Courtroom chaos: Nearly 450 assaults in New Zealand courthouses since 2019
Verbal abuse, intimidation and brawls where security officers are often outnumbered are becoming all too common in government buildings intended to uphold law and order. Shannon Pitman looks into the number of assaults occurring at our courts and what is being done about the growing problem.
The pressure of life-changing decisions faced by individuals involved in court proceedings has turned many court buildings across the country into volatile environments with nearly 450 assaults occurring in just five years.
The escalating violence appears to be linked to rising tensions at court where people are dealing with sensitive matters such as child custody matters, the incarceration of loved ones and grieving victims of crime.
Incidents of assaults on court personnel, verbal abuse aimed at judges, and intimidation of lawyers have become disturbingly common, reflecting a growing trend of security issues within the court system.
There is a war in this country being waged by the Right Wing Hate State against the Treaty, Māori, renters, beneficiaries, the disabled, workers and the environment.
The Hate State of NZ is the biggest human rights abuser of any group, it tortured, abused, beat and sexually molested 250 000 children in State care and did everything in its power to hide that abuse and re-traumatise victims with obscene legal tactics.
When the Hate State is passing unjust sentences for a rigged capitalism, when the Hate State is taking children from parents, when the Hate State attempts to enforce its cruelty, people are fighting back everywhere and in every way against the State.
The frontline is everywhere.
The Public Surface Unions are shitting themselves because their members become the friction point of that unjust policy.
Everyone in the above story about the jump of violence all cite Covid as the moment people universally lost their faith and trust in the systems around them which is funny because the systems were always biased and unjust, but people didn’t wake up to that until Covid which has been used as the vehicle for that backlash.
As this new right-wing Government continue to trade in the common good for their corporate donor interests by using race baiting stunts to keep us divided, people are violently resisting and as the economy sinks in 2025 and as National change bail laws to keep another 10 000 prisoners locked up, these tensions and violence will only grow.
Our civility and acquiescence to the Hate State is over and violence will only grow.
When the Big Data social investment model swings into play, Oranga Tamariki will weaponise uplifts and we will see many more Fathers taking matters into their own hands against the Hate State.
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Is the ‘right-wing’ responsible for 2025 starting with two totally innocent little children being murdered and families hugely traumatised ? One long serving police officer killed ploughed into by a car and several other police officers now being injured in the line of duty? I don’t think so. Nothing is that simple.
Bill English’s misnamed ‘ social investment’ model, reducing children and families to manoeuvrable economic units who exist to serve the financial interests of the state which is meant to serve the people not dehumanise them, is blatantly simple, just like he is, but the bigger picture of so many families unable to eat healthily, or afford to keep warm in winter cold, and surrendering children to brain-washing in an ideologically-driven education system, has to be robustly addressed by the opposition, instead of fluffing around with diversions like gang patches which do sfa to achieve anything particularly constructive.
In short no, but let’s face it, in 1ZB land it would be completely Labours fault if that cop had died before the last election.
Wheel. Kindly have some respect. “ That cop”, Lyn Fleming, was a woman who, by all accounts, served the community in an exemplary way. Her family’s life will never be the same again. Her grandchildren will never know their grandmother.
If, however, you are saying that Labour bears some responsibility for the current breakdown in society, I agree.
The successful PTB which have been mainly male, now prepare to make space for wimmin and give them the god-awful jobs of keeping ordinary people down and traumatised. And wimmin in general who get such promotions are willing accede because they gain power and lose their fluid female inferior status, which often is only perceived or temporary and able to be circumvented after sincere discussions with significant others.
There goes one very ugly woman (and I don’t mean aesthetically). Career over principle and morality.
Ego and narcissism over a society. But give it a break – all that is currently in vogue.
Just don’t expect me to expend any emotional capital when the tide turns.
Ew! Jose – the pin stripe suit and waffle doesn’t cut it.
