Bob Edlin: Will all cops be fair when enforcing the “move-on”....

Yes, we know when it’s a fair cop – but will all cops be fair when enforcing the “move-on”

PoO was drawn to the story beneath a Stuff headline which said: The government is confident police will apply move on orders fairly. Here’s what police had to say about them.

It so happened this expression of Beehive confidence in Police fairness was posted at a time when the media were reporting on –

• The re-opening of more than 50 cases under the oversight of a detective inspector after concerns were raised about his management of a historic case;
• Two former police officers on trial in the High Court at Auckland charged with wilfully attempting to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice.

More significantly, in the case of the Government’s efforts to clean up the streets of Auckland, the Stuff report tells us the Police tried to discourage ministers from targeting homelessness and to focus, rather, on “aggressive” anti-social behaviour.

But the Luxon Goverrnment has its own ideas about fairness and has charged on with amending the Summary Offences Act to deal with anyone aged 14 or older who is found behaving in a disorderly, intimidating, threatening or disruptive manner, breaching the peace, obstructing access to businesses, begging or rough sleeping.

The inclusion of begging and rough sleeping went against officials’ advice, and has been criticised by some as criminalising homelessness. But Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith have consistently denied that and held Police up as capable of fairly enforcing the orders.

“The Government has no policy to criminalise homelessness,” Goldsmith told Stuff last month. “Only people who refuse those orders will face prosecution.”

Yeah, right.

Stuff political reporter Emma Ricketts sifted through more than 600 pages of documents about the Government’s proposed move-on orders which have been made public under the Official Information Act.

The documents suggest the Police and Goldsmith were at odds on whether homelessness was being criminalised.

They wrote:

“Police does not support criminalising rough sleeping and non-aggressive begging. Although this can be a nuisance for retailers, these behaviours are at the low end of the spectrum of anti-social behaviours,” they wrote.

“Police resource should be focussed on anti-social behaviour that has a real risk of escalating into offending such as aggressive begging, intoxicated aggression and fighting.”

The draft document was sent back to the Ministry, along with a note: “The proposal for a move-on power should not result in criminalisation of … behaviour that is a result of mental health and social need (rough sleeping, non-aggressive begging, yelling or other behaviour that is not directed at the public).

The report also refers to an aide-mémoire sent to Goldsmith in December, warning him of officials’ concerns.

“Police generally sees merit in move-on powers, but many relevant agencies are not supportive of the proposal in its current form. … The key concerns were centred on the behaviours to which move-on orders could be applied, particularly begging and other behaviours that may capture people experiencing homelessness,” it read.

The memo listed the agencies that expressed concerns with his policy: Treasury, Crown Law, Corrections, Police, Ministry for Social Development, Ministry for Housing and Urban Development, and Oranga Tamariki.

But let’s think about Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith insisting Police are capable of fairly enforcing the move-on orders.

Most police may well be capable of doing that.

But all of them?

PoO raises that question after noting:

Revealed: prominent Detective Inspector under employment investigation as police look again at dozens of cases

The police officer under an employment investigation over concerns about his oversight of sexual assault and child abuse cases can be named as prominent Detective Inspector Kevan Verry.

Stuff revealed on Tuesday that police have re-opened more than 50 cases under the oversight of Verry after concerns were raised in May this year about his management of one historic case.

That initial case sparked a review which first identified 13 cases as requiring further investigation, followed by a wider review of almost 1,000 files. In total, 54 cases are being re-investigated.

Verry is the subject of an employment investigation which remains ongoing. No findings have been made against him.

Reliability for jury, not police, to decide – former High Court judge tells trial

A former High Court judge says it was for a jury, not the police, to decide whether a witness who saw a man running from the scene of Arthur Easton’s murder in 1985 was relevant to the case.

Alan Hall spent 17 years in prison after being convicted of murdering Easton, who was killed during a home invasion by a man wielding a bayonet.

The decision was quashed by the Supreme Court in 2022 after it found a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred.

Two former police officers, whose names are suppressed, are now on trial in the High Court at Auckland charged with wilfully attempting to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice.

But let’s not overlook the survey which showed levels of trust and confidence in the Police remain stable at 69% after a significant increase in 2024.

The improvements in several indicators which measure New Zealanders’ confidence in the effectiveness of Police are recorded in the annual Ministry of Justice New Zealand Crime and Victims Survey (NZCVS).

Key findings from the Police Module saw:

• Almost three quarters (74%) of New Zealanders agree that Police deal effectively with serious crime. This was a significant increase from 70% in 2024. The proportion of those who disagreed also decreased from 11% to 9%.
• The proportion of New Zealanders who agree that Police concentrate efforts to deal with harmful crimes significantly increased from 70% in 2024 to 73% in 2025.
• The proportion of New Zealanders who agree that Police provide effective support for emergency management significantly increased from 77% to 81% and the proportion of those who disagreed decreased from 7% to 4%.
• Three quarters (75%) of New Zealanders agreed that Police deal effectively with road safety. This was a significant increase from 72% in 2024.

Let’s see what future surveys show about how fairly the “move-on” orders are being policed.

Bob Edlin is a veteran journalist and editor for the Point of Order blog HERE. - where this article was sourced.