The evolving role of the New Zealand Police in international relations would not have been a topic for consideration even ten years ago. There may still be some who view the current interest in using 'blue shirts' on the international stage as merely a passing fad. This article does not attempt

to dispel or support such a view for the longer term. k is based on what I observed as the Police Liaison Officer in Jakarta, covering the period between the first Bali bombings in 2002 and the more recent Bali bombings in 2005. In that light, the views expressed in this article are shaped by the particular experiences I have had in this area.

The tide of this article is not intended to convey a shift of emphasis away from international drugs enforcement to peacekeeping roles for the New Zealand Police. Rather, it describes a spectrum of international activities in which the New Zealand Police are now working. Also worthy of mention in that spectrum are the emergency response and capacity-building roles. These four different policing activities will be referred to below.

Before discussing the main topic of the New Zealand Police and international relations, I shall first put into context changes that have occurred in the role of the New Zealand Police in the domestic environment. The New Zealand Police today are working in a highly networked way with organisations from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. Gone are the days of 'police the pubs to manage the towns' as the singular approach to crime control. Today, multi-disciplinary and multi-agency teams problem-solve underlying issues to try and stabilise situations, prevent offenders committing crimes and victims suffering repeated harm.

There is an evolving police doctrine which indicates that there are a number of elements in community safety that can be integrated and co-ordinated to produce better outcomes for social well being. These include:

* a policing approach that is community-oriented;

* the application of problem-solving meth-odologies to crime and vehicle crashes;

* a timely and effective response to calls for service;

* high quality investigations; and

* effective prosecutions and resolutions.

These activities represent a broader and deeper role for policing in New Zealand than the approaches used only 20 years ago. These changes have direct relevance to the evolving police role in international relations.

Also, it is surely no coincidence that the New Zealand Police's growing role in international relations is occurring alongside a similar increase in the role of police forces from other countries that are engaged in international policing activity (for example Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and France).

For this article two relevant questions are:

* What is driving demand for international policing services both in traditional crime investigation roles and in new roles such as peacekeeping and emergency response?

* Why are policing responses increasingly seen as part of the solution to international problems?

Changing world

People today seem to be increasingly interested in rational choices. They understand that international conflicts and crises are complex, and they appreciate it when governments calibrate their responses accordingly. Many are also interested in responses that protect human rights. The notion that 'war' should be rejected as an option or solution to international crises has gathered momentum over the latter half of the 20th century. The impetus for these new expectations has come from, among other things, some significant events in recent history: the end of the Cold War, most notably the slackening pace of the nuclear arms race and the receding threat of mutually assured destruction; the break-up of the Soviet Union; and the increasing military and economic strength of regional powers such as China and India.

We live in an increasingly confident world where world war (rightly or wrongly) is seen as a very distant threat. The increasing demand for civil society has given rise to a more measured approach in the management of difficult issues in the international arena. Civil society expectations of the way states relate to one another form part of the 'post-modernist' view of the international system. These expectations of a just, cooperative and peaceful world are similar to what may be generally called the 'New Zealand way'.

Changes in how societies in the developed world view problems and how modern governments respond to such problems are leading to an increasing desire for more proportionate and bespoke civil society responses. This places greater demands on governments to provide a comprehensive range of constructive and practical solutions in international relations. Policing is one such solution that is occurring in both the internal and international domains.

New problems

Along with changed expectations, changes have also occurred in the nature of the security problems we now face. These new(ish) types of security problems can be complex and variable. Of course, it is debatable whether today's problems are more complex than the security issues of former decades. However, prior to the two world wars the thinking that underpinned the resolution of problems in international relations was such that it led to the consideration of war as a means of projecting power over one's neighbours.