OnceWasTim . I beg to differ. What is ugly about Una, is that IMO, someone who is the epitome of mediocrity, and who, by her own admission was a lacklustre law student, was made solicitor general, I gather by John Key, presumably as some sort of diversity appointment. Some of her utterings have been, IMO, not only appalling, but a challenge to ‘ the rule of law ‘. It is this, IMO, seeming undermining of democracy which should be a cause for concern.
Personally, I’d also question whether the off- spring of immigrant parents is best suited for this sort of position, but that’s a separate issue. Grown-ups who go out of their way to look a bit weird is also unusual, as that tends to be the prerogative of young ones journeying to adulthood or persons needing to showcase themselves, for whatever reason. Parliament itself now resembles a circus.
We’re not in disagreement @ Brigid. I’m the great uncle of 4 nephews/nieces abused in state care. After what’s nearing 20 years, 2 have managed to get their shit together. The other two are complete fuckups resulting from the sort of shit Una Jagose enables.
Morality and finding ways of doing what is right (legally and otherwise) doesn’t figure in her thinking.
OnceWasTim. I am sorry to hear what happened to your young family members and I hope that things pan out better for them.
If one person, such as a SG has the power to shunt principle and morality aside, then the system itself is corrupt. I’m aware of this woman saying some people shouldn’t be charged at all, and. ( I think) maybe judges should consider issues not directly relevant to the crime, and to my way of thinking this favours the perp and diminishes both the position and the experience of the victim.
Capitalism, what a violent rule for its cancer.
Left or Right in charge makes little difference as it is the public servants that carry out the orders as they see fit.
Covid was a wake up call as to the complete power of the state. In this event the power was used initially in a good way but it went on too long and getting back to norm is still happening. Some were better placed to weather the storm than others but those reserves have been diminished so what will happen next time us scary too many .This has lead to anger bubbling over .
The state completely funds the Courts and the Police, so it’s unlikely anyone in authority, or even most public servants generally, will turn around and bite the hand that feeds them.
If the IRD discovers that you owe them a tidy sum, all hell will be let lose on you – but if you are a care home worker underpaid your holiday entitlements over decades, expect glacial paced redress sometime in the never never, as the states bean counters have already calculated how much will be saved, by the number of people owed who will die each year, that their backpay gets delayed.
If you are a private citizen who’s committed a blatant crime, expect the full force of the law – but if you are the army involved in a war crime in Afghanistan, then you deny deny, until the evidence is so overwhelming, that to keep denying would make you look like even more of a moron.
If the Police have circumstantial information, that they can put together in such a way, in which they might guess that a crime was possible, such as the case of the Auckland eye surgeon, then he’ll need to defend himself in court – but if you are employed by the state, and have abused children in state care, for which the state could have liability, expect protection from all levels of the state, from Police up to the Solicitor General. But then again, the Attorney General is dirty politics Judy, so if we can just anoint Trump as the next Governor General, it will be a blissful land of milk and honey and Morris dancing for all.
Just as you can’t trust Police to investigate Police, can you even trust them to investigate anything with state involvement. For example, the Royal Commission estimated 250k children abused, but the Police certainly haven’t initiated 250k new investigations – which is a discrepancy that needs explanation. Can the Police explain what will happen, if someone goes into a Police station tomorrow, with a complaint of abuse in care? Will anything have changed, and if so, what? Name just one change?
Sure if some guy goes berserk in a Winz office with a shotgun, then overnight every Winz office suddenly has a couple of security guards at the ready, so decision makers can move swiftly when it suits them.
Of course any public servant will want to give the impression of doing the right thing when alerted to evil doers, when behind the scenes they will do anything to sweep such matters under the carpet. And when the Solicitor General themselves is culpable, having attacked victims, and therefore taking the side of the abusers, it’s no wonder that our mental health is in disarray, because this situation is just insane. How can any court judgment that hasn’t involved a weigy board now be taken seriously, with this level of endemic malfeasant state sanctioned blatant covering up, that has only been acknowledged and apologised for by the Solicitor General, when it’s jumped up in front of her and poked her in the eye, so hard it can’t be ignored.
