Obnoxious boy racers in Christchurch have caused the police - and the police minister - to demand new measures to control them. Unfortunately, their proposals look awfully familiar:
Police want a cease and desist order, like that used in Scotland. It would require a new offence of vehicle disorder – using a vehicle in a way that alarmed or distressed the public – to be established.The details are sketchy, but this smells a lot like an Anti-Social Behaviour Order - something which allows the police to do an end-run around normal rules of evidence (or even create new offences out of thin air), and which has been on their agenda for a while. In the UK, they has been a disaster for human rights and another sign of that country's fall into authoritarianism. They are likely to have the same effect here.A notice would be issued to offenders and if they breached it within two years they could be jailed for three months or fined $2000, be disqualified for driving for six months, and have their vehicle impounded for up to 28 days.
As for whether they are necessary, I think its worthwhile to point out that street racing and burnouts are already illegal, as is driving in a reckless or careless manner. Drivers can already be jailed or fined and vehicles can already be impounded for these sorts of offences. So rather than demanding new powers, the police could actually try enforcing the ones they already have. But that, I suppose, would be work. And that's the last thing our lazy police ever want to do.
