Among the horror: The best of humanity
Whanganui’s homicide rate has dramatically increased over the past two years, despite the economy going well and fewer crime victims overall. So why the wave of violence, and how does a community react? investigates.
Pa¯kaitore is familiar with the sound of protest. Most famous for the 79-day occupation of 1995 when localma¯ori highlighted unresolved issues dating back to the first instances of European colonisation, the gardens are a regular meeting place for Whanganui’s wronged.
Pa¯kaitore, also known as Moutoa Gardens, was once again congregated by the wronged in lateOctober. Hundreds trod the ground. Children bussed in from kura. Kuia wept. Everyone chanted.
They all marched from the gardens, past the city’s courthouse and lawyers’ offices, towards the city centre.
But the sorrow and anger on display was not for grievances brought from those outside the city. Those grievances came from within.
There have been nine homicides in the city since the start of 2018, ranging from the gangrelated shooting of Mongrel Mob member Kevin ‘‘Kastro’’ Ratana to Lorraine Smith strangling her 13-year-old granddaughter Kalis Manaia Smith to death in their home.
There were no homicides in nearby Palmerston North in that time, while there were only two in the entire Central policing region, which Whanganui falls under, in 2017.
Whanganui Crown prosecutor Chris WilkinsonSmith says it was not the workload he and his wife Michele, who holds the Crown warrant for the area, expected when they took over the prosecution role in the city in December 2016.
‘‘We probably thought we might be doing one or two murders a year, if that. But as it has turned out, we’re three or four times that at the moment.’’
The couple made their names in legal circles as defence lawyers, basing their practice in Auckland while they lived in Whanganui.
Wilkinson-smith estimates they dealt with 20 homicides in Auckland, including the 2008 New Year’s Day murder of 11-week-old Tahani Mahomed and the case of Tony Robertson, who raped and murdered Blessie Gotingco inmay 2014. While there are common features to homicides – drugs, gangs, poverty – the current trend in Whanganui has him stumped.
‘‘I’ve been scratching my head about how we can go from one or two active murder trials in a province the size of Whanganui to the [number of] active homicides we have at the moment,’’ he says.
‘‘Statistically, that’s not just a blip. That’s a massive increase.’’
Wilkinson-smith is right to scratch his head, as statistics do not give an obvious reason for the surge of homicides.
If anything, the city on other fronts is going through something of a golden patch.
Data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment shows household incomes in Whanganui increased faster than inflation between 2017 and 2018.
Unemployment is down, consents for new dwellings have been at historically high levels the past three years, and consumer spending is increasing at a faster rate than the national average.
Police data shows the number of victims of crime per 100,000 people is dropping.
The city of 43,000 people was even judged the most beautiful in the country in 2019. Walking along the river on a sunny day, it is easy to see why.
Otago University research does show deprivation is more prevalent in the city than most of New Zealand, and getting worse. Those findings, however, were based on 2013 Census figures.
But picking apart the reasons is not the most urgent matter for Wilkinson-smith and others involved in the justice system. Dealing with the workload is.
Any major case which gets to the Crown is going to suck up time and energy, but homicides are on their own level, he says.
An aggravated robbery may have five police officers, while a homicide can have up to 80 officers on the file at any time, each creating amountain of evidence.
The trials run longer with more witnesses, more emotion from victims’ families and higher stakes.
The Crown office has taken on more staff, with everyone working longer hours.
The run of trials, starting in 2020, will also expose the lack of room at the Whanganui courthouse. Local lawyers have complained for years about the building, which only has two courtrooms and dated facilities. One homicide trial has already been moved out of the region, meaning the families of victims and defendants will have to arrange transport and accommodation. The string of murder trials in Whanganui means district court trials will be delayed, denying justice to people chargedwith less serious crimes.
Police Association president Chris Cahill says police are also feeling the pressure.
While known for his work as a detective senior sergeant in Auckland, he grew up in Invercargill and was posted both there and Hawke’s Bay.
He knows the pressure even one homicide can have on police in a smaller area, let alone the swathe Whanganui is dealing with. ‘‘It’s as bad a block [of homicides] I have ever seen,’’ he says.
While resources would have been funnelled there from outside the area in the wake of each death, the officers stationed in Whanganui will pick up the majority of the preparation work before trial, he says.
‘‘Homicides themselves are a suck on resources. Multiple homicides, one on the other, are a real drain.’’
People get tired and stressed about getting files ready for trial, while pro-active policing designed to prevent offending gets put to the side, he says.
‘‘It’s hard to do prevention when you’re investigating multiple homicides.’’
It is also hard to keep deep dives into the criminal underworld operating, such as the one in Manawatu¯ which resulted in multiple arrests and the seizure of properties, classic cars and cash in September.
But Cahill says the hardest thing for officers is a question neighbours and members of the public are bound to ask: is it still safe?
‘‘When you live in the community that has seen those numbers of homicides, the community starts to second-guess if it is safe. That’s not what we want. Police officers’ job is to keep the community safe.’’
The thing making it tough for Whanganui police is the variety of homicides, with vehicular manslaughter, gang-related shootings and random street fighting all featuring.
Cahill says a surge of homicides in Bay of Plenty
‘‘This is, regrettably, what happens over the course of time. It is certainly indicative of the breakdown of the fabric of our society around community responsibility.’’
Harete Hipango
in the past was down to gang and drug-related activity, so police focused on gangs.
Whanganui’s range of homicides makes it far harder to target the causes, he says.
‘‘It’s about finding where you can get the best bang for your buck for resources to stop the cycle.
‘‘That’s difficult when there isn’t one particular cause of offending across multiple levels of violence.’’
Whanganui does have a reputation for gang activity, and there are pockets of the town where someone wearing a red shirt or blue shirt is putting themselves at risk of at least a beating.
But Wilkinson-smith says crimes involving gangs have not become worse in the city.
The string of homicides supports that, with only the death of Ratana obviously rooted in gang rivalries.
Black Power and Mongrel Mob members met in the wake of his death to broker peace and try prevent more violence.
But a handful of the Whanganui homicides can be linked to a single issue – domestic violence.
The marches in the city after the deaths of youngwomen, all Ma¯ori, were about putting the spotlight on that issue. But they were also about finding solutions, something w hang a nu imp Harete Hipango is especially focused on.
She knows every one of the recent homicide victims, as well as some of the defendants.
That is to be expected, given her deep roots in the community.
Born and raised in the city, Hipango had a 30-year law career before Parliament, working in the criminal, youth, family andmental health jurisdictions, as well as spending 10 years as a lawyer for Oranga Tamariki’s predecessor Child, Youth and Family.
She is extremely positive about the city, but recognises the community’s current difficulties.
But rather than putting things down to a sudden change in circumstances, she points to long-term systemic issues seen across the country: deprivation, marginalisation and a lack of listening to local communities.
‘‘This is, regrettably, what happens over the course of time. It is certainly indicative of the breakdown of the fabric of our society around community responsibility.’’
She is especially critical of Government agencies, often hamstrung by sticking to internal policies and targets.
The actions of those agencies over decades, such as child uplifts or bias against Ma¯ori, destroys trust in the community, she says.
That leads to people not reporting violence or illtreatment by parents to their children due to fears tamariki will be taken out of the region, which leaves people at risk.
‘‘That is further traumatisation for our little ones as well as their families.’’
Many of the people in those agencies are wellintentioned, but the destruction of trust is difficult to fix, she says.
Efforts by governments over the years have not worked. Hipango points out the current criminal
justice reform work being undertaken by her predecessor, former whanganui Mpchester Borrows, and the Safe and Effective Justice Programme Advisory Group/te Uepu¯ Ha¯pai i te Ora.
While that work is needed, something which has slipped under the radar is the Puao-te-ata-tu report, released in 1988.
While created as a way to show a Ma¯ori perspective of the Department of Social Welfare, the report and Te Uepu¯ Ha¯pai i te Ora go over much of the same ground.
‘‘It is frustrating, because it’s about time government did start... entrusting and empowering our community,’’ Hipango says.
Thewhanganui community obviously wants a solution to the recent violence. The marches held in the city in recent months, the latest awhite Ribbonmarch on Friday, are proof of that.
But instead of reacting with individual marches, Hipango wants a collective reaction to issues by the community coming together to find solutions.
She points to groups like Jigsawwhanganui, which helps wha¯nau address negative behaviour and provide socialworkers in schools.
But those groupswere often working in isolation and under-resourced, making it difficult to make long-lasting change on a big scale.
‘‘The Government needs to empower our people within communities to do the work.’’
Wha¯nau Ora is a perfectway for that to happen, as it uses Government resources but is driven by iwi to find local answers to local problems.
One of those solutions is something being driven by Whanganui police, led by area commander Inspector Nigel Allen, and gets praise from Hipango.
As part of a strategy to battle family violence dubbed Flow, police andma¯ori health provider Te Oranganui have worked together to appoint a kaihautu¯.
That kaihautu¯, a person trusted by the community, can direct people to the various community organisations who provide help before aworst-case scenario takes place.
Hipango says it is just a start, but the move will help coordinate community groups, making sure they work collaboratively to address issues in Whanganui.
She likens each group to different threads within a fabric, which will become stronger if they weave together rather than taking weight alone.
‘‘It is never going to be successful if there is a government-driven emphasis. It’s about from the ground or grassroots up.’’