Chinese policing and DIY Statements?

A confused, mistake-ridden witness statement taken by a new Christchurch constable has raised fears over its reliability in court.
The statement, taken by a Chinese officer who joined the force this year, contains mistakes and confusing sentences, causing a woman to question whether she can properly defend herself.
The woman faces an assault charge, but she and her former husband, who signed the statement, say it has inaccuracies because of the constable's confusion over some words.
The statement included several spelling and grammatical errors.
In part it read: "Then she went up straightly and was very aggressive. She tell K... get your ... ass out of my coatch. I stood up and cut it out. H... started slashing me. I got long arm. She's just playing up."
Later, the man is quoted as saying: "My nose was bleeding and sour."
The statement has alarmed both parties, who felt they were not accurately represented, and lawyers said it could cause problems in a court hearing.
The Christchurch case comes as police consider formal pre-employment programmes for recruits from ethnic minorities who do not have English as a first language.
The programmes could also be used for would-be recruits who have problems with reading, writing and other basic skills as police battle for staff in an increasingly tight labour market.
The Christchurch complainant, who cannot be named because the matter is before the courts, said he had been misquoted by the officer, in particular over saying he had been slashed. He told the officer he had been scratched.
He said he "gave up and signed it" after the officer took over an hour and a half to take down the 30-line statement.
The man said the interview became an "ordeal" when he could not make himself and his clarifications understood.
He stopped giving some information when the officer "just didn't get it" and signed the statement just to end the painful process.
The constable was with a more senior officer, who appeared to be "babysitting" him, but the officer took his statement alone, the man said.
The woman said that when she obtained the statement as part of her pending court case, she realised how inadequate the officer's understanding of the situation was.
"He couldn't get what was going on and the statement reflects that. How can I defend myself when I can't even understand what I am being charged with," she said.
"The defence could say they didn't know what they had to defend. The whole thing could turn into a fiasco."

Barrister Gerald Lascelles said he had not seen a case dismissed due to poor police reporting, but "the police force is changing".

Both questioned whether he should have been allowed to graduate from police college.
Police national manager of human resources Wayne Annan said new Asian officers received extra language lessons and were supervised, as any new constable would be.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said he had heard the officer was an exceptional policeman.
"Clearly, people who have English as a second language do have added difficulties, but this is more than compensated for by the huge advantage of having someone who can speak another language," O'Connor said.