Govt to decide on retail crime group advising stronger citizen’s arrest and use of force powers

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is set to unveil what the Government has decided to progress from suggestions from its retail crime ministerial advisory group. Photo / Ben Dickens

A ministerial advisory group set up to combat retail crime wants the Government to strengthen citizen’s arrest and use-of-force powers in its efforts to protect retailers.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is set to unveil this week whether the Government will progress any of the group’s first proposals since it was given $3.6 million in July last year.

Ministerial group chairman Sunny Kaushal was not aware of what decisions the Government had made but argued there were “outdated” laws that needed refreshing to give retailers more power to detain offenders shoplifting or committing aggravated burglaries.

Labour MP and former police minister Ginny Andersen said Kaushal’s ideas had already been dismissed by police and she questioned whether funding the group was a wise investment.

Kaushal, formerly the Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman, was a vocal critic of the previous Government’s crime policies. He was appointed as the ministerial advisory group’s chairman in July last year. The group’s other members were confirmed in September.

Sunny Kaushal is the former Dairy and Business Owners Group chairman. Photo / Ben Dickens

At the time of his appointment, Kaushal promised journalists he would be submitting his first ideas to Goldsmith in a matter of weeks.

Speaking to the Herald on Monday, he conceded it had taken longer than anticipated to develop and pitch the group’s proposals.

He confirmed he had recommended the Government strengthen powers relating to retailers defending their property, the use of reasonable force, detaining offenders and citizen’s arrest.

In a Herald opinion piece in January, Kaushal referenced how current powers allowing for citizen arrests were too restrictive and could only be used if someone stole an item worth at least $1000 during the hours of 6am to 9pm.

“So it was basically good for nothing,” Kaushal said on Monday.

In the same opinion piece, Kaushal advocated for an approach witnessed during an attempted shoplifting in Canada in 2010, in which a shoplifter was tied up and put in the back of a van until police arrived, an incident that was later endorsed in legislation.

“The crime is out of control, and this Government promised New Zealanders that they’re going to restore law and order,” Kaushal said of the coalition Government.

“We are here, coming from the grassroots, bringing the independent advice to the ministers, the evidence-based policies which have been successful overseas and can be successful over here as well.

“Our law says you can defend your property as long as you do not strike back or do not cause bodily harm, whereas Australians say you can defend your property as long as you do not cause a serious injury or death, it’s a very clear demarcation.”

Kaushal, who maintained he was not writing a “vigilante charter”, said he had not been told whether the Government would pick up any of his ideas.

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith (right) with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during a crime announcement. Photo / Dean Purcell

In a statement, Goldsmith acknowledged the group’s proposals and said he would make announcements shortly.

The group was funded for two years at $1.8m a year. The money had been drawn from the Proceeds of Crime fund.

Data provided under the Official Information Act detailed Kaushal, as chairman, had been paid $86,480 in the five months from mid-July to mid-December, working 94 days at a rate of $920 a day.

A further $100,000 had also been paid to rent a working space in Grafton, Auckland for 12 months.

Official Information Act papers showed Kaushal had disagreed with Ministry of Justice officials, who had advised the group work out of a Kāinga Ora office in Ellerslie, Auckland.

Kaushal told the Herald he did not choose the Ellerslie site because a manager there had told him some of their customers were “very aggressive”, which Kaushal believed wouldn’t create a comfortable environment for victims of retail crime to visit.

Kaushal claimed it was a “very good use of money” and believed it was “nothing when you compare ... how much we are ending up losing to retail crime every day”.

However, Andersen — who was police minister under the previous Labour Government — said Kaushal had pitched the same ideas to her as minister and police had advised they would only increase the safety risk to retailers.

“[It] begs the question what exactly has the Government paid $3.6m for?”

Andersen, who said she would be surprised if Goldsmith progressed any of Kaushal’s suggestions, called for a greater focus on reducing meth use as a way to limit a key driver of crime.

Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.