1 (DOOR SLAMS) (DOG BARKS) All right, get out! Get out! Protecting us from crime nationwide. You can go. (MAN GROANS) (BLEEP). (INDISTINCT RT CHATTER) This way! For the more than 1700 female police officers,... We'll be here all day. ...every day brings them face-to-face with danger. (MAN SHOUTS) Yeah, can you just show some respect, please? These streets are tough,... Don't tell people you're gonna kill them, then. ...so they need to be tougher. RT: People runnin' for their lives. (BLEEP)! Police dog handler. Come out now! They reckon there might be kids in there. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) A female's called police, stating that a male has been harassing her. (SINGS INDISTINCTLY) This is my hood, (BLEEP). Come here. I need to talk to you. Come here. I'm done. (ROCK MUSIC) Copyright Able 2017 # Mm-hm. # (GATE RATTLES) In South Auckland, Detective Sergeant Kate Smith is returning to the scene of a serious assault. While trying to break up a fight, a 27-year-old female was hit in the head multiple times with a baseball bat. A 16-year-old boy was arrested less than 24 hours after the incident and accepted responsibility for the crime. The contusion on the top of her head was like nothing that the police attending had ever seen before ` just an enormous lump that came out the front of her` of her head. Um, yeah, quite frightening. (UNSETTLING MUSIC) A large part of Kate's role as a detective sergeant is follow-up investigation work. My understanding is that, um, the fight initially started over here, around the corner,... Yeah. ...outside Kanea's... 'In a homicide enquiry, if you are on call when a homicide or something very serious happens,' you'll get called in as soon as the officer in charge of the case deems it necessary to bring in extra troops to assist, 'and so I assigned 2IC of this homicide enquiry.' I was a new detective sergeant, so to be involved with that was` was a big honour, for sure, for me, yeah. (ROCK MUSIC) Use your feet! Good girl, good girl! Well done, well done. Line`! Good girl, Chlo! Investigating violent assaults like Kanea's... Go back, go back! ...makes Kate appreciate her life outside of work. Go, Anna! Good pass! I've got a 13-year-old daughter. She's nearly 14. And she's... good value. She's a` She's a good kid. Go back and mark that wee one there. Yup. Ash, push up a bit! Fingers crossed it lasts, cos I know that kids can turn feral when they get into their teenage years. (WHISTLE TRILLS) Use your heads, girls! Really wanna have, like, three or four or five people attacking the goal, so you girls push up, you midfielders push up. As far as I'm concerned, sports is one of the things that keeps kids out of trouble, so this is why for me, for Chloe` uh, for my daughter, that's really, really important, is to keep the sports up. Something that I've learnt in the police is to be grateful for what you've got, because we get to go home, and our job is done, but we're leaving behind us a wake of people whose lives have been destroyed. And I can't imagine how awful that would be, for me, to have my home destroyed by fire, or to have my child abused, or to lose a family member to` to` to a murder, you know? But at the same time, knowing that I get to come to work to help people is just awesome, best job ever. It really is, you know? All parts of the police is about helping people and catching baddies. It's awesome. Yeah. In South Auckland, Kate's returned to the scene of the serious crime that she's been investigating ` a violent assault on a 27-year-old student teacher, Kanea Hicks. Since Kate wasn't there when the attack happened, she's brought with her one of the officers who did attend. So, yeah, the radio report was that, um, there was a female on the ground and CPR commenced, which was the time that I was sort of saying, 'We can't delay. We've got to get in there.' What were your impressions with Kanea's, um` how she was at the time, like, how she was when you were giving the CPR? What would you think? Honestly, like, um, I-I didn't think she was gonna make it. In fact, I thought that my efforts were futile, really, and she was already gone. Yeah, that was` that was my impression. I just... (SOFT, UNSETTLING MUSIC) The injuries were horrific, quite frightening for the police attending. They really thought that they were dealing with a homicide victim, and so did the ambulance. They said, 'Look, it's just not looking good. She will pass away.' Um, even the doctors at the hospital were preparing the family and the police for the` the fact that she would pass away. 1 (CURIOUS MUSIC) It's just past 9pm on a Friday in South Auckland, known as happy hour by a couple of self-proclaimed local Manurewa ambassadors. This is a wicked area, eh, you know? Can't walk around, like, by yourself around here, eh? What have you guys got planned for tonight? Oh, you know, we were probably gonna smack up a couple people tonight, but don't worry about it. What do you guys of, uh, Rewa Police? (BLEEP) them. One time, they tried to pull me over for holding shotguns. (RT BLIPS) Just gone 10-3. Thanks, Comms. South Aucklanders get quite a bad rap. I personally think that it is just the small few that ruin it for everybody else. South Auckland's a very diverse society, so we're really lucky that we get to associate with lots of different people from different backgrounds and different cultures. It means that we can develop as people and that we get to learn a lot about, um, other people's way of life as well. RT: (SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY) Do you know what number you're at? So we've just been called to a job in, um, Southmall in Manurewa. A female's called police, stating that a male has