Police Safety Orders

8 May 2015

Women's Refuge has welcomed the release today of a Police Evaluation Report into Police Safety Orders (PSOs).

“We have a real interest in how PSOs are impacting on lives of women, children and families experiencing domestic violence” said Dr Ang Jury, Chief Executive.

Women's Refuge were supportive of the introduction of PSOs into New Zealand in July 2010.

“While it has always been our position that PSOs are an important part of the police response to domestic violence, we have held long standing concerns that their implementation could lead to unintended consequences”.

“Some of our concerns have sadly played out as evidenced by some of the findings in the evaluation. PSOs should never be used when there is evidence of physical violence or any other offence nor should they be used as a substitute for Police undertaking thorough investigations into alleged domestic violence offending,” Dr Jury said.

However, Dr Jury is pleased to see that the police have taken the findings  seriously.

“In my discussions with the Police about this Report it is transparent that they have taken the findings seriously and are acting fast to remedy the serious issues that have been flagged.  This is both specifically with regard to how they implement PSOs at an operational level but also as part of their wider change programme around family violence. This should lead to better results around keeping victims safe and holding perpetrators to account,' Dr Jury noted.

Investigating domestic violence is not always straightforward and PSOs have sometimes been inappropriately used as a Police response. Police need both time and a sound knowledge of the dynamics of domestic violence to reach appropriate conclusions.

“We have been encouraged by the fact that Police have invited Women’s Refuge to
partner with them in the development of an enhanced PSO training programme.

This relationship gives us confidence that Police have not only acknowledged the need for change, but are actively working with us towards achieving this.” said Dr Jury.

She notes, “Of particular importance to us is the willingness of Police to include predominant or primary aggressor identification in future training initiatives. This is a very progressive move which we believe will greatly enhance the efficacy of PSOs in helping to keep women and children safe.”

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