New legislation underway

The legislative basis for policing in New Zealand is set to change, following the recent announcement by the Minister of Police.

On 7 March Hon Annette King announced the decision to modernise Police’s legislation “to bring the legislation up to date for the 21st century”.

The review has been welcomed by newly appointed Commissioner Howard Broad, as new legislation will be able to reflect changes in the policing environment.

Based at OoC, and headed up by Superintendent Hamish McCardle, a small team with frontline representation will be responsible for managing the process of reviewing and re-writing the Police Act (1958) and Police Regulations (1992).

A consultation process is underway to identify the most important issues in policing that require legislative backing.  Hamish says the overall aim is to prepare legislation that is principled and promotes:

• A world-class Police service
• Safer and more confident families and communities
• Increased public satisfaction, trust and confidence in Police; and
• Increased confidence in the Justice system.

“Police has welcomed this review project as an opportunity to modernise 50-year-old legislation and provide a new framework for policing in New Zealand,” says Hamish.

“There’s a huge amount of work to be done and a staged approach will ensure it occurs in an open, transparent and fully consultative manner.  Staff, stakeholder and public input are vital components of this process.”

“There will be opportunities in the consultation process over the next two years for staff and the public to have input into what the new Police legislation might look like.  The key consultation phases include:

• finalising the scope, due by June 2006;
• a series of topic-specific discussion papers, from June 2006 to January 2007;
• a summary discussion paper of all topics early in 2007;
• an exposure draft of the new legislation in mid to late 2007.

All key documents and discussion papers will be uploaded as they become available on a dedicated website – www.policeact.govt.nz

“We will be working closely with an advisory group and partner agencies both in New Zealand and abroad to fully inform the legislation development process,” says Hamish.

“The intended outcome is a legislative framework that better reflects the challenges of modern-day policing, but which is firmly anchored in the heart of policing.”