Today, due to changes in the international system from a bipolar world to a unipolar world (where one state remains pre-eminent in its ability to project its power around the globe) and the emergence of stronger regional powers, we seem to be confronted by a multitude of smaller, but nevertheless vexing, international security problems. Often these states are associated with local and regional conflicts or emergencies. Whatever the reasons, the main focus of international security in the current context of the international system is no longer the prevention of large-scale wars, but rather the limiting or stabilising of many local and regional conflicts and/or assisting with emergencies which threaten civil order. Examples include Aceh, Bougainville, East Timor, Mindanao, Solomons, Sri Lanka and southern Thailand.

Crisis management

The international response of governments and international organisations to these smaller security situations is usually one of 'crisis management' to assist an incumbent government--if requested. The immediate response usually involves the intervention of military forces as a deterrent to prevent a conflict from escalating any further. Good logistics, communications and local knowledge are essential for restoring order in the short term. However, long-term solutions for stability require 'civilian/police' interventions, such as providing security for communities, securing justice, mediating between communities and securing basic government services. These longer-term interventions are sometimes referred to as 'soft power' options and are an essential precondition for the delivery of sustainable aid programmes.

Today's international crisis management challenges the traditional boundaries between military and police forces that are engaged in conflict resolution. Based on the conventional model of civilian police roles, police forces' engagement in international crisis management generally provides the soft power option for restoring law and order. Military forces, which are normally tasked with external defence and security in their home-based environments, have traditionally provided the 'hard power' option for international crisis management. In more recent international crises, soft power options have been more vigorously used in combination with the hard power option.

The combination of hard and soft power options in international crisis management has had implications for the deployment of peacekeeping resources. Clearly, at the organisational and ministerial advisory levels in Wellington, these off-shore deployments can no longer be based solely on foreign policy and defence considerations, which can rely too heavily on hard power options. A broader range of soft power options needs to be factored into international crisis decision-making, especially where New Zealand has an interest in nurturing regional stability.

Increasing influence

In a wider sense, public opinion, via the mass media and voluntary agencies, has also had an increasing influence on decision-making when New Zealand's national and security interests have been affected by regional events. In particular, the media has been very influential in shaping public opinion about the nature of different conflicts and what could or should be done by governments of the region. In addition MMP and the mechanics of coalition government has meant that minor parties and other allied political constituencies are able more effectively to represent and support public opinion on solutions to regional security matters.

The perceived effectiveness of hard and soft power options, together with public expectations of rational choices for conflict resolution, especially in the case of smaller and more diverse regional problems, have contributed to an increasing role for the New Zealand Police in international affairs. This is largely new ground for the Police and brings with it some tensions.

Peacekeeping roles

In peacekeeping, the clear choice for New Zealand (and other contributors) is, do we send what help we have that is easily deployable or what help we think is really needed and useful but which may be harder to mobilise and sustain?

While a police capability may form part of the deployment of a New Zealand intervention, the nature of police training and decision frameworks is heavily reliant on the assumption that operational policing and judgment can be exercised in a relatively stable society where the rule of law is enforceable. In countries where law and order has broken down and the communities involved in civil disorder have little respect or no concept of policing systems based on common law, conditions conducive for a New Zealand Police deployment may not be present. Ultimately in situations where there are high risks, there may be substantial barriers to conflict resolution and (potentially) danger to the police staff:on deployment. A current example is East Timor, where the security situation is finely balanced in the context of political/government turmoil that has threatened regional stability.

So, although the role of 'keeping the peace' is fundamental to the New Zealand Police in its domestic context, performing the same function off-shore can prove to be a real struggle. Enforcing law and order in conflict situations overseas also has practical implications for the logistical and tactical support options (including firepower) that may be available to the New Zealand Police for international police operations. For example, should New Zealand Police personnel be provided with light arms to contain rioters who may themselves be armed and turn nasty? While the answer to this question may be a simple one of operational choice, it nevertheless can impact on the operational style of an intervention force that is made up of military and police components.

Different ethos

The ethos of the New Zealand Police is based on the concept of an unarmed civilian police force that only resorts to the use of firearms where an armed threat is present. Police and military decision frameworks on the use of firearms are in contrast with one another. Thus managing the professional behavioural responses of personnel with different styles of conflict management can present difficulties in the way military and police forces relate to one another in international peacekeeping operations.

