Last month we learned that the Christchurch City Council was using a sonic weapon to discourage young people from using one of its libraries, in a prima facie violation of the Human Rights Act. The good news today is that they've turned it off following public complaints. The bad news?
Police were the ones to suggest the council tried out the mosquito device, she said.
The police are bound by the Bill of Rights Act and must act in accordance with it in all their decisions. And yet they're explicitly recommending violating the right to be free from discrimination - and with a device which has been found overseas to constitute torture to boot. Yes, our police recommended that young people be arbitrarily tortured for the "crime" of being young in a public place. And then they wonder why people hate them...
Which invites the question: who else have they made such recommendations to? And is it really police policy that young people should not be permitted to use public space in New Zealand, and should be tortured if they try? Someone should ask them a few questions about that.
