The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that Police in Central District were unjustified and acted unlawfully in issuing a Police Safety Order (PSO) against a father and using it to remove his child from his care.
On 10 December 2024, the child's mother reported to Police that on 29 November 2024, the child told her his father had physically assaulted him. The child had, with the mother's agreement, returned to the father's care four days before she made her report.
After taking the mother's statement and consulting with a supervisor, the investigating officer decided to use a PSO to remove the child from the father's care and place him with the mother. Police attended the address, served the PSO on the father, and removed the child. The PSO prevented the father from having contact with his child for three days.
The Authority accepts that both officers were motivated by concern for the child's safety and that some Police action was required. However, we concluded that Police failed to conduct an appropriate investigation into the mother's allegations, including speaking with the father and other witnesses, before deciding on a course of action.
We did not agree that Police had reasonable grounds to believe a PSO was necessary to make the child safe and therefore considered the PSO was unjustified.
In our view, PSOs should not be used under any circumstances to remove a child from their parent. While there are legal powers available to Police to remove children, these are limited and should only be exercised where such an intrusive action is critically necessary or directed by the Court.
The Authority recommended that Police update their policies and deliver further training to staff on this issue. We also recommended that Police apologise to the child's father and remove the PSO from his record. In response to our recommendations, Police have issued guidance to staff, agreed to update their policies and amended the father's Police records to record that the PSO was "issued in error."
Public Report
Use of Police Safety Order to uplift child not justified (PDF 632 KB)
