Citizen Juries may be flavour of the month over here, but in New Zealand they’ve gone one ten better when it comes to involving the public in decision making - they’re inviting citizens to write the new Police Act.
At http://wiki.policeact.govt.nz you will find the current Wiki draft of the Police Act, which like any proper Wiki is open for anyone, not just New Zealanders, to edit and improve. It will then be viewed by New Zealand MPs before an official bill is introduced into Parliament. The equivalent of being locked for editing by registered users I guess.
I’m torn between the optimistic hope that this could be the future of Governments’ engagement with its people, and the cynical expectation that every second edit to this legislation will be the equivalent of ‘String ‘em up’.
Edit: There is some serious debate happening on the Wiki, but it’s much more fun to report this suggestion: “it is proposed that all police forces throughout New Zealand be renamed “The New Zealand Yum-Yum Teddy Bear Strike Force Z”"
redtamarin[at]gmail.com
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Even Wikis need a break.
The response so far has been better than expected and the Police Act Review Team would like to take some time to collate the submissions and suggestions made thus far. Thanks to all contributors.
Oh well, there goes that idea, heh. I think it could work but, well, it’s not a perfect world is it>?
Liam said this on September 28th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Sounds like a welcome step but not quite enough by a long way. Better than community consultation and such guff. I’ve been bemused by the ads round London proclaiming that its a fine thing for volunteer (community) police to be hanging out with full time cops… but this to is still a parody of community self determination, and as films like Injustice show (on deaths in custody), there’s a long way to go yet before they just pick up a raft of ‘bad habits’.
More on Injustice and the like on Trinketization
john said this on September 29th, 2007 at 9:25 pm