A spokesperson for the Police says extra staff were called in from across the district to ensure the safety of those at the Auckland Pride Parade on Saturday evening. With more than 80 off-duty staff, dogs and police horses walking as part of the Auckland Pride Parade itself, extra staff were also on-duty policing the event. “Public safety and order is a main priority when assessing the number of Police required for large scale events like this and Police are well accustomed to managing events of this scale,” says Police spokesperson Jillian Reid. “Police did call in additional staff from across the District on the night to ensure that the Parade could proceed and that there was no risk to public safety posed by the protestors who attended on the night.” The Police dealt with three groups of No Pride in Prisons protesters who disrupted the Auckland Pride Parade, with around 35 protesters managing to break through the security line to stage a sit-down protest. “Police did request a meeting with the organiser of No Pride in Prisons (NPIP) prior to the event as we wanted to discuss Police’s proactive strategies currently underway in this space. “We were unable to obtain a meeting with NPIP, so could not talk about the in-roads police are making in the area especially in relation to revised custody units,” she says. “Police will continue to work to reduce the risk to people detained in our cells through improved design, installation of CCTV camera and keeping high risk people out of the cells where possible.” Reid says that over the last year a committee of Auckland Diversity Liaison Officers (DLO’s) worked together to ensure the police as an organisation was well represented in the parade and extended an invitation to all Police staff to participate in the parade and show that New Zealand Police is a diverse and accepting place to work. “In 2012 Police launched the Turning of the Tide strategy and action plan to address the over-representation of Maori in the criminal justice system, and also reduce the disproportionate victimisation of Maori. This is about intervening to disrupt the cycle of victimisation and offending, by forging partnerships with Iwi and providers of services to Maori, and through the continuing development of Police capability. Commitment to Maori and the treaty is one of the core values of Police who have committed specific resources to making a difference to the statistics as they relate to Maori.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 23rd February 2016 - 12:15pm