Ele Ludemann: Who’s running this show?

David Farrar received an email alerting him to the Solicitor General’s new guidelines for prosecutions which started:

. . . “Research over many years has consistently found that Māori are significantly overrepresented in the criminal justice system at every stage, including as victims, and we recognised at the start of the project that the discretion to prosecute may contribute to that. The Guidelines expressly reference these disproportionate impacts and assist prosecutors by providing guidance about the matters to factor into their decisions. I am grateful to the kaitiaki and kaimahi of Ināia Tonu Nei for their wisdom, generosity and commitment. These Guidelines are much better for their input” says Ms Jagose.” . .

Mike's Minute: The prosecution guidelines highlight this country's issues

From our “you wonder why we are where we are” file, there's a note from the Solicitor General to the Police Prosecution Service about the new system they will have in place as of the start of next year.

The Solicitor General updated the prosecution guidelines. This is what she said:

Peter Williams: Are Some More Equal Than Others?

The Solicitor-General's new guidelines are divisive

With the Parliamentary Select Committee process on David Seymour’s Treaty Principles Bill not far from starting, we should look carefully at a policy from the Solicitor-General’s office dated October 1.

David Farrar: New prosecution guidelines

A reader writes in:

I was surprised to receive the below email today regarding new prosecution guidelines which will apply to the Police Prosecution Service and Crown Solicitors from 1 January 2025.

The press release for the new guidelines (attached) states: