Citizen’s Arrest Change Places Workers In Danger

Well-intentioned changes to give citizen’s arrest powers more bite will in reality end up as nothing more than bark, the Motor Trade Association says.

MTA’s service station members are frequent targets of often violent retail crime, but few will support the move.

“There is, unfortunately a risk that this measure will end up placing staff in physical danger, and escalates the risk of confrontation and conflict,” MTA Chief Executive Lee Marshall says.

“Businesses have a duty of care to their employees and obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act and while detaining offenders may now become more legally permissible, most employers will undoubtedly forbid it from the outset.

“Dealing with criminals should not be left to the workers in the front line.”

Mr Marshall says MTA appreciates that Government has recognised the impact of crime on hard-working New Zealanders in the retail sector.

“But crime is ultimately a symptom, and addressing the causes must be the focus of Government if it wants to make a lasting impact on offending.

“Solving the issue requires more than ambulances – or police cars – at the bottom of the cliff.”

MTA also believes New Zealand Police needs to take a more proactive role in preventing and responding to crime at service stations.

“Police functions under the Policing Act are very clear – and service stations across the country need police to come closer to meeting those obligations,” Mr Marshall says.

“The solution can’t be to put the onus on the business owners themselves, and certainly not on employees.”

MTA has consistently advocated for greater police patrolling of at-risk sites and that offenders who glorify their crime on social media should be disqualified from a discount for remorse at sentencing.

“We realise this is only the first action the Government has taken following advice from Ministerial Advisory Group.

“We hope further recommendations include sharing knowledge between sectors of preventative and de-escalative measures that work, giving employers the tools they need to minimise the chance of crime.

“Reducing crime is everyone’s interest, and our experience is that businesses are not at all protective in sharing ideas that help everyone.”

More information: MTA’s position statement and ten-point action plan.

• The Motor Trade Association (MTA) was founded in 1917. MTA currently represents more than 4000 businesses within the automotive industry.Members include automotive repairers (both heavy and light vehicle),collision repair,service stations, vehicle importers and distributors and vehicle sales. The automotive industryemploys 62,700peopleand contributesaround $5.5billionto the economy.

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