Councillor’s warning of police bias

An Auckland councillor says New Zealand should look at every possible alternative before arming all frontline police officers.

Yesterday, Efeso Collins spoke out on Twitter against any suggestion of a move to permanently arm police. In one tweet Collins said: ‘‘If you’re brown and male you’ll soon enough be shot at by police who are ‘protecting our communities’.’’

In another he said: ‘‘Now begins the slippery slope to all cops carrying guns. If you’re brown, stay indoors.’’

His remarks come after Canterbury district commander Superintendent John Price made an arming directive on Tuesday night after police traded shots with a 33-yearold man after a pursuit. Price said he ordered the arming of frontline officers ‘‘a handful of times’’ a year.

It means officers routinely carry guns, rather than having them stored in their cars.

The temporary directive sparked widespread debate about whether frontline officers nationwide should always be armed.

Collins said his remarks about what arming police would mean for ‘‘brown’’ people was based on neuroscience around implicit bias.

‘‘If you are a brown/black male, your appearance alone makes people feel unsafe. The brain feels threatened by difference,’’ he said.

Implicit bias refers to the stereotypes or beliefs we have, that unconsciously affect our thinking, actions and decisions.

Collins said: ‘‘Auckland Council’s own feedback on the public nuisance and safety bylaws showed that Aucklanders are most afraid of tall, brown males who wear hoodies.

‘‘I am a tall, brown male who wears hoodies.’’

Collins said our prisons were ‘‘warehouses’’ for young, brown men, many of whom were there due to implicit and conscious bias on the part of police and the wider justice system. ‘‘It is only logical based on the neuroscience, that if police are to carry guns, the implicit bias will impact on those who are disproportionately affected,’’ he said.