Added by Daniel Suter on 2022-04-19 16:20
T?n? koe Dan
Thank you for contacting us with your concerns about the Police response to the occupation and protest at and around Parliament during February and March 2022.
The Protest was an unprecedented event in New Zealand and represents one of the most significant policing challenges in recent years. It has been the subject of intensive media and other commentary. The policing of protesters in and around the Parliamentary precinct has also generated nearly 1900 complaints to the IPCA which is the largest number of complaints received about a single event/Police operation.
The Authority has announced that it will investigate and review of Police actions in respect of the protest. The review will examine:
1. Police management of intelligence as it related to the Protest, including consideration of the intelligence available to Police, the sufficiency of that intelligence, and how it was assessed and informed decision making prior to and throughout the course of the Protest.
2. Police engagement with iwi, protesters, local businesses, the Courts and other stakeholders.
3. Police engagement with local and national agencies where Police and those agencies needed to work together to develop and execute operational plans.
4. Police engagement at local and national government levels with those holding decision rights and responsibilities, including public and private sector actors whose actions materially influenced or impacted on Police decision making.
5. Police planning and preparation of the response to the Protest. This includes staff selection, training, operational guidance, equipment, and technology provided to officers who policed the Protest.
6. Police command and control, decision-making processes, and operational execution (including tactics used and timeliness of tactics).
7. The powers used to keep the peace, maintain public safety, enforce the law, and provide community support and reassurance, and the tactical exercise of those powers. It also includes how Police balanced the rights of protesters with the rights of other people throughout the course of the Protest.
8. Any other decisions, acts, omissions, conduct, policy, practice, or procedure issues arising out of 1- 7 above.
Your complaint will help to inform our review and I thank you for taking the time to express your concerns.
The Authority received many complaints from people who have seen specific instances of Police use of force against unidentified individuals. In many cases, the individuals concerned have lodged their own complaints and we will deal with these individual complaints in accordance with our usual processes. In order to protect individuals? privacy we will not be providing information about these complaints to other parties unless we decide to publicly report their cases.
Thank you again for taking the time to provide your views on the protest and Police response. The details of your complaint will be a valuable contribution to the Authority?s review and I appreciate your interest and contribution to the review.
In due course, we will report on the review and a public statement will be made at that time.
Ng? mihi
Judge Colin Doherty Chair, Independent Police Conduct Authority
Independent Police Conduct Authority, PO Box 25221, Wellington 6146, Aotearoa New Zealand Tel: 04 4992050 Fax: +64 4 499 2053
www.ipca.govt.nz