been harassing her outside a bar. Um, at this stage, it's being coded as intimidations and threats, so we'll go and see how we can help this female, basically. The phone's cut out, so we need to go and do a welfare check and make sure that she's OK. So when somebody calls the police and their phone cuts out, we take those matters very seriously, because we don't actually know why that person called police in the first instance. Hi there. Did anyone here call police? Yeah, it was me, but, um, they rang back, so I told them that, um, they took off. Was it that person there? Yeah. Ironically, our offender was one of the gentlemen who was proudly extolling the virtues of his hood earlier in the night. What's, uh`? What's your favourite thing about this place? Blood banging. Girls like this comin' up to me, tryin' to chat me up. Oh, shit, it's his missus! (LAUGHS) (SINGS INDISTINCTLY, LAUGHS) This my hood, (BLEEP). Nah, nah, I just wanna, like` He's already done it to two others, not including them. Go home. We got your back. We'll take you home. Take the option. Go home. The boys were pretty compliant with us at the end of the day. OK. Have a good night, officers. They were just out for a good night. The lady who called police, and her partner, they were just saying that he was just trying to cause some trouble. They're not wanting to go forth and make a complaint, and all parties have separated. We've sent, uh, the male party home by himself. One of the main things that we're doing at the moment is prevention first in the New Zealand Police. That basically means that we want to go and prevent crime from happening before it actually occurs. So at this stage, it's a pretty good result, and, um, hopefully there's no more trouble around this area tonight. Detective Sergeant Kate Smith has been investigating the violent assault of a 27-year-old woman, Kanea Hicks. After being repeatedly bashed in the head with a baseball bat, hospital staff prepared her family for the worst ` she may not survive. (PHONE RINGS) Hi. Detective Sergeant Kate Smith from Manurewa Police. How are you? Against all odds, Kanea pulled through and then went on to surprise Kate even further. Despite being paralysed and blinded, she showed huge empathy towards her attacker when he was dealt with in the youth court. If she hadn't passed away, we thought she was gonna be a vegetable, so to then see her from that, knowing that, and then see her speaking now, it's a powerful thing, and no` no one will ever forget it. It was an incredibly unique case for Kate, one that she believes requires follow-up support. Nine months after the assault, Kate has organised a meeting with Kanea and her mother. I haven't caught up with the family recently, so I do need to, um, have a chat with the family and just see how they're getting on and make sure that there's no concerns from them around basically what happened in court with the young boy. So, yeah. Kanea's decision to support her attacker through the youth court has been tough for some of her family to back. You know, her brothers have to live with the fact that she's come in to break everybody up and keep her brothers safe, and she's literally nearly been killed. I'm just gonna move you up the ramp, OK, doll? Thank you. I'm not very good at driving these things. I just don't think those` those guys will ever be the same, to be honest. Everybody's been altered because of this, you know, because it is just so senseless and needless, and she literally was the victim in this. Yeah. Do you know what? We could probably do that together. If you wanted to go and talk to schools in Otara about gangs and about the problems that come out of gangs, you and I could` and Mum could go and do that. Mm. That would be quite powerful, wouldn't it, Mum? Yeah, definitely. That would be quite powerful. If you` At some stage in your rehabilitation, if you're ever up for that, I would come with you. Yeah. Yeah. I'd rather have her like this than nothing at all. WHISPERS: You're my baby. Yeah, that's cool. What would I like to say? I'm` I'm done. (CHUCKLES) VOICE BREAKS: I'm done. Anyone here in this room? Mm-hm. No. Not to your level, anyway. Not like yours, babe. Yeah. Maybe experience with others, but that's about it. Pretty full on. You don't get to see that every day. Mm. What, you crying? No. (CHUCKLES) That sorta stuff. Mm. Pretty full on. I don't really like that stuff. That's part of this job which is hard but cool. Especially seeing the mum. Yeah. Yeah. All my beautiful nurses, all my beautiful support. Yeah. I mean, if I didn't do this, then I wouldn't be human, I guess. How do you deal with it? You just deal with it. Yeah. Just go home and talk to your kids, I guess. I've only got one kid, but go on home and talk to Chloe, or talk to Mum and Dad, talk to these guys, yeah. Yeah, it's just part of it` part of the job, I guess. SIGHS: Yeah. Mm. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) More often than not, we finish with a case, and there's really very little that we have to do with families once a case is finished. But I think this is a really important one, and, you know, out of this little meeting, we've come up with this cool idea where we could bring a message to schools about gangs and alcohol. I think some good can come of something so tragic. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC CONTINUES) It's like she fought on to... tell her story. Yeah. She's so selfless. So incredibly selfless, really. I couldn't think of a stronger family. I've` I've never met a family so strong. Never, ever, in this job. 1 In Avondale, Constable Telisha Kumar is on the lookout for a 14-year-old boy who's run away from Mum. Well, they're at the train station there, and they're trying to catch a train to Ranui. So we've been called by a 14-year-old's mother, saying that she's trying to get her son to come home with her. She found out that he was at the train station in Avondale, so she went there and then she chased him to Avondale Primary School, so she said that she needed our help to, um, go get him for her. Call you soon. I think we can see him. Hold on. Call you soon. Bye. As we were driving down towards where she was, we saw a couple of kids walking on the other side of the road, and I recognised him only cos of his clothing. (INDISTINCT RT CHATTER) Come here. I need to talk to you. Come here. I need to talk to you. Come here. Come here. What's happening? Uh, I just don't... Why don't you wanna go home? Who? The family. Annoying about what? They're just annoying. Yeah, well you're 14, so you can't really run away from home, can you? So you're coming back with us, OK? I'll take you back to your mum. Yeah. Yeah, come on. Don't you even dare try to run. This boy may fancy himself as a young Usain Bolt, but there's no way Telisha's gonna let him give her the runaround for a second time tonight. Yeah, definitely typical, you know` typical teenager. He, um` You know, he's 14. Just doesn't wanna be told what to do. Just wants to do his own thing, wants to hang out with his mates. I think it's just the wrong mates he's hanging out with, though. With the young sprinter reunited with his mother, Telisha offers a few words of advice before sending him on his way. It seems like she cares about you, cos she wouldn't have called us otherwise. She would've just let you run off and go to the train station and all that, eh? So she does care about you. Mm-hm. So why can't you respect her, then? So, normally with the kids, I tell them the truth. I sit them down, and I'm just like, 'Well, you know,... this is what you're gonna be ending up like 'if you can carry on hanging out with these people,' and just kinda tell them how it is. You can either listen to us or not, it's up to you, but it's not exactly heading down the right path, eh? What you said before being caught in a stolen car as well, like, that's not the sorta thing we wanna deal with you for, eh? It's not really cool. It's not cool at all. What's cool when you can't` you can't leave the country? What's cool when, you know, you get locked up and put in jail? It's not really that cool then, eh? Some of them don't listen to us, but, um, you know, at least I tried, you know? So I do` definitely do tell them how it is and tell them what's gonna happen if they keep doing what they're doing. We'll let our neighbourhood policing team know, the Avondale Neighbourhood Policing Team, and they might come down and have a chat to (BLEEP) and have a chat to you guys and see if they can work something out so he doesn't get on the wrong track, eh? So we'll pass what's happened tonight and what's been happening between them two on to our youth aid team, and then they'll go and talk to him and, you know, try and get him out of the routine of hanging out with these friends, and, like, try and get involved in other things. And then hopefully he, you know, could change his ways and maybe might be a better person at home. (THOUGHTFUL MUSIC) In Manurewa, Detective Sergeant Kate Smith is at a meeting where a woman ` 27-year-old Kanea Hicks, paralysed and blinded in a brutal attack ` and her attacker are voluntarily speaking to at-risk youth together. A rare event for the New Zealand Police. Um, I needs to share with youse a life-changing event for me, when I hit Kanea Hicks on the head with a baseball bat twice. (SOFT, SOMBRE MUSIC) MAN: Anything you guys wanna ask? I really... can't... There's no words to describe it, bro. It's pretty hard, eh? (SOMBRE MUSIC CONTINUES) Before this incident happened to me, I was on my way to train to become a primary school teacher, then one night, that all got ripped away from me. Um,... I find it hard, because I don't get to see my family, so it's been emotional. I think the road is for me to forgive this boy, and I hope that further on down the years, he can look at his son and say that in the past I had done something very, very bad to a girl that I didn't know, and an innocent girl fought for her life, and when she come back, she showed me compassion. Yeah. Thank you. Kia ora. (APPLAUSE) Her message is so clear and so intelligent. I was, um, super impressed with the kids. All of them sat and listened very carefully. The girls were just bawling their eyes out. These are really hardened little ratbags, you know? And for them to be reacting like that is just amazing. I thought that was amazing, yeah. Her dreams of being a teacher are over, but actually what she's just done in there is teach every single one of us in that room some of the most important things that we could possibly ever learn in our lives. Not maths or science or physics or, you know, any of that stuff, but about being a good person. I know you guys will find your way. And, yeah, don't take for granted what you guys do have. ALL: Mm. Love it hard. Love it. I would love to be part of this sort of thing more often. I think, as traditional police officers, I think we tend to think process-driven thoughts ` investigation, prosecution, and that's the end of our story. But I think, certainly, with this new, changing mindset, uh, into prevention, being involved in something like this is just` this is prevention policing at its best. This is, like, changing` changing stuff. So hugely powerful. Copyright Able 2017 WHOEVER SAID TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN MUST HAVE EXPERIENCED A KIWI SUMMER ` THE SUN, THE SURF, THE BLUE SKIES... (KNOCK AT DOOR) HELLO?