It’s just insidious increasingly corrupt behavior at all levels, and those public servants that do well at it get rewarded. The states legal eagles, devising ever more efficient ways to cut corners with our rights, while putting us all under omnipotent CCTV facial recognition AI surveillance, that we untrusted underlings require. Eric Arthur Blair’s nightmare on steroids is fast becoming reality.
For example, the ACC system was good when it was first rolled out, but it’s been gradually pared back, till someone like Mr Mangione, would find that it hard to get cover for anything – even straightforward joint injuries to elbows and hips etc, are now being classified as normal wear and tear, and denied cover. If a comet were to hit the Beehive, and we had to start the whole system of govt over again, it could be a blessing in disguise – was Guy Fawkes onto something?
In the meantime, the setting up of an independent anti corruption agency, which has long been standard in most developed countries, could be a good start. Also good, that the office of the Children’s Commissioner has been made more independent by this current Govt, but got it only half right, as the Elder Care Commissioner definitely needs to be made independent as well.
And oversight of the public service needs to involve serious people, and not the Mr Beans of this world thankyou very much. And updating Parliaments dress code to a birthday suit, and getting rid of all autopilots, couldn’t make things any worse. New Years resolution spleen vent rant over sheeple.
We are to blame for allowing governments past to think that poverty is acceptable .The break down of society is the symptom of poverty .How can we expect society to be great for all when half are deprived of a decent living situation where everyone is well housed ,clothed and fed and has meaningful well paid employment to make that happen .I know its hard but NZ as a whole needs to stans up and say enough of this crap and fix the problem .Start by ensuring every kiwi family has a great house to live in ,I dont mean a McMansion ,a great well paying job and a great health and education system .Start by closing the border till unemployment is as close to zero as we can get which will save billions over a decade in wellfare payments .Build enough state houses to house everyone that needs one and eliminate homelessness .Dont build another road till these targets are reached spend the money on hospitals and schools and fill them with well paid staff and value those staff as the gold they are .We are a small island nation in the pacific not the super power or economic power house that some think we are ,but we can and should be a more equal society .The people with the ever growing pile of cash need the rest of us to create that cash as much as we need them to invest that cash back into NZ where it came from in the first place .All businesses need to remember we are all their next customer and may well be a freind or neighbour not just the next person we can rip off .
At the henuki, today, soldiers, strenth with care, should be charging our aotearo care, not some market value that age employed have to cowtow to those others inside. Privatise never our prsom care. No print this bomber, my son chased streets since him 13, knocking on doors, never should but did, why well their is a question for him to answer, yer now two years in the henucki, today, my second visit. Police outside cool as, insined im in thes socialcial waiting room, last time, two, gaurds, this time, im sitting waiting, for half hour my son come and see, yet that half our, was the control, of the henuki, sitting in the visitors room, experience who you look at me with my whanau, two children him crawling all over the henuki flloor his tam,as tossing arguing screeming throughing their toys, all over the visiting room around, and my waiting not a gaurd around. Basic Bomb, we our mob are in charge of this prison, today bomb, my son , egit him for gettin, but these other gansters, knowing who i am, knowing threat my son, bomb he made his being, but more important, elder Pakia, and younger Maori, officers, are letting through fear, allow this inside control, wis gonny, speck child, nat Whanganui member tell, not the place, as bring on more corporate exploit. Just saying, without print , just a care known.l
No, weeken sol.diers, our henuki, care soldiers, without bribe or threat, is our army, now our henuki protectors.
our peace care army, outside wars, shall care for the henuki inside. Meaning in charge.
Weekend, solodiers, not, Soldiers state, no fuck them, henukie, fuck, who them stand and are lost, why, our socialists soldiers, are not weekend. We are your new, knowing, army solodiers, looking care, without, woof woof.
our army, henuki, all henuki, should charge care control, with, frights, knowing, never, our care of our henuki, jail.
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