Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | News Video | Crime | Employers | Housing | Immigration | Legal | Local Govt. | Maori | Welfare | Unions | Youth | Search

 

Outrageous Charge Against Respected Policeman

Outrageous Charge Against Respected Policeman

19th October 2016

Inspector Hurimoana Dennis is a well respected and highly experienced South Auckland policeman – well enough regarded to be a strategic advisor in Maori affairs to the police hierarchy. Inspector Dennis now faces a charge of kidnapping – a strike offence – over a “mock arrest” of a 17 year old boy who was having underage sex with a 15 year old girl.

“Sensible sentencing is outraged by such a charge being brought against this long serving and well regarded policeman – in fact we believe Inspector Dennis deserves to be commended for a 21st century version of the ‘kick up the backside’ for a young offender rather than charged with anything, let alone a strike offence carrying 14 years in prison” said Sensible Sentencing founder Garth McVicar.

“Not only was Inspector Dennis trying to prevent ongoing illegal sex with an underage girl, but he was doing it at the request of the boy’s own whanau, who disagreed strongly with the boy’s actions and the relationship” McVicar said. “We understand that the boy’s whanau are appalled by the decision to charge Inspector Dennis, and remain solidly in support of him”

“Inspector Dennis was using an innovative strategy to try and solve on-going criminal and potentially harmful activity, a problem which had been unable to be fixed using more politically correct methods. In times past – when underage sex could quite rightly itself become the subject of a charge against the male involved – someone like Inspector Dennis might have literally given the offender a smack, and warned of worse if he did not desist. Those methods seemed to work; our juvenile crime rate is now many times what it was then” said McVicar

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Inspector Dennis deprived this lout of his liberty for half an hour – boo hoo. Now, even if he is acquitted or discharged without conviction, he faces the probable loss of his career, and irrevocable damage to his mana among the Maori community. We strongly suspect Inspector Dennis has trodden on the wrong toes at Police Headquarters, who will have approved this prosecution” said McVicar.

“Sensible Sentencing is normally solidly behind the police in the difficult and demanding job they face to keep us all safe. Not this time. This decision is an outrageous use of an excessively heavy hand, and we deplore it. We offer our condolences and full support to Inspector Dennis” ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On How Climate Change Threatens Cricket‘s Future

Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else and complaining that he's inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” - which is how most of us would describe his own coalition agreements, 100-Day Plan, and backdated $3 billion handout to landlords... More


 
 
Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More


Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.