Richard Chambers: Police Commissioner on the proposed Interpol base in the Pacific

The Police Commissioner is supporting an Interpol base in the Pacific, and says many pacific nations are also on board.  

Interpol has pitched the idea to police representatives from 22 Pacific Island nations at a conference in Waitangi, in the Bay of Islands.  

Richard Chambers says 13 of the countries are already members of Interpol.  

He told Mike Hosking it would be a big help to those police forces.  

Chambers says it provides them with information and intelligence to fight crime. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Large law enforcement gathering in the North. New Zealand's hosting
the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Conference INTERPOLS here, which
is interesting and also our deportation policy apparently is an
issue with the suggestion it could be driving up transnational
crime across the Pacific. Richard Chambers as the Police Commissioner
and is with us.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Richard, morning to you, Good morning Mike.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
INTERPOL being here, is that a big deal and the
chances I'm told of them setting up a base in
the region.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Yes, it It is a big deal actually for us
here in the Pacific region. To have the Secretary General
Valvizia Kisa here for the first time attending the Pacific
Island Chiefs of Police meeting is important for our region.
So he's been able to participate in the conversations and
we've all been able to share the challenges that we have,
you know what's on the horizon. Say, he's very very

(00:45):
keen to set up a regional bureau in the Pacific
and all the chiefs here are supportive of that.

Speaker 1 (00:51):
Is it done for the wrong reasons that they set
up a base and we've got the FBI as well
as that tell us what a troubled world.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
It is no no, no interpoles. About one hundred ninety
six countries that are members, and of the twenty two
Pacific chiefs that are here, thirteen are already members. And
by joining up with INTIPOL, it gives access to information,
intelligence and capabilities that can help us in law enforcement.
So it's a good thing. It's a good thing for

(01:19):
our region. But ultimately it's driven by the membership by
the countries that are here, So it's not about INTEPOL
coming in and posing themselves. It's about us driving the opportunity.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
So this specific claim that we deport people and they
then go on to be criminals of an organized nature,
how true is that?

Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, if deportations are not new and you know even
here in New Zealand five oh one from Australia, we've
seen the impact of that, and there hasn't been conversation
over the last few days about the impact of that
from New Zealand, but there has been a little bit
of conversation about some policies and other countries and how
that may impact on nations. So it's a very real

(01:54):
challenge for all of us, and we've seen that here
in our country as well.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
Is it a circular thing? So the firebo ones come here,
we deport some Polynesians back to Polynesia, et cetera, and
so we're just getting rid of each other's problems.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well, I mean, in law enforcement, our jobs is to
enforce the law and the policies that our countries have.
You know, police are going to have fallen behind that
and do its things. So I mean, of course, you know,
there are reasons why people are being deported, and some
of that can impact on the country, but you know,
it's about nationals going back to you know, the countries
to which they belong, and that is not a new

(02:28):
challenge for any country. We've seen it here, so it
can come with as challenges, but it's not a new
thing either.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
As regards specific crime and its issue. Here are customs involved,
the airports, all of those sort of people where the
borders involved.

Speaker 2 (02:42):
Oh absolutely my case. You know, police have a mar
us a big job to do, and we do a
marvel's job, but we can't do it on our own
and we work very closely with customs and immigration and
you know, not not only in our own country but
offshore as well. I mean, our focus over the last
few days has been all about safety and security in
the Pacific region and talking about what the challenges are

(03:04):
that we will face. And three big things that have
come out of that is global tension and how that
impacts on us down here in the Southern hemisphere, transnational
organized crime and also you know what our role is,
whether it's in New Zealand, Australia or other partners about
upskilling and training and supporting our Pacific colleagues. That's where
the conversation has been over the last few days and

(03:25):
it's been very productive of last day today.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Good stuff go well, appreciate it very much. Richard Chambers,
who's the police commissioner. You had a very good piece
in the paper the other day. There's sort of a
road trip series going on in the here at the moment.
This is bloke who's lived in France. He goes one
of the things we've learned is you don't know how
lucky we are in this particular part of the world,
which is always encouraging to read, isn't it. For more
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(03:49):
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