Dr Jarrod Gilbert Sociologist
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Top Cop's Controversial Comments

25/2/2014

4 Comments

 
Mike Bush has today been made New Zealand’s top cop. That he is popular with staff and has been responsible from some important events and initiatives is likely to be overshadowed by some incredible comments he made at a funeral last year.

In April 2013, the then Deputy Commissioner gave a eulogy for former Detective Inspector Bruce Hutton in which he praised the dead man’s integrity. Not to put too fine of a point on it, however, Hutton was a crooked cop and he planted key evidence (a shell casing) in the case against Arthur Allan Thomas for the murder of Jeannette and Harvey Crew in 1970. It seems to me that everyone except the police accepts that Thomas did not commit that grisly crime, which has continued to grip and fascinate the public for decades (Thomas was given a Royal Pardon in 1979).

But even if one believes, and in my opinion you shouldn’t, that Thomas shot Harvey through a louvered window before bashing Jeannette in the face with the butt of his rifle then killing her and dumping both bodies in the Waikato River, one should never condone the planting of evidence. Never. Hutton did plant evidence, and yet at his funeral Mike Bush thought it was “really appropriate” to quote from his file that Hutton’s “integrity [was] beyond reproach”.

Bloody hell.

A public relations blunder? Certainly. More that that? I think so.

For me, this is a perfect example of 'blue vision'. Although I devised the theory of blue vision in respect to gangs and outlaw clubs, it is relevant to situations outside of this. In a nutshell, blue vision exists when police uphold a belief regardless of the evidence against it. The false story becomes ingrained in the collective police culture and they are blind to anything that may contradict it. Police officers with views that run against this perceived wisdom are marginalised and silenced. In this way, the false story is never contradicted and therefore becomes bedrock of police thought.

Within the New Zealand police Thomas is guilty, and inconvenient facts like the planting of evidence are minor issues, pushed from one’s mind in the same way one might swat away a pesky fly. With blue vision this seems appropriate, but to those with clear vision – in this instance the public majority – it looks as it is: a defence of the indefensible.

The police rely on public confidence to undertake their duties and by upholding a crooked cop they erode that public confidence. Furthermore we should expect – and in fact demand – better from our police.

This is not to say I’m against Bush’s appointment or anti-police. I’m neither. Just like imperfection in the police does not diminish the fact that overall the New Zealand police are extremely good, nor should one flaw necessarily soil Bush’s abilities and record. It will mean, however, his judgement will be fastidiously watched. And while I will be one watching, I wish him all the best in the role.


[My discussion of Blue Vision is in chapter eight of PATCHED – and specifically discussed between pp.231-237].


Addition: Here's an interview with Marcus Lush on RadioLive about this topic, if you're interested.
4 Comments
Pepperann
26/2/2014 12:06:15 am

I overheard my husband (gang member 47) and son (not a gang member 20) discussing the topic this morning (Radio Live). They agreed that it was impossible to trust and respect a man who had displayed such obvious bad judgement. Those comments regarding Hutton were outrageous and although your explanation of 'blue vision' kind of covers it....the overall feeling for the three of us is - disgust at his appointment.

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Jarrod
26/2/2014 07:35:58 am

I think when the police make an error they should be quicker to say sorry rather than fight their corner. Most people are pretty forgiving. Mike Bush took too long to say sorry, in my view.

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29/11/2018 08:05:39 pm

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Muffin
1/7/2014 10:01:40 am

The police have never apologised about the Thomas case, nor have they reopened the Crewe murders. They do not accept that the whole fiasco was the product of police malpractice and corruption. It seems, because they do not accept that such things happen in the police force. Rather, they close ranks and protect their colleagues, as they did with the late Bruce Hutton. So much for Hutton's claims (see Beyond Reasonable Doubt) that if the the police suspect there is a bad cop in the ranks they will chase him out "like a bloody dog". Hutton claims he put a few out of a job this way, but I never believed that claim. If he did put a few out of a job, I suspect it was for other reasons.

I am anxious to hear what their review of the case says, but I am not putting much faith in it.

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