2 February 2004

Carter congratulates Police on ethnic peoples' strategy

Ethnic Affairs Minister Chris Carter today congratulated the NZ Police on becoming the first government agency to develop and launch a formal strategy for improving the way it works with New Zealand's ethnic communities.

The strategy, developed after consultation with ethnic groups, identifies a host of priorities for action including the development of resources and operational toolkits for frontline officers dealing with ethnic communities, improved research on the best ways of policing in ethnic communities, and better information sharing between Police and ethnic community leaders.

"This strategy is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the Police. It follows a Cabinet direction that ten government agencies, including the Police, prepare strategies to enhance their understanding of and work with New Zealand's increasingly diverse ethnic groups," Mr Carter said.

"The government believes that to serve and help the community, a government agency must first know the community, and this is particularly true of the Police," Mr Carter said.

"Ethnic communities need to feel they can approach the Police, and be understood. They should be actively encouraged to report crime and victimisation. Similarly, the statistics and research that underpin policing must reflect the existence of ethnic communities, and the different needs they have and challenges they pose.

"The strategy launched today is an important step in that direction," Mr Carter said.

"I want to congratulate the Police on their efforts, and I look forward to ethnic communities supporting police officers everywhere as they move to put the new strategy into action."

ENDS

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