A report into New Zealand’s criminal justice system, published by a coalition of justice and human rights organisations on Monday, revealed multiple accounts of abuse, discrimination, and alleged human rights violations by police and corrections staff between June 2022 and March 2024. The report, which analysed 62 complaints received by Aotearoa Justice Watch (AJW), highlighted abuses of power, including excessive use of force, warrantless searches, and coercive statement collections. These practices, according to the report, are emblematic of broader systemic issues within New Zealand’s law enforcement and prison systems (full report).
The investigation reported instances of mistreatment in prisons, such as lack of access to medical care and the use of solitary confinement. Specific practices like strip and rubdown searches were identified as especially harmful, given the reports of sexual harm during these procedures. Some testimonies pointed to police behaviors amounting to harassment of peaceful protesters.
Furthermore, the report concluded that the complainants’ experiences suggested a failure to uphold New Zealand’s founding constitutional document, te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi, particularly Article 2, which guarantees Māori full authority over their lands and possessions.
AJW was established in 2022 to provide a platform for individuals to anonymously share their experiences. The coalition comprises independent not-for-profits, including Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand, People Against Prisons Aotearoa, JustSpeak, and the New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties. Despite the lack of independent verification of the complaints, AJW asserts that its findings align with investigations by the Ombudsman and Office of the Inspectorate.
This report follows closely on the heels of the UN’s seventh periodic report on New Zealand’s implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which raised similar concerns regarding legal safeguards. Additionally, the release also follows a historic inquiry into abuse in state and faith-based care institutions in New Zealand, which revealed a disturbing pattern of abuse across several decades and noted the existence of a pipeline from care institutions to prison (Whanaketia report).