Drama in police station theatre

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33422, 2 January 1974, Page 1

Drama in police station theatre

(By a staff reporter)

The new multi-storey Christchurch Central Police Station took on the role of a courthouse on Monday, the last day of 1973.

But the bikies came in live by five. In a two-hour drama in oppressive conditions in an underground room in the station, about M members of the public stood up and sat down IS times in accordance with Court procedures as defendants seeking bail were taken to another room to plead their cases before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, SAL, the senior magistrate in Christchurch. The defendants, who had been arrested in a raid on a house in Kerrs Road, would normally have appeared in the No. 1 Magistrate’s Court, but after top-level consultations on Monday morning the Magistrate agreed to transfer proceedings to the police station.

Chief Inspector R. P. Silk told lawyers appearing for some of the defendants that the removal of the 81 defendants from the police station m Hereford Street to the Magistrate's Court in Armagh Street, about half a mile away, would involve the deployment of about 40 police officers, taking a police truck seven trips, the complete transferral taking one hour and a half.

Chief Inspector Silk also told the lawyers that the defendants were in a belligerent mood.

Chief Inspector Silk and Inspector J. Perring both came to the Magistrate’s Court to discuss the matter with the Magistrate, who had indicated that he wanted to hear the cases in the Magistrate’s Court.

After consulting the two senior police officers, the Magistrate made an announcement to the press benches and the public at 1135 a.m. He said that it was normally desirable for cases to be dealt with in the Magistrate's Court. Take hours But there were special difficulties in that it would take some hours to have all the defendants brought from the police cells to the Court, he said.

“To avoid that period of time, not only from the point of view of the police, but also in the interests of the defendants so that they won’t be kept waiting too long, the

Court will sit at the police station. Otherwise it may take four or five hours,” said the Magistrate. He said that any member of the public was invited to attend. Inspector Perring said that the documents* were not ready and woula take some time to prepare. The Court was adjourned to 1 pan. Publicity given by two : radio stations in the morning about the Court sitting in the police station attracted a large crowd. Many were friends of the defendants. About 20 policemen stood by along the walls of the room, which was fiercely-lit by fluorescent lights. The room, which is used by the police for identification parades, consisted of a raised stage about three feet i above the level of the rest of the floor. At one end of the stage were the Magistrate’s desk and the Court registrar’s desk. At the other end of the stage was the entrance to a passageway leading to the cells, guarded by several policemen. All of the defendants were charged under the Crimes Act with unlawful assembly “likely to cause persons in the neighbourhood to fear on reasonable grounds that the persons assembled would disturb the peace tumultuously.” Few of the defendants appeared to understand the nature of the charges. Some smiled. Most of the defendants, who came from as far as Invercargill and Auckland, were dressed in jeans or old trousers and denim jackets. They wore socks with no boots and many had insignias on their jackets, signifying they were members of the "Grim Reapers,” “Outlaws,” “Epitaph Riders” and other gangs. Most were wearing moustaches, some wore beards, and virtually all had bedraggled longish hair.

Groups of five The defendants were brought before the Magistrate in groups of five. When the first five were brought into the room, the duty solicitor (Mr W. H. McMenamin) told the Court that he had had a chance to interview only two of the five. They sought legal advice and bail.

Inspector Perring said the police objected to bail. Tne Magistrate said that each defendant was entitled to bail “as of right” under the charge. Inspector Perring said that the police were prepared to put matters before the Magistrate in chambers explaining why the defendants should be refused bail.

He said that the same objection would be made for each of the 81 defendants.

The Magistrate repeated that the defendants had the right to bail as of right except in special circumstances. Chief Inspector Silk said that the general submission by the police against the granting of bail was “on the grounds of public safety.” Inspector Perring said that if bail were granted the police would request two sureties be supplied for each defendant and that no one person should go surety for more than one defendant. The Court then had the first of its 16 adjournments while the Magistrate heard submissions in chambers about the granting of bail. Members of the public became noticeably agitated as the procedure was repeated time and again. Police officers, who must wear jackets at Court hearings, began to perspire as the room, which apparently was not air conditioned, became hotter as the time went by. Before the appearance of the second group, Chief Inspector Silk arranged to have a fixed row of four bright orange moulded plastic seats placed near the entrance to the stage. Four of the second group of five defendants sat on the seats while the fifth stood next to them, but after they had been dealt with he asked the police constables to use the seats not as chairs for the defendants to sit on, but as a barrier separating them from the Magistrate, who was seated about five yards away.