New scheme 'breeding ground' for crime - former detective

Former detective Mike Sabin. File photo / Simon Baker

A new program by police to warn offenders rather than sending them through the court system has drawn criticism by a former detective, who said it is a "breeding ground" for more serious crime.

Mike Sabin, former police detective and owner of anti-methamphetamine lobby group Methcon Group, said a new initiative to let off small-time offenders with warnings rather than formally charging them was a "short-sighted, stop-gap measure".

Offences such as disorderly behaviour, possession of small amounts of cannabis and shoplifting will see offenders warned rather than charged, in an effort to help free up the courts for more serious offences.

A three-month pilot of the initiative in the North Shore District Court finished in September and it has now been extended to a six-month trial in the North Shore, Waitakere and Manukau police districts.

But Mr Sabin believes the natural progression from this will be police giving warnings on the street rather than taking offenders back to the station for what he said is a waste of time and "amounts to nothing but further demands on police resources".

He said New Zealand police should instead be taking a more hard-line approach to low-level crime.

But Superintendent Bill Searle, the Waitemata district commander told the Weekend Herald in November "We're still holding these people to account.

"Offenders will still be arrested and taken to the station. And the official warning is recorded on the police system."

Sensible Sentencing Trust national spokesperson Garth McVicar said although he first supported the scheme he had changed his mind.

"It's just another tool to remove the responsibility and accountability of offenders.

"There's got to be consequences at the beginning of a criminal career. All we are doing is putting off the day when they become more serious offenders," McVicar said.

Mr Searle said the program was a common-sense approach.

"We were looking at better ways to deal with minor offences which would not get a significant sentence anyway."

Mr Searle said 10 per cent of all people arrested between July and September were formally warned rather than charged, leading to a 64 per cent reduction in cases that were granted diversion over the same period.

Mr Sabin said petty crime leads to more serious crime such as aggravated robbery and murder.

He said New Zealand should be following New York's Broken Windows scheme, where officers under mayor Rudy Giuliani came down hard on small crime such as vandalism, tagging and other "small-time" offences.

This led to a dramatic reduction in other, more serious crime, Mr Sabin said.

He said he realised the system was in place to combat the high number of low-level crime cases going through the courts.

"I can see their reasoning, but they're not looking at long-term measures. It's a breeding ground for more serious crime," he said.

When asked what he would do to free up the already clogged court system, McVicar looked to Arizona's 24-hour courts system.

"We already have the infrastructure here - I think we should introduce 24-hour courts," he said.