April 14, 2013
Pig Patrol to address police bias
A founding member of the Polynesian Panthers says bringing back the Pig Patrol may be the way to address the disproportionate number of Māori and Pacific Island youth being prosecuted.
Youth advocacy group Just Speak has found young Māori are four times more likely to be prosecuted if apprehended for relatively minor offences than Pakeha.
Will Ilolahia says in the 1970s, the Polynesian Panthers instigated the Police Investigations Group to follow police officers on patrols and offer legal aid and advice to Māori and Pacific Island people they felt were being wrongly apprehended.
He says the group included Polynesian Panthers, Pakeha supporters and law students, and it was trained by legal adviser David Lange, who went on to become Prime Minister.
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