P crackdown a warning that must be heeded
John Key made remarks last week welcoming the support of a gang that declared it had driven all known P dealers from the Waikato town of Ngaruawahia.
It was baffling and disappointing-to hear these sentiments from the Prime Minister.
It is true that his comments included the admonition that his new allies should restrict themselves to legal means. However, it’s not entirely clear what lawful methods he had in mind – did he think the gang was going to start an online petition?
Based on media reports, the gang’s actual method was intimidation. A public announcement was made: dealers had 24 hours to leave town. The clear implication of such a statement is that, after the deadline, violence would be used to enforce the edict.
The gang announced its initiative to have been a success and has declared that the town to have been freed from the dealers. The police claimed that there had been no reports of violence during this cleansing period.
Some news reports said differently, with claims that dealers were forcibly ejected, that one had been beaten up and that some shop owners had been hassled about selling the small plastic bags that are used to package the drug.
The problem is that summary justice is no justice at all. We are an advanced, modern country, not a frontier society. The only legitimate exercise of force is that exercised by the state.
And under our system of law, that power is properly constrained by the rules of criminal procedure. Vigilantes operate under no such restrictions.
But because the law moves slowly and vigilantes move quickly, public sympathy sometimes shifts from the former to the latter. This is especially so when the system appears to operate for the protection the obviously guilty.
But innocent people are sometimes wrongly accused. It could happen to you. If it ever does, I can guarantee you will quickly come to appreciate the constraints that operate on police and prosecutors.
Cynicism invites the conclusion that the gang’s motivation may have simply been to drive out the competition. However, that’s too simplistic an analysis. People are complicated. It is entirely possible that the gang’s leadership is sincerely repelled by damage the drug is doing to its community and genuinely wants to help.
During the Troubles, for example, the Irish Republican Army assumed responsibility for policing the parts of Northern Ireland where the old Royal Ulster Constabulary was too distrusted to be able to operate. Their methods were pretty repellent, with knee capping being a fairly common punishment meted out for petty crimes.
In the absence of an official source of order, however, the people were willing to let terrorists do the job.
One of the reasons organised crime became so enmeshed in Sicilian society was that the Italian state dedicated few policing resources to the island. Those seeking a measure of security and justice were forced to look beyond the law and incur the favours of violent men offering protection.
These men eventually grew into the mafia clans that came to dominate so much of the island’s affairs and which soon extended their tentacles to America, Australia and Latin America.
And this is what is concerning to the reaction to what happened in Ngaruawahia. The gang’s actions seem to be popular. The preponderance of media coverage being favourable and, on the whole, people seem to be pleased that somebody is being seen to do something about the P scourge.
Predictably, there has been much comparison between the gang’s actions and the perceived police obsession with nightclub opening hours and catching people who slightly exceed the speed limit.
The reality is that this is not an entirely fair accusation. The police are charged with a wide range of responsibilities and they have neither the manpower nor the funds to dedicate themselves to all matters at all times.
I am sure that the people most frustrated with the growing perception of police as traffic monitors are the officers themselves – nearly all of whom are brave and service-driven individuals with little control over the priorities set at the higher levels.
But unless it is careful, the Government may find itself vulnerable to a populist attack on this front. This isn’t the usual inside-Wellington type of issue that is of little interest to nonpoliticians.
Law and order is something voters actually do care about. Something ought to be done at the political level and statements that confer legitimacy on vigilantism aren’t going to cut it.
In any event, what transpired in Ngaruawahia is not something to be celebrated. It is a warning that should be heeded. Even if the aims of the gang were noble, and the results were something most people are happy with, it corrodes the rule of law.
It would be good if the Prime Minister could acknowledge that.