Greg O'Connor needs to sort out his story - Nandor

Green MP Nandor Tanczos today criticised Police Association President Greg O'Connor for saying police would not change the way they behave following a district court judgement last week critical of police abuse of their search and seizure powers.

In a landmark judgement Judge Phil Gittos threw out charges of cannabis possession against Chris Fowlie saying that the 'sweep' by a team policing unit in Auckland during which Fowlie was approached and searched contravened the Bill of Rights.

In his 10 page judgement Judge Gittos said:
'In the case before me there was no evidence to indicate to the police that the Defendant and his companion were doing or contemplating anything illegal… There was no reason at all to approach these two men and require them to give some account of themselves. In my judgement it was unreasonable to do so.'

'The circumstances overall leave an uncomfortable perception that the conduct of what Constable Hoshek described as a "sweep" by a Team Policing Unit may involve Officers engineering opportunities to conduct personal searches of persons minding their own business in a public street at random or on a purely speculative basis. It needs hardly be said that such conduct would manifestly contravene the provisions of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.'

Nandor said it was a disgrace that Greg O'Connor had rejected the judges findings. Mr O'Connor was reported yesterday as saying he thought police were justified to search Mr Fowlie and that the finding 'doesn't mean much at all - it doesn't change anything at all'.

"Mr O'Connor's denial that police search people because of how they look is at odds with this judgement and, surprisingly, at odds with his own past comments. He also contradicted a police spokesperson who said police would take on board and respect this judgement and that it could lead to a review of how much evidence was needed to stop and search people," said Nandor.

Mr O'Connor told the Health Select Committee last year that Nandor had probably been searched by police before he was an MP because his appearance could have led police to believe he was carrying a knife.

"Mr O'Connor has admitted that police abuse the emergency powers of search provided in the Misuse of Drugs Act and that they target people because of how they look [article attached]. He has since changed his story and said police don't do this. This landmark judgement shows once again that they do," said Nandor.

"Police behaviour in the Fowlie case clearly breached the Bill of Rights yet Greg O'Connor is defending that behaviour. The judgement is clear in its condemnation of police practice. Greg O'Connor does not seem to realise that this is simply not acceptable and it is a serious concern that a man in his position can't see that," said Nandor.

"Mr O'Connor should respect this judgement and lead a change of attitude and culture within the police. Police should protect the rights of ordinary people and focus on solving real crime rather than wasting scarce police resources on harassing people with random 'sweeps' to 'find out what they are doing'."

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New Zealand Herald - news - general - Jul 19 2001 5:00AM
MP cuts to truth on drug searches

By FRANCESCA MOLD

Green Party MP Nandor Tanczos has finally discovered why police used to frequently stop him on the street and search him for drugs.

According to the Police Association, the dreadlocked Rastafarian who openly admits to using cannabis was more likely to have been stopped because of suspicions that he was carrying a knife.

Mr Tanczos put the association's president, Greg O'Connor, on the spot during a select committee inquiry into cannabis at Parliament last night.

"Before I became famous, I was stopped by the police many times and searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act," said Mr Tanczos.

"Because of my dreadlocks they assumed that I used cannabis."

Mr O'Connor said Mr Tanczos' appearance could have led police officers to believe he was involved in criminal activity.

"When you were stopped, it wouldn't be looking for cannabis," he said.

"They might believe you had a knife ...

"Now they know who you are they know you're unlikely to have a knife."

Mr O'Connor agreed with Mr Tanczos' comment that the Misuse of Drugs Act gave police a right to stop and search people arbitrarily.

But he said police officers were more aware today that they needed to use that power with discretion.

In his submission, Mr O'Connor said the association believed the present cannabis laws should be retained because it feared liberalisation would lead to more young people using the drug.

"Its illegal status does have a deterrent effect on a significant number of young people," he said.

Mr O'Connor said he did not believe cannabis use was as rife as some surveys indicated.

He said police mostly came into contact with cannabis users because they were investigating the person for other reasons such as burglary.

"While cannabis is not at the root of the act we are dealing with, it is a common factor that runs through it and is something we associate with the type of anti-social behaviour we deal with."

He accepted that many people were recreational users of cannabis and did not fit the criminal profile.

Much of Mr O'Connor's submission dealt with a trip to the Netherlands and his observations of its drug scene.

Although cannabis was legal there, the Dutch attitude to drug users ranging from heroin to cannabis was that it was a health problem, he said.

The country had a huge heroin problem, he said, and the use of alcohol and Ecstasy had skyrocketed.

ends