Apart from the different mindsets that the military and police bring to peacekeeping operations, there are other issues that can hinder an effective police contribution to peacekeeping: funding, legal coverage, language and cultural barriers.

Funding for police participation in peacekeeping operations has thus far been provided on a case-by-case basis. It would be wrong to conclude that discussions on funding have led to easy agreement between either police, other interested ministries or government. Simply put, Vote Police has, until recently, been solely for domestic policing purposes, with a very small amount factored in for the overseas police liaison posts. There has been little clarity on how international police deployments should be funded. Removing frontline police staff for international peacekeeping operations is a matter that concerns both police and government because of the impact this can have on police capability on the home front. This has in the past created a degree of pressure, especially in areas where shortfalls in local police services have been perceived. While staff on international deployments can with the approval of funds be replaced, the recruitment lag means there is usually a gap of at least nine months before a replacement is provided to a police district.

Legal issue

Another issue of concern is the adequacy of legal coverage for police staff on international deployments. Because of the complex nature of the police peacekeeping role, staff can quickly become embroiled in the process of administering justice in the host country through assisting in making an arrest, being asked to assist in an investigation, becoming a witness in a case and so forth. Without legal powers to act, and/or protections from liability in the host jurisdiction, police staff and/or New Zealand are open to the risk of being subject to litigation which could affect the reputation of officers serving in peacekeeping roles.

In order to mitigate this risk a number of measures can be initiated: the host country enacting enabling legislation that would allow for visiting police to be seconded; defining the police assistance role through an agreement or memorandum of understanding with the host country; seeking a UN mandated police deployment and/or enacting extra-territorial legislation in New Zealand to enable police to act off-shore.

Cultural barriers

Apart from legal coverage, another important issue of concern is the language and cultural barriers that exist in the host country. Trying to build capacity with local staff and increase community trust and confidence is made all the more difficult if a second language must be used. There is, therefore, a need to provide language and cultural training for New Zealand police officers prior to overseas deployments, as well as to contract interpreters in the host country to assist with police work.

Despite these issues of concern the use of police-to-police channels in the international setting is viewed favourably by most host governments. The image of foreign 'blue shirts' undertaking patrolling, community safety initiatives, forensics, training or other technical roles to prove or prevent a crime appear to be more acceptable than images of foreign military forces conducting operations in the host country. The New Zealand Police's experience with peacekeeping roles has been very successful. Consideration is now being given for the establishment of a more sustainable resource, comprising a permanent deployable pool of staff for overseas assignments which will form part of Police's 'International Services Group'.

Transnational crime

International policing is not just confined to peacekeeping. The growing internationalisation of crime has meant that core domestic police activity has acquired an increasing international profile. Dealing with transnational crime is an increasingly important feature of overseas police work. Particularly notable has been the growth of Police overseas liaison posts from only three before 2001 to eight today (in Bangkok, Beijing, Canberra, Jakarta, London, Suva, Sydney, and Washington).

Accompanying this growth are several other off-shore deployments and secondments to support capacity-building in regional police services to counter transnational crime. Investment in this type of capacity-building acknowledges the growing seriousness of transnational crime, and the ability of criminals to readily work outside domestic enforcement and intra-territorial legal structures.

The trend has not just been the creation of new police liaison posts in out overseas missions. New Zealand also now hosts police officers from many countries, including Australia and South Korea, with accredited police liaison officers from United States, France, Canada, and Indonesia.

New dimension

To put this discussion in context, the following examples highlight a new dimension of policing. In many respects, the age of rattling shop doors along the street, to check if they are locked, has given way to police involvement in more complicated investigations which often lead to inquiries overseas. Sometimes the crimes themselves are not complicated, but the resources and co-ordination required to pursue international criminal investigations compounds the difficulties encountered.

