The Police Commissioner has acknowledged criminal justice outcomes for Māori in New Zealand are "appalling".
Andrew Coster spoke to a church congregation at St Peters in Wellington during a vigil for the death of US man George Floyd, and racial injustice around the world.
During his speech, Mr Coster addressed the Black Lives Matter protests. He said the protests had “rightly triggered an outcry in the United States and across the globe".
He said in that context, it was right that Aotearoa reflects "on our own situation".
Mr Coster said while he believes New Zealand’s style of policing is different in many ways to international police forces, "we have to acknowledge that the criminal justice outcomes for Māori in particular are appalling."
“This is not a situation we should ever accept, and I do not accept it,” he said.
Earlier this week, Mr Coster said he would be "happy to mend whatever bridges need to be mended" when asked if he would apologise to Māori over the controversial armed response teams trial.
The six-month trial ended on April 26, but drew criticism for taking place in areas with large Māori populations. Those areas included Counties Manukau, but it was also rolled out in the Waikato and Canterbury.
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