National MP Simon Bridges has drawn a lot of political fire about calling the Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster, a “wokester” but others either agree or would even take it further. Neville Dodd, president of the Sporting Shooters Assn of New Zealand, SSANZ, says sadly the Commissioner is coming across as toothless. The gangs must be relishing his recent statements.

“We have seen yet another shooting, this time in the streets of Papatoetoe, and it unfortunately resulted in the Police having to take a life because the victim refused to lower his shotgun. In my view the Police involved had no other option, Dodd said but police officers should not be put in situations like that.”

Dodd says he totally agrees with Police superintendent Jill Rogers when she said the worst possible decision a police officer could make was to take some-one’s life, but he says until the New Zealand gang & drug scene is cleaned up such shootings seem inevitable. “It appears the victim in this case was under the influence of narcotics and seemingly had no idea what he was doing. A case of a drug habit costing him his life.”

Dodd adds that he personally does not blame the addicts, he blames the criminal underbelly for pushing the drugs and the Police for having let the gang’s drug peddlers gain an upper hand. “If the methamphetamine is as bad as we are led to believe, it is little wonder that users feel they can take on anyone, even Police with guns.” To be fair the problem of a combination of porous borders, an obscenely lucrative trade in narcotics and so many illicit guns under gang control, can not be controlled by Police alone. Parliament must step in. The porosity of our borders is a joke and drugs and guns can flow in freely; invariably under gang control.”

“I know it is a big call, but the Police seem to be unable to get the situation under control.” He says he applauds the action already taken with raids and confiscation of guns and assets, but he says, that will never be enough. “It is like the mythical dragon that grows two heads every time you cut one head off, What New Zealanders want and deserve, is to feel safe and to know that they are not going to end up in some sort of warfare and risking being shot because of it.”

He says wokester or toothless, either word points to the same thing, the Police are far from controlling serious crime in New Zealand and serious situations involving illegal firearms will continue until the problem is sorted. Commissioner Coster should be asking his Minister, her colleagues the Minister of Customs and the Minister of Justice to introduce laws that will secure our borders and discourage criminal activity by gangs.

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