* A young woman is recruited in South Africa to be a courier of what she believes is Nigerian money being sequestered out of the country. After answering an advertisement in the local paper, she is sent air tickets and then flies to Hong Kong. There she is met by West African organisers, who put her in a hotel and tell her to wait. After two days she is told there is a change in plan; she is driven to the airport and flown to Bali. She is simply told she will be met on arrival. In Bali she is met and again left in a hotel and told to wait. After two further days, a man returns and provides her with a new suitcase and tells her to fly to New Zealand that night. On arrival in Auckland her unusually heavy bag is subjected to additional Customs checking and an importation of methamphetamine is recovered. A controlled delivery of the drug into Auckland nets the New Zealand-based organiser.

* A super-laboratory for methamphetamine is dismanded in Fiji through a multi-nation policing effort.

* A fake passport factory is located in Indonesia along with a client database which includes many clients in Western countries, including New Zealand. A man claiming to be a member of a terrorist group complains to the organisers about how long it is taking for them to make a false passport for him to travel to New Zealand.

* An unidentified man dies on the beach in Bali and his fake British and Australian identities are peeled back to reveal a wanted New Zealand drug offender.

Questionable response

The internationalisation of crime is not remarkable in any way. But, in terms of policing, it is questionable whether we are responding and adapting to international criminal activity as quickly as we are doing to developments in the trade and diplomacy areas, for example, or indeed as quickly as criminals themselves have responded to international trends that assist them in the commission of crime. At the Police operational end, responses to international criminal activity have usually been sound. However, successful models for regional and international dialogue that have been established in the defence, foreign policy and development aid areas may be better able to integrate law enforcement issues into their frameworks.

The alternative would be for the Police to establish parallel processes that would enable it to respond more effectively to the internationalisation of crime. In particular the Police need rapidly to acquire and/or develop staff with skills in international relations and policy analysis and development to enable more effective contributions in bilateral and multilateral fora.

New roles

Longstanding partnerships with traditional law enforcement partners are now being reinforced by new relationships with organisations over a wider range of criminal, national-security, bio-security, and human-security issues. In particular the need for the New Zealand Police to become involved in work that approximates that of security intelligence agencies is an interesting challenge. This can be an uncomfortable role for the Police, especially in overseas assignments where the relationship with the local police force is the vital in-country link. Any suggestion of a dual role would seriously undermine the goodwill we have built in our international relations. The New Zealand Police simply cannot cross the line between international criminal investigations and security intelligence activity.

An important aspect of the role of the New Zealand Police in international police relations is assisting in building the capacity of regional police forces. Most notable here are two very different examples. New Zealand's role in hosting the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police Secretariat places a significant responsibility on the New Zealand Police to support Pacific police forces in activities as diverse as policy development, investigation support, training and administration. Much further from home, the three-person Police attachment to the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan demonstrates how far 'green shirt' and 'blue shirt' integration has progressed as a welcome joined-up feature of New Zealand's international relations.

Civil emergencies

The final area of growth in international policing is that of responding to major civil emergencies or criminal events involving mass casualties. The international response to Indonesia after the Bali bombings of 2002 and, more generally, other recent counter-terrorism co-operation in Southeast Asia has been police-focused. Recognising that terrorism is a complex problem requiring solutions based on more broadly agreed principles of law, and human rights, international responses to Indonesia's law-enforcement action against Al-Jemaah al-Islamiyah have focused on capability-building co-operation with the Indonesian National Police and the Indonesian judiciary.

The most recent and large-scale example of an international emergency response was the Asian tsunami in 2004. The success of the Police's Operation Phuket was born out of lessons learned from the response to the Bali bombings in 2002. Although the tsunami was a different type of tragedy, the response was positive proof of progress made in improving our collective thinking and collaborative relationships in dealing with major international civil emergencies.

