Police role outlined

Press, 28 April 1981, Page 6

Police role outlined

Whether the proposed Springbok tour went ahead was not a matter for the police over the next three months, said the Commissioner of Police (Mr R. J. Walton) in Christchurch last evening. “Once the tour eventuates I have to keep a close eye on what happens,” Mr Walton