A new blue line? Harm minimisation and police law reform
Policing legislation is under the spotlight. Mike Webb highlights alcohol and other drug related issues that have been explored as part of the government’s review and foreshadows what may feature in a draft bill later this year.
How might modern legislation enable New Zealand’s police service to minimise substance-related harm? This was one of many questions put forward as part of a major government review of the 1958 Police Act, underway for the last year and a half.
The scope of the review has been broad, with a range of issues debated. Readers may be interested to learn just how wide-ranging some of the thinking has been about alcohol and other drug related topics.
Testing the waters
For example, in last year’s Police Act Review Issues Papers, views were invited on whether police should be able to respond to a greater number of low-level liquor offences using on-the-spot infringement notices. Options included amending the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 to allow police to issue liquor infringement notices to minors using fake IDs to illegally gain entry to licensed premises, rather than requiring such cases to be dealt with through time-consuming and costly summons procedures. Another option highlighted was whether liquor ban by-law breaches should be made infringement offences under the Local Government Act 2002.
Pushing the (fiscal) envelope
The Police Act Review Issues Papers also sought comments on future funding scenarios. For instance, it was noted there are precedents overseas where direct financial contributions are made to police forces on a negotiated basis. In the United Kingdom, for example, there are several voluntary schemes where licensed premises pay for extra policing. One scheme cited was Operation Tranquillity in Stockton, where 20 pubs, clubs and off-licences contribute an average of £80 a week (depending on their size and opening times) for an extra sergeant and four constables to help manage issues associated with an inner-city entertainment precinct.
Seeking to apply the “polluter pays” principle, it was also pointed out that United Kingdom legislation allows for the designation of “alcohol disorder zones”, within which licensed premises are required to make weighted contributions to the costs of policing alcohol-related crime and disorder. The Issues Papers asked whether there was enthusiasm to translate such levy-based models to New Zealand.
Casting forward
The national conversation on policing invited through last year’s Issues Papers was continued in May 2007, with the release of Policing Directions in New Zealand for the 21st Century. This discussion paper began to focus in on concrete options for new policing legislation.
An analysis of the views registered on this consultation document was released at the end of August 2007 and, at the time of writing, a series of detailed policy papers are being prepared for Cabinet on the shape and content of a new policing bill.
While final decisions are still to be made based on responses to the Policing Directions discussion paper, some features of the new bill seem to have been settled. These include matters that may be of particular interest to the alcohol and other drug sector.
For instance, there seems to bebroad support for weaving section 37A of the Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Act 1966 into a new Policing Act. This provision empowers constables to take anyone found publicly drunk or debilitated from other drug use to their home, a detoxification facility, or a police station. While a regularly-used policing power, 37A sits oddly in a statute aimed at treating people with substance use disorders, rather than ensuring the safety of those who may have just abused alcohol or other drugs on one occasion.
By contrast, it seems unlikely the bill leading to a new Policing Act will include a new preventative power to request people to “move on”, and any progress in this area is likely to occur through other channels. In this regard, some inspiration might be taken from recent moves in England and Wales, where section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 provides constables with the power to direct an individual aged 16 or over to leave a locality, and prohibit their return for up to 48 hours (punishable on refusal by a fine of up to £2,500). This power is specifically designed to apply where a person’s presence is likely to cause or contribute to alcohol-related crime or disorder. In effect, the United Kingdom legislation allows frontline police to diffuse situations before they result in serious offending.
Perfecting the new legislation
The introduction to Parliament of a policing bill, expected late this year, will offer another chance for input on the legislative arrangements for policing. This is a once-in-50-years opportunity. While it has been gratifying how many voices from the alcohol and other drug sector have already been heard in the Police Act Review, the process of law reform will be even stronger if others also have their say.
For those wishing to learn more, copies of all key background documents, including Cabinet papers and minutes of decisions, are available on a dedicated website – www.policeact.govt.nz.
Mike Webb is a member of the Police Act Review Team based at Police National Headquarters. He previously held the role of strategic adviser on drugs and alcohol.
