Ghahraman GolrizGOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN (Green) (remote): Thank you Madam Chair. I just wanted to say that in the midst of all of the Opposition's what I would call fearmongering about gangs I do have a concern that I've raised with the Minister of Police. I raised it last week in oral questions but I'd like to get some more detail around it because I am concerned about the arming of police in reaction to what we're seeing in the current climate. We've heard from the Minister that we're strengthening the police force and that's good but I am concerned that we now have a very recent report that's come out that's attributed death by shooting caused by New Zealand Police at 11 times the rates of England and Wales. I would like to get some more detail from the Minister around the training and support that police get as well as what communities get in preventing deaths by firearms. Especially around this issue I'm concerned on behalf of the Green Party to note that many of the people killed by police were not in possession of firearms. I know the Minister wasn't sure about that data. But it is—and I have double-checked it—in fact true that we're not seeing deaths or even use of force against those who are armed necessarily but many who suffer from mental health issues and I would like to hear some detail around that training that addresses specifically de-escalation training for dealing with people in mental health crises. Beyond that I know that we know the Armed Offenders Squad in particular has been identified as deploying people to the front lines without having necessarily completed the training that they would ordinarily be required to do at least in the past and I'd like to hear how the Minister has ensured that that is no longer the case. Further to that again the Independent Police Conduct Authority has said that the Armed Offenders Squad often has been found to escalate matters in situations where they respond and in particular we know that Māori are seven times more likely than are Pākehā who are engaged in the same or similar actions—that has to be noted—to be at the receiving end of police use of force.So the combination of that—the fact that people are 11 times more likely to die from the use of firearms by police here the fact that Māori are seven times more likely to receive any kind of use of force and the fact that our Armed Offenders Squad in particular are not necessarily as trained as we would like them to be—are concerns here. If the Minister could just break down the training and the response to this data and information that we've received especially for mental health sufferers and for Māori—thank you.Hon POTO WILLIAMS (Minister of Police): Thank you to that member for the question. It's one that has many parts to it. I think first I will speak to the concerns that the member raised around deaths by firearms. When she asked the question in the House last week it was very clear from what we know of the environment here in New Zealand that the comparator with the UK for example is not comparing apples with apples because the UK have much tighter firearms laws. They are less likely as a general population to be armed. In New Zealand of course we have people who use firearms for recreation or for gathering kai and the like or for farm work. So as a population we are far more armed generally speaking so we cannot do that comparison and come out at the same point—it will not be the case. I remember saying to that member last week in the House that where police have used this force generally speaking—not in every case but generally speaking—it has been against somebody who has been armed. So that was the point that I had wanted to make to her last week. But we are talking about an increasingly unsafe environment generally speaking in terms of our mental wellbeing.When we talk about increases in reporting to police there have been 50 to 60 percent increases in family harm and in mental health reporting. There's no doubt that COVID has been tough on our people and our mental wellbeing hasn't been as robust to deal with that and a lot of our young people—you know we have terribly high suicide rates. So the member is pointing to a particular issue that the police have been dealing with and one of the ways they deal with that of course is to have the co-responder model which has mental health workers working alongside the police because as you can expect the police are not the experts in mental health. However increasingly their work is in this area and as a way to deal with that of course they have the co-response model.In terms of training this issue has arisen in recent times I know that there are a couple of reviews under way but I'm also aware of the increased training that happens to the front line through the work that I have already spoken about: the increase in training for our tactical response teams which will mean we will have Armed Offenders Squad (AOS) - trained staff on shift and that we're actually now looking at national standards in terms of the AOS training.The last thing I'd like to say is in terms of a concern that I have as Minister and one that I've expressed often about the disproportionate rates of arrest or engagement with Māori and Pacific and how as police they are going to deal with that. I'm very supportive of the work that the Commissioner of Police has commissioned in terms of understanding policing delivery looking at issues of bias and looking at how police make decisions about who they stop who they talk to and how they go on to make those charges. I hope that satisfies the member's questions and I thank her for them.