Changes to legalise the police practice of photographing rangatahi will undermine the trust between our young people, our police and our Government - and entrench discrimination, writes Aaron Hendry
In September, a joint inquiry into the police conducted by the Police Conduct Authority and the Privacy Commissioner found that police have been acting unlawfully in photographing rangatahi, specifically young Māori.
The report outlines that there are significant gaps in police knowledge regarding the law when it comes to a young person’s right to privacy, and that as a result the police have been in breach of their obligations to protect rangatahi under the Oranga Tamariki Act and also the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). The report called on the police to make amends for their failure to uphold the law in this area, and has recommended that significant changes be made in order to ensure police are operating within the law.
And yet, this week, at a press conference alongside Chris Cahill, President of the Police Association, Police Minister Chris Hipkins said he believes the report got it wrong, and went further, suggesting he would be open to exploring legislative changes that would allow police to continue with their current unlawful practices.
As a youth worker, I found the minister's comments extremely concerning.
In his stand-up Hipkins questioned what harm was "really being done" through the practice of stopping young Māori and tangata moana and photographing them without their consent. What his comments failed to acknowledge was the harm our rangatahi experience when they are constantly treated as criminals simply because they are young, often brown, and don't fit the stereotype of what a "good kid" looks like.
It's important we clarify that, in many cases, we are not talking about young people who have been involved in any crime. We are talking about young people who are existing, in proximity to where a crime may have been committed, and are being detained, questioned, and required to have their photos taken, without their consent, and with the assumption they may be involved in illegal activity, with no proof or evidence outside the colour of their skin and youthful appearance.
Over the past year, we’ve been having a conversation about why young people become involved in crime. In my mahi serving rangatahi, one of the core challenges I see in our rangatahi community is a lack of hope. Many of the young people I serve look at this society that we’ve built and don’t see a place for themselves in it. They feel harassed, surveilled, unwanted, because when they turn up in public spaces, they are constantly met with discrimination.
It is not uncommon for our young brown people to share experiences of harassment and discrimination. Stories of shopping, and being followed around by the staff and security the moment they enter. Stories of being questioned or judged by adults when entering spaces in which they should be welcomed without question. Stories of being stopped, interrogated and photographed by police for just existing in public, made to feel like criminals even though they are innocent of any crime.
What Hipkins and the police association don’t understand is that the police’s current practice is sending a message to many of our young people that they do not belong within our society. It is sending them a message that they are unwelcome and that we do not care about them, nor trust them. For some of our rangatahi, this contributes to the sense of hopelessness and disconnection within our communities. A sense that leads some young people to seek belonging in communities that don't have their best interests - or the interests of our wider community - at heart.
The other issue in Hipkins' kōrero that concerned me was the comments he made around consent, namely sharing that in his understanding, young people and their whānau are often granting consent. This is again despite the Police Conduct Authority and Privacy Commissioner’s findings in their report that in many cases, consent was not being obtained.
The experience I hear from young people is that they are often stopped by police, not provided with a clear understanding of their rights, and are effectively coerced into complying due to fear of being arrested and harassed if they don't.
These are young people. Any conversation around consent that involves rangatahi must also include a critical understanding of the power dynamics at play.
In this scenario, when an adult in a blue uniform stops a young person and asks for “consent” for a photo, there is an inherent power dynamic. Specifically for our young Māori and tangata moana, many who have either experienced the abuse of police power themselves, or have a historical connection to adverse experiences with police through experiences shared within their communities.
They are not able to give consent within this context.
If the Government moves forward with legislative changes that would legalise these discriminatory practices, then we must be clear about what the result of that will be. Such legislation will, with no doubt, enshrine and legalise discrimination of young Māori and tangata moana.
It will further undermine the trust between our young people, our police and our Government, and send a message to our rangatahi that they are not wanted, nor valued, within our community.
Our law needs to serve and protect all of us. Not just those who are old enough to vote.
Our tamariki should not be treated as criminals for simply existing in public.
This will entrench discrimination and it will be our Māori and tangata moana rangatahi who will be disproportionately impacted by this if it moves forward as Chris Hipkins has suggested it might.
I hope there's further kōrero and reflection with iwi, the youth development sector, and rangatahi before it proceeds any further.