While some have been critical of the length of time it took to provide New Zealand personnel to assist with the recovery operation in Phuket, the additional clay or two taken to assemble the Kiwi effort was well worth it. New Zealand easily had one of the most complete and professional deployments of any nation in Phuket and it was the envy of many. Within fifteen hours a well prepared composite team of Foreign Affairs, Police, and Defence staff had established a forward command to facilitate medical support to New Zealand tourists, commence disaster victim identification activities and reinforce the crisis centre. New Zealand per-sound became part of the joint command planning team with Thai authorities, and provided logistical air-loading support to the multi-national effort, and communications.

Terrorist threat

Last year I gave a short presentation entitled: 'Is it harder to be a terrorist in Asia today than when al-Jemaah al-Islamiyah killed 202 people in Bali?' The answer I think is yes it is harder, but not too hard. This observation presents some of the larger challenges for the New Zealand Police and all those involved in international co-operative security discussions.

After several strong resolutions on counter-terrorism and some good counter-terrorist results, all occurring within the consensus politics framework of ASEAN, there are some question marks for me on the sustainability of a forward momentum on co-operative regional security and counter-terrorism issues. This is because some countries remain less able to co-ordinate an effective counter-terrorism response because of a highly fragmented departmental approach to security (with significant patch protection issues). Others, on the other hand, are still grappling with the problem of acknowledging that they have a terrorist problem. There are some who believe the Bali bombing was the work of the CIA.

A good friend from the Indonesian National Police reminded me recently that the close operational bonds and personal friendships that exist amongst a very small number of senior regional police counter-terrorism and drugs investigators are simply not enough to sustain comprehensive action against regional criminals and terrorists. His plea was for a more systematic and supported police-to-police dialogue.

Framework needed

Regional and bi-lateral conventions, memoranch of understanding and other such instruments need to be put into place between the signatory countries. Often there is a gap of understanding between the diplomatic representatives at meetings and the operational agencies that need to carry out the work. As the Asia--Pacific region has vastly differing capabilities and challenges, putting 'fine words' into 'fine efforts' will always require time and patience. A framework to provide a reference point for direction and progress on regional policing activities may be useful. The relative success of the 'Bali Process' in combatting people smuggling is a positive example of the results that can be achieved when all the participants in such a response engage in the process.

Bespoke solutions are also important. While al-Jemaah al-Islamiyah and the groups that comprise what we may consider to be the organisation are relevant for discussions by the South-east Asian partners, our Pacific partners have different concerns. Taking a 'one size fits all' approach will likely fail.

Increased connections

A possible development to support New Zealand's participation in international police operations would be an increase in the connections between the Police and other key domestic policy and operational agencies. A notable move in this area has been the inclusion of wider topics for discussion at the Officials Domestic and External Security Committee. Perhaps a permanent Police liaison role within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or Defence is an idea worth looking into, once the Police International Service Group is fully staffed (an idea already being given serious consideration).

As mentioned earlier, an internal challenge for Police is how far to develop and increase the number of staff with strategic studies skills and experience in international relations. This may take Police recruiting to areas not previously tapped into, such as graduates from masters of international relations and masters of strategic studies courses. The cross over of police, security and intelligence interests is dearly evident at Victoria University of Wellington in the new strategic intelligence studies courses that have a strong law enforcement flavour. Multi-lingual skills are also vital, and still largely lacking in the Police.

In the last ten years the New Zealand Police's international roles and activities have vastly increased. Policemen take part in 'crisis management' in many parts of the world--efforts that challenge the traditional boundaries between the military and police forces that are engaged in conflict resolution. Enforcing law and order in conflict situations overseas presents many challenges, not least as to the level of force to be applied, for both soldiers and policemen. Police also have a role to play in disaster relief, as demonstrated after the Asian tsunami. Fighting crime has a growing international dimension. In meeting these new demands, the Police may have to seek staff with the necessary skills in international relations or strategic studies.

Hamish McCardle is a superintendent in the New Zealand Police. This article is the edited text of an address which he gave to the NZIIA's Wellington branch on 16 October 2006. Written with a 'blue lens' perspective, it is based largely on the author's personal experiences in responding to terrorist bombings in Indonesia and the tsunami in southern Thailand and Banda Aceh between 2003 and 2005.