14 July 2020
requests@fyi. org.nz
Dear Che
Request for Information (IR-01-20-17867)
I write in response to your email dated 27 June 2020 in which you submitted a series of
questions to New Zealand Police, as follows:
To: the New Zealand Police (NZP); NZP Agents,
Cite: Section 7(1) of the Policing Act 2008: There continues to be an instrument of
the Crown known as the New Zealand Police;
You are required to provide your service in answer to the fol owing:
1) Please confirm whether or not the interpretation for "the Crown" mentioned in
the above section of the Policing Act is in reference to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
the Second;
2) If "the Crown" in the Policing Act is not in reference to Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth the Second, please provide the legal interpretation for "the Crown" as it is
interpreted specifically in that Act;
3) Please confirm whether or not constables who swear an oath are bound to
uphold the laws of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second;
4) Please confirm whether or not constables who DO NOT swear an oath, but make
an affirmation instead, are bound to uphold the laws of Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth the Second;
5) Please confirm whether or not constables are, once sworn, always on duty
whether in uniform or not, and whether at work or not;
6) Please confirm whether or not NZP and its constables operate to enforce the law
under Admiralty/Maritime jurisdiction, or under Common Law jurisdiction, or both;
Please provide, as soon as practicable, a reasonable time frame as to when an
official response to this request can be given.
Please note that an agency’s obligations under the Official Information Act arise in respect
of information it holds. An agency is not obliged to form an opinion or create information
in order to respond to a questions. The Office of the Ombudsman notes that:
There is a difference between:
•
questions which can be answered by providing information already known to and held
by the agency (official information); and
•
questions which require the agency to form an opinion or provide an explanation and so
create new information to answer the request (not official information).
Police does not hold information which provides a direct answer to your
questions. Nevertheless, Police provides the fol owing to assist you.
A discussion of NZ Police’s position as “an instrument of the Crown” may be found on the
Police website at
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/issues-paper-
2-governance.pdf. If you require an opinion on a legal interpretation of ‘the Crown’ in the
Policing Act, you may wish to seek an independent legal opinion. There is publicly available
information about what ‘the Crown’ means – for example, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crown.
The constabulary oath is set out in section 22 of the Policing Act. It’s English form reads:
“I, [
name], swear that I will faithfully and diligently serve Her (
or His) Majesty [
specify the
name of the reigning Sovereign], Queen (
or King) of New Zealand, her (
or his) heirs and
successors, without favour or affection, malice or ill-will. While a constable I wil , to the
best of my power, keep the peace and prevent offences against the peace, and wil , to the
best of my skil and knowledge, perform al the duties of the office of constable according
to law. So help me God.”
Section 4(1) of the Oaths and Declarations Act 1957 entitles a person to make an
affirmation instead of taking an oath.
The Police policy on Off-duty interventions is detailed in the
attached document.
Police does not administer legislation relating to Admiralty or maritime law. However,
such legislation may provide for constables to exercise certain powers – e.g. Maritime
Transport Act 1994, section 33G and others.
I trust this response may assist you, but if you are dissatisfied, you have the right to make a
complaint to the Ombudsman.
Yours sincerely
Teresa McMahon
Senior Ministerial Services Advisor
Police National Headquarters
