7th review of Crimes (Substituted s59) Amendment Act 2007

Police has published its seventh review of activity following enactment of the Crimes (Substituted s59) Amendment Act 2007.

This review covers the period 23 December 2009 to 22 June 2010.

416 child assault events attended by police during this period were considered for the 7th review. 25 of these events involved 'smacking' and 38 involved 'minor acts of physical discipline'. (See note 2 below)

Of the 25 'smacking' events, one resulted in prosecution, 13 resulted in a warning and 11 resulted in other / no further action being taken. Of the 38 'minor acts of physical discipline' events, 2 resulted in prosecution, 12 resulted in warnings and 24 resulted in other / no further action being taken.

The "smacking" event prosecution involved a charge of Assault Child (Manually) and was resolved by way of discharge without conviction.

There have now been 3 prosecutions for a 'smacking' event since enactment of the Amendment in June 2007.

In December 2009, the Prime Minister invited police to continue reporting on the impact of the Amendment for a further three years following the review into policies and procedures used by the New Zealand Police and Child, Youth and Family.

"The findings of this review are consistent with our previous monitoring" says Deputy Commissioner (Operations) Rob Pope.

"It shows police continue to apply their discretion in these cases".

"There have been just three prosecutions for smacking events since the Amendment was enacted in June 2007. This suggests the practice guidelines on this matter issued by the Commissioner continue to work well".

ENDS

Editors note:

(1) Further details of the 7th review can be found on the NZ Police website.

(2) The number of child assault events identified in each review period does not reflect the total number of child assault events attended by police during this time. The events are those most likely to identify

• Actual physical action used in the child assault; and
• The context and the surrounding circumstances, as outlined in the practice guidelines (Commissioners Circular).

(3) Following the December 2009 review Police agreed to continue monitoring the impact of the Amendment on a six monthly basis until June 2012. Further details of the review can be found at:

www.beehive.govt.nz/sites/all/files/Sec59_review.pdf

(4) The practice guide (Commissioner's Circular) on this issue released in June 2007 can be found on the police website:

www.police.govt.nz/news/release/3149.html