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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 37, Number 22. 4th September 1974
What were the "offences"?
What were the "offences"?
In the first six weeks of the Task Force's operation twice as many arrests were for drunkenness as for any other offence. Eighty five percent of all arrests in this period were for trivial offences (Police Offences Act). The totals were as follows:
| Drunkenness | 38% |
| Offensive behaviour | 18% |
| Obscene language | 17% |
| Disorderly behaviour | 6% |
| Obstruction/Resisting arrest | 6% |
| Miscellaneous | 15% |
Of all those who were arrested for drunkenness on Friday nights, 76% were Maoris or other Polynesians. Of all those who were arrested for obscene language and offensive behaviour, 75% were Maoris or other Polynesians. To see just how selective the Task Force really is in its arrests, we have compared the Task Force arrest figures with those for regular police arrests in Auckland. (Based on latest available 'Justice Statistics—1971').
| Regular police | Task Force | |
|---|---|---|
| %of Maoris/Polynesians among all those arrested for drunkenness | 22% | 76% |
| % Maoris/Polynesians among all those arrested for offensive behaviour and obscene language | 32% | 75% |
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It can be seen that the Task Force has more than tripled the arrests of Maoris and other Polynesians for drunkenness, and has more than doubled the figure for offensive behaviour and obscene language. This is on top of regular police arrest figures which themselves are so high as to indicate bias.