"Dear New Zealand Police, Aotearoa has not given you a blank cheque for your response to Covid-19... You need to remember that you can only police the country effectively with the consent of the public." #QotD

"Dear New Zealand Police, Aotearoa has not given you a blank cheque for your response to Covid-19...
    "Most Kiwis understand and accept the decisions the government has made. An overwhelming majority of the population has accepted massive restrictions on daily life and the sweeping away of civil liberties and freedoms...
    "You need to remember that you can only police the country effectively with the consent of the public. Contradictory messages and over-the-top enforcement will rapidly erode public goodwill and result in increasing failure to comply.
    "In turn, that will raise the spectre of order starting to break down. New Zealand does not want to go there...
    "The public was ... already anxious about mission creep in your use of armed teams. The sudden conferral of wide-ranging new powers on officers arising from Covid-19 exacerbates that worry...
    "You, the police, are there to uphold the law. New Zealand is ... not a police state.
    "We, the public, will obey the new laws. But we will also be policing your use of them."
            ~ Catriona MacLennan, from her op-ed 'An open letter to the police in a time of Covid-19'
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