The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police were unjustified in issuing a Police Safety Order (PSO) against a woman in Counties Manukau who was protected by a Temporary Protection Order (TPO). The Authority also found Police failed to serve the TPO in a timely manner.
On 25 June 2025, Police were called to a home by a woman (Ms X) who reported concerns that her ex-partner (Mr Y) was coming to her home despite a TPO being in place which prevented him from contacting her or their children. Ms X showed attending Police documentation including an email from the Court and a copy of the TPO that had been made in her favour earlier that day.
Officers spoke to both parties and decided to issue a PSO against Ms X. The effect of this order was that she and her children could not return to their home for 24 hours. The officer who issued the PSO told us that its primary purpose was to allow Mr Y to collect belongings from the home, without interruption from Ms X.
Following a complaint from Ms X, Police conducted two reviews of this decision and determined in both instances that Police were justified in issuing Ms X with a PSO. In one review, Police determined that Ms X's actions in not providing Mr Y with reasonable access to the property could be viewed as psychological abuse.
The Authority disagreed with Police. We found that Police were not justified in issuing Ms X with a PSO, particularly when viewed in the context that she had been granted a TPO and recognised as a family harm victim by the Courts. We concluded that Police failed to follow the family harm policy as they did not consider the broader circumstances or apply an eyes wide open approach.
Following this incident, there was a delay of five days before the TPO was served against Mr Y. We found that this delay was not acceptable.
The Authority recommended that Police update their policies, deliver training to staff on issuing PSOs and amend Police policy to reflect that Police should serve TPOs within 24 hours and, in the event a TPO cannot be served in this timeframe, Police should notify the Court. We also recommended that Police apologise to Ms X and remove the PSO from her record.
In response to our recommendations, Police agreed to apologise to Ms X and update their records to reflect that the PSO was issued in error. Police confirm that they are in the process of creating and delivering training to staff on PSOs. Counties Manukau Police acknowledge their process following receipt of TPOs is not in line with that of other Police districts and they have taken steps to amend this.
IPCA: 25-28442
