Source: Radio New Zealand
Police Association president Steve Watt VNP / Phil Smith
- Police Association and Retail NZ warn that people could die if new powers for citizens’ arrests and detaining criminals pass into law
- Ministerial advisory group chairman says retailers need more powers to protect themselves
- Supermarket giant worries about weapons.
Politicians considering wideranging changes to the Crimes Act, including widening the powers of citizens arrests and allowing retailers to detain suspected offenders, have received a stark warning.
Some of the proposed changes could result in deaths, the Justice Select Committee was told today.
The Police Association and Retail NZ say that as well as potentially ending in tragedy, this could see retailers in the dock charged with manslaughter.
The proposals stem from the work of the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime, whose chairman Sunny Kaushal today made a plea for tougher laws.
‘A licence to assault’
Police Association president Steve Watt didn’t mince words when conveying the organisation’s concerns should ordinary citizens have more powers to detain suspected criminals.
“We’re trained to recognise positional asphyxiation where general members of the public are not, and we still do not get it right every time.
“The reality of the bill passing as it is it could actually result in death.”
When questioned Watt agreed manslaughter charges could be laid.
A law change would raise serious legal questions, too.
“This is seen as giving a licence to assault and a perception of legal protection for risky behaviour, for which an onus would be placed on those using such force to prove that it was reasonable.
“There is little to no understanding amongst ordinary citizens around the legal definition of reasonable force,” Watt said.
At the moment citizens arrests can only be carried out in very specific circumstances, such as when an offence happens at night or when a crime is being carried out that’s punishable by at least three years imprisonment.
More powers needed – Sunny Kaushal
Kaushal was asked by Labour’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen about the Police Association’s concerns.
Chairman for the Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime, Sunny Kaushal. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
“Wasn’t the Police Association concerned for the gang patch law as well, right? Here we need to be sensible. We need to see what works for New Zealand,” he said.
Kaushal was staunchly on-message about why retailers needed more powers to protect themselves, saying retail crime cost $2.7 billion a year.
“In 2019 we had 4000 monthly reports of retail crime. By the end of 2023 there were over 11,000 monthly reports.
“It went from one ram raid every three days to three ram raids every day.
“It leaves behind destruction, trauma and pain.”
Kaushal appeared at the committee alongside Upper Hutt retailer Suraj Parkash Sund to illustrate his point that the law doesn’t favour victims.
Sund slept on the floor of his business to ward off robbers, after his shop was repeatedly targeted, Kaushal said.
“Last month police caught the offenders – a 20-year-old, a few teenagers and a 9-year-old.
“Recently Suraj received an invitation to attend a family group conference. The purpose of the meeting? To see how to best support the offenders who have destroyed his life, not support for him.”
Worries about weapons
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young was until a couple of months ago a member of the ministerial advisory group alongside Kaushal.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young. Supplied
Even then she criticised the citizens’ arrests proposal, and doubled down on that today.
“Retail NZ members have major concerns that the citizens’ arrest provisions within this bill would expose retailers, staff and their customers to increased risks or physical danger, and could result in serious harm or even death.”
Young said stores weren’t properly equipped to hold people, and there could be problems if police couldn’t immediately respond if an offender were detained.
Woolworths head of safety, health and wellbeing Denva Wren said retail crime cost the supermarket giant $30 million a year.
It was spending millions more than that on improved security measures, such as better CCTV. However, it did not support widening citizens’ arrests powers.
“We do believe that offenders will likely escalate much more quickly with the pre-emptive expectation that, potentially, citizens’ arrests could be used, and therefore they come in greater prepared with weapons.
“We have edge weapons and iron bars, and our team are being threatened by these on a weekly basis – generally about 60 to 70 serious events a year.”
Woolworths was also concerned customers would expect workers to intervene in dangerous situations, even if that was against company policy.
Employers and Manufacturers Association head of advocacy Alan McDonald said allowing retail workers to physically detain someone could cause problems under health and safety laws.
“There’s also another part of the law that says that if you feel you are being unlawfully restrained you may resist and use reasonable force to resist.
“You can see how that’s going to ramp up, because the people, particularly often those underage people who are doing these raids, know exactly what they can and can’t do.”
The Crimes Amendment Bill also includes provisions about tougher penalties for shoplifting and assaults on first responders, as well as coward punches and modern slavery.
The select committee will write its report on the bill, before it goes for its second reading in Parliament.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
