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Police v R [1999] NZFLR 312 (YC)

Case summary provided by LEXISNEXIS NZ

Name: Police v R
Reported: [1999] NZFLR 312
File number: CRN 8219005845
Date: 10 June 1998
Court: Youth Court
Location: Hamilton
Judge: Twaddle DCJ
Charge: Theft
CYPFA: s208; s214; s215
Key Title: Admissibility of statements; Arrest without warrant; Principles

LEXISNEXIS Summary:

Children and young persons - Young person charged with theft - Challenge to the admissibility of some of the evidence - Whether police officer had reasonable grounds to suspect that the young person had committed an offence - Whether reasonable grounds had existed for police officer to arrest the young person - Consequences of a breach of s 214 of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 - Test to be applied - Whether overall interests of justice required the informations to be dismissed - Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989, ss 208, 214, 215, 221, 223, 245 - Crimes Act 1961 ss 315, 347 - New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 s 22.

The defendant (R), a young person, aged sixteen at the time of the alleged offences, faced five charges of theft. R was a passenger in a car stopped by the police. The police had received information that the vehicle was of interest in respect of a shoplifting offence. The police officer saw a large amount of new clothing in the foot space area of the seat in which R had been sitting. He obtained R’s name and began questioning her about the clothing. After having established where the property had come from and whose it was the police officer decided to arrest R. He cautioned her, telling her she was not obliged to say anything, and that she could consult a lawyer without delay and in private. Then he arrested her and took R to the police station. She declined to make a formal statement.

At the conclusion of the prosecution case, two issues were raised on behalf of R in respect of compliance with ss 215 and 214 of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989.

Held (dismissing the informations)

(1) It was a question of fact whether there were reasonable grounds to suspect a young person of having committed an offence. The test was an objective test, the state of the officer’s mind was not relevant. There were reasonable grounds in this case for the police officer to have suspected R had committed an offence before he began questioning her. In those circumstances the officer had an obligation to explain the matters referred to in s 215 of the Act. As he did not do so, the answers obtained from questioning R were inadmissible. Nevertheless a prima facie case had been made out on the admissible evidence.

(2) Having regard to the fact that R had given her name to the officer, and that it was difficult to see how the arrest of R would preserve the clothing, no reasonable grounds existed for the officer to arrest R.

(3) The approach to be taken where there was a breach of s 214 was whether the overall interests of justice required the informations to be dismissed. Rather than focusing on one single factor, this approach took into account all aspects of the case, including the requirements contained in s 208(a) and (h) of the Act to afford special protection to young people from intrusive state powers, the need to maintain the integrity of the criminal process and the public interest.

(4) Applying the test to this case, and having regard to the facts that being arrested had denied R the opportunity of being dealt with by another means, the relatively minor nature of the offences and the fact that all the property was recovered, it would not be in the interests of justice for the legal process to continue in this case.

Cases referred to in judgment

Bennett v Police (High Court, Auckland AP 180/91, 22 August 1991, Robertson J)
K v Police (1993) 11 FRNZ 335
McMenamin v Attorney-General [1985] 2 NZLR 274
Police v BG [a young person] (1993) 10 FRNZ 157
Police v PA [1995] DCR 204
Police v Schumann [1992] DCR 342
Practice Note [1962] 1 All ER 448
R v Goodwin (No 2) [1993] 2 NZLR 390
R v Hartley [1978] 2 NZLR 199 (CA)
R v Irwin [1992] 3 NZLR 119
R v Taylor (1996) 14 CRNZ 426
R v Te Kira [1993] 3 NZLR 257
Simpson v A-G [Baigent’s Case] [1994] 3 NZLR 667

Application

This was an application to have informations against a young person dismissed for failures by the police to comply with the requirements of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989.