A Maori academic has called for more iwi liaison officers in the police in the wake of this week's Bay of Plenty siege.

Yesterday Taupo police area commander Inspector Warwick Morehu, a Maori police officer, was instrumental in extracting Rhys Warren from a property near Kawerau.

Warren appeared in court yesterday, accused of shooting four police officers over a cannabis operation. He was remanded without plea.

Speaking on TVNZ's Breakfast today, Steve Elers said he wouldn't be comfortable talking with non-Maori police officers.

"If a cop knocks on the door, he'd better be Maori or I'm shutting the door and asking for an iwi liaison officer," he said.

Massey University communications lecturer Mr Elers, who has studied Maori policy, says New Zealand Police have only 30 iwi liaison officers to serve a population of 668,000 Maori.

"For Maori people we engage better with each other than with anyone else," he said.

"Maori needs are different to the rest of the community. As tangata whenua we've already had the history of colonisation.

"Recently we've had the Tuhoe raids and I think probably that was probably the last straw."

But Mr Elers, who also served as a police officer in Australia, said the peaceful resolution of the siege yesterday indicates the police are making progress in engaging with Maori.

The Tuhoe raids saw police raiding an alleged paramilitary camp in the Ureweras in 2007.