Summarised by Centrist
A senior New Zealand police officer, verified by the Free Speech Union, has raised serious concerns about recent training and policy changes within the police force. The officer, with a master’s dissertation on hate speech legislation, highlighted the problematic nature of these developments, particularly the internal so-called “Hate Hub” on the police intranet.
This “Hate Hub” directs staff to record any reported incidents of hate speech as “hate incidents,” even if they do not constitute offences. The officer explained, “The test of what is considered a hate incident, according to policy, is anything the complainant feels is hateful towards them as a member of a minority group,” making the test entirely subjective.
The officer expressed alarm over the lack of an objective test for these incidents, noting that police typically do not record non-offences without a solid reason. The policy’s gradual, low-profile introduction raises suspicion that it was done to avoid public scrutiny. “I did not sign up to be the thought police; in fact, I became a police officer to protect people’s inherent rights,” the officer stated, underscoring the tension between protecting free speech and enforcing new hate speech policies.
ACT’s Justice spokesperson Todd Stephenson echoed these concerns and pointed out that the training materials include non-criminal examples like “There are only two genders,” “Free speech,” and “Kiwi not iwi.”
