A large knife, a bottle of whiskey, bags of cannabis, methamphetamine and P pipes, knuckle dusters and two cans of beer are just some of the things people going to court in Rotorua have tried to smuggle through the front door.
Information released under the Official Information Act has revealed the disturbing items security officers have confiscated off visitors to the Rotorua Courthouse during the past year - despite a boost in security staffing to 13 officers monitoring courtrooms, screening people entering and searching their belongings.
That accused criminals and their supporters had not always donned their “Sunday best” when appearing in court did not surprise those working in the justice system spoken to by the Rotorua Daily Post.
Billy Macfarlane, a Bay of Plenty former offender who now helps criminals turn their lives around, said he knew of a person who got caught a few years ago taking a handgun to court.
Macfarlane, who runs the Pūwhakamua cultural immersion programme for hardened criminals, said it was lucky there was such tight security nowadays as he, in his experience, more people were agitated, on drugs and carrying weapons.
In his view: “If security wasn’t there, there’d be more guns. If they were getting sentenced and it was their last chance and they got put away, they wouldn’t be afraid to pull a gun out.”
Billy Macfarlane. Photo / Andrew Warner
He said some of those going to court had mental health issues that impacted their reasoning skills.
“I’ve seen people hand themselves in to the Rotorua police station and they’ve forgotten to take their cannabis out of their pockets. A lot of them aren’t good at making decisions.”
He said no matter how impractical it may seem to bring prohibited items to court, knowing they would be searched, people could still be “idiots”.
“Some people are too wasted and they don’t remember they’ve got something in their pocket ... Nothing surprises me with the sort of people we are dealing with. Desperate people will do anything. It’s a common scenario and it’ll be the same next year and the year after that.”
Louise Nicholas, who works for the Louise Nicholas Trust as an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse, said she was often in court supporting victims during court hearings and saw what went on with people trying to get into court.
Sexual abuse survivor advocate Louise Nicholas. Photo / John Stone
Just recently in Rotorua, she said a young man who appeared drunk was refused entry to the courthouse by security guards due to the cans of beer in his backpack. The young man then got “quite angry”, she said.
Although recent industrial action by Ministry of Justice staff had resulted in more court breaks and time spent queuing at the front door to get back into the court and past security, Nicholas said she would not have it any other way and did not think anyone should be exempt to speed up the process.
“They (the security officers) are there to keep everyone safe so it’s got to be one size fits all.”
She said she had supported people in courts in Rotorua, Tauranga, Hamilton, Auckland, Whanganui and Hastings, and found it interesting that every court was different in what was allowed to be brought in.
For example, water bottles were allowed in Auckland and Hamilton, but not in Rotorua and Tauranga.
“In Auckland, a man sat down next to me with a cup of coffee.”
Under the Courts Security Act 1999, court security officers have the power to act if they discover potentially dangerous items.
When screening the possessions of a court visitor, they can take into temporary custody any item that could potentially be a weapon and return it to the person when they leave.
If the item is deemed to be prohibited, the item will be seized and the person detained.
That matter is then handed over to the police.
Ministry of Justice corporate and digital services deputy secretary Tina Wakefield said it invested significant money in upskilling and training existing and new security officers.
In November last year, the number of security officers in Rotorua increased from 11 to 13, including two court security managers.
