Summary of Police to stop drivers, search cars
From The Press, Friday, 13 April 2007
Where ? Operation Hammer will target Linwood, Bromley, Phillipstown and Woolston
Who's doing it ? A team of 12, led by Senior Sergeant Richard Bruce.
Who's against it ?
- Canterbury Criminal Bar Association president Richard McGuire said he was concerned about police plans to ask people if they would consent to their car being searched.
- The Silver Kiwi, who set up this website
- Most people I've spoken to
link to full article at stuff.co.nz
1 comment:
hey here's the article in full:
Police to stop drivers, search cars
By KIM THOMAS - The Press | Friday, 13 April 2007
Christchurch motorists and pedestrians will be stopped and questioned about stolen property as part of a police crackdown on burglary next week.
Operation Hammer will start on Monday and will involve a team of police officers, investigators and prosecutors swamping burglary "hot areas", including suburbs such as Woolston and Linwood.
Motorists and pedestrians would be stopped by uniformed and plainclothes officers driving around the targeted suburbs and questioned or searched as part of the blitz, said the officer leading the operation, Senior Sergeant Richard Bruce.
Operation Hammer teams would also be at drink-driving roadblocks and would question some motorists and ask to search their cars, he said.
However, lawyers have expressed concern about police randomly questioning people or asking to search their vehicles, particularly during drink-driving operations.
They say police do not have specific powers to stop and search cars in relation to burglaries, and people are within their rights to refuse.
Bruce said the operation would target Linwood, Bromley, Phillipstown and Woolston, which were problem areas for home and business burglaries.
"If I was living in those areas I would feel very happy that teams of police are saturating the area to cut burglaries," he said.
The 12-strong Operation Hammer team had so far identified 10 burglars who operated in the targeted suburbs and would focus on them during the operation, Bruce said.
Other prolific and career burglars would be targeted. Those with outstanding arrest warrants would be visited and, in appropriate cases, taken into custody, he said.
Known receivers of stolen goods would also be targeted, Bruce said.
"If a cluster of victims stands out, it may be because an offender either lives in that area or passes through it regularly. We can then put more staff into the area and advise residents to take more care," he said.
Officers outside the 12-strong team would also be involved in trying to cut the number of burglaries during the next two months, Bruce said.
Operation Hammer's second-in-charge, Sergeant Phil Dean, said police would "swamp" the targeted areas during criminals' busiest time – between 3pm and 7pm on weekdays, particularly Wednesdays.
Canterbury Criminal Bar Association president Richard McGuire said he was concerned about police plans to ask people if they would consent to their car being searched.
"It's quite an interference in people's lives that they can be stopped and questioned," he said.
McGuire said police had certain powers to stop the public and check for drink-driving because it affected public safety. Police had no such special powers in relation to investigating burglaries.
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