eroding people’s faith in the police or tarnishing the force’s
reputation? We took to the streets of Dunedin to ask people for their views:
Public keeps faith in police A string of police
controversies has probably tarnished their image but not really eroded the
public’s faith in them, most people approached on Dunedin streets say. The Otago Daily Times
questioned a dozen people in the streets of Dunedin yesterday about whether
those and other incidents had affected their faith in the police or affected
the police’s reputation. John Varga (67), of
Masterton, said the police should do more in-depth psychological testing
before employing staff, but the incidents did not affect his opinion of the
police. “They’re doing a good
job to the best of their abilities, but if there’s a bad egg amongst them . .
. you get them in any profession,” he said. Sonny Chin (47), of
Dunedin, said the police’s reputation had been eroding for about 20 years,
since they stopped old-fashioned policing where officers used to pop into
businesses to say hello and give people a slap on the wrist more often. Suzanne Murphy (44), of
Dunedin, said she had dealt extensively with the police and “they’re
marvellous”. But the recent
incidents did not reflect well on the police as a whole, she said. Kathryn Stanley (22),
of Dunedin, said public opinion of the police had probably dropped but it
should bounce back “as long as there are no more of these incidents”. Karen McPike (22), of
Dunedin, said many people also probably did not know about the incidents
because they had not been following media reports. Dwayne Watkinson (32),
of Invercargill, said the police did a good job but, even before the
incidents, he had thought some could abuse their power. Allegations of a a
police culture which promoted humiliating prisoners had to be investigated
more and could make young people question why they should respect the police,
if the police did not respect them, he said. |
