IR-01-23-11420
14 June 2023
Alessia Spense
[email address]
Tēnā koe Alessia
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 14 April 2023, in which
you requested information about Te Pae Oranga.
My response to each part of you request is below.
1. How Police assess whether Te Pae Oranga is suitable, pre charge.
Police officers consider eligibility criteria prior to making a recommendation to refer a
potential participant to Te Pae Oranga. The common law authority of Police’s discretion
over charging decisions enables police officers to use their discretion to select the most
appropriate course of action; taking into account the individual circumstances of the
offending, the views of the victim, and the public interest considerations for or against
prosecution, as set out in the Solicitor-General’s Prosecution Guidelines. Please see the
excerpt below of the relevant section within the Te Pae Oranga policy outlining the initial
decision-making process.
To note, a review of the current Te Pae Oranga policy and process is currently underway.
Initial decision-making considerations:
Referrals that are most likely to result in successful restorative process are those where:
•
a formal warning isn’t appropriate
•
there is an identifiable victim involved
•
there is harm to be put right
•
the participant acknowledges that harm was caused and motivated to address it.
Therefore, the offences that should be given priority are:
•
shoplifting (around $500)
•
theft (around $500)
•
wilful damage
•
common assault.
2. Please include a break down or provide the checklist police use when
assessing eligibility.
The process of assessing eligibility for Te Pae Oranga is outlined in the Te Pae Oranga
Policy. Please see the eligibility criteria below which an officer must consider.
Eligibility criteria:
The fol owing criteria must be satisfied:
•
The offence is supported by evidential sufficiency (refer Solicitor General’s
Prosecution Guidelines)
•
The participant must:
o
be 18 years or over
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
o
admit responsibility for the offence and agree to participate
•
The offence must:
o
carry 6 months imprisonment or less, or
o
be Possess/Uses Utensils (codes 3185, 3284 or 5985), or
o
be a non-qualifying offence approved for an exemption (see below)
•
The offence must not have arisen out of:
o
family violence-related offending
o
driving charge with mandatory disqualification
o
firearm charge
o
second hand dealer offences.
•
The participant must not:
o
Have active charges being pursued through the Court
Please refer to the attached flow chart of the Te Pae Oranga process (
Appendix 1)
.
3. Please clarify whether the decision is made by the Officer in Charge, or by a
separate entity, and if so, who?
If a decision is made to recommend a referral for Te Pae Oranga, the Officer must then
discuss their recommendation with a supervisor and gain their approval.
When issuing from the street and if a supervisor is not working, the Officer must assess
the offender’s eligibility and then make phone contact with a supervisor at the nearest 24
hour station or District Command Centre for approval.
To note, when a supervisor is the person referring for Te Pae Oranga, approval must be
sought from another supervisor, i.e. the District Command Centre Sergeant, to ensure a
second opinion is across decisions for each incident.
4. Clarify whether a charge before the Court is automatically excluded from Te
Pae Oranga?
Charges before the court can stil be referred to Te Pae Oranga through the Court
Diversion process or via a Court Judicial referral.
5. If an active charge is not excluded from Te Pae Oranga, please clarify what the
decision making process is within the NZ Police to grant an "exemption" to the
eligibility criteria (referred to by Mr Michael McLean in his response IR-01-21-
9157, 28 April 2021.)
Police understands this part of your request as referring to an active charge that is before
the Court. The decision to refer cases before the Court to Te Pae Oranga can be made
through the support of the Police Prosecutor. More information is publicly available on the
Police website:
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/adult-diversion-
scheme-guidelines.pdf.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not satisfied
with the response to your request. Information about how to make a complaint is available
a
t: www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Nāku noa, nā
Mere Wilson Tuala-Fata
Director
Prevention: Innovation & Change
Iwi and Communities
Police National Headquarters
Appendix 1
Police Te Pae Oranga Process
Document Outline
- Spense Alessia IR-01-23-11420 Final (Britts notes).pdf
