The launch of three armed offenders squads in South Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury has sparked fears from community leaders that New Zealand’s law enforcement is following in America’s footsteps.
As part of the six-month trial, the units will operate seven days a week using specialised and armed vehicles.
Auckland Councillor for Manukau Fa’anana Efeso Collins told TVNZ 1's Tagata Pasifika historically these communities have had really poor interactions with the police.
“We know that when the police interact with Māori and Pacific people, if you’re Māori, you’re 13 more times likely to have a dog set on you than if you are Pakeha,” Mr Efeso Collins said.
“The evidence is clear when it comes to militarising the police, it is brown males who are going to suffer the most and that’s the danger I see.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush announced the launch of the squads last month, in what police say has been an increase in the amount of gun crime since the Christchurch terrorist attack.
"They will look like every other front-line police officer but they will be equipped in such a way that they will be able to respond to those incidents in a way that immediately provides support to other frontline staff to ensure that our communities remain safe.
"This is actually a natural response to that and it's unfortunately necessary in the way that society has gone with firearms,” said Mr Bush.
A rally was held in Auckland on the weekend, hosted by advocacy group People Against Prisons Aotearoa out of concern for their communities.
Spokesperson for the rally, Emilie Rakete, said: “Now the police are very, very good at apologising for being racist but we’ve seen that the rates of police violence against Māori people worsening since records have started being taken so things are worse now than in the bad old days".
“Nobody asked for this policy, this policy is completely ungrounded in evidence and this policy will lead to racist killings by the police.
The announcement comes as police look to also crack down on gang related activity particularly in South Auckland which has recently seen a spike in violent crimes and shootings. However, Mr Fa’ana said the trial is not the answer.
"The best answer here is to overcome poverty,” he said.
“We need to look at our income levels, we need to look at the number of our young people who are not in training or education and they're mostly Māori and Pacific.
He said it goes back to when not feeling part of society and turning to the aspect of society that is accepting.
"When you've got older brothers in the gang system, when you've got brothers, you've got food, you can eat, you've got a sense of comraderie and belonging then you'll turn to that.
"This is just a knee-jerk reaction to the fact that more and more of our young men in particular are turning to the gangs because society has rejected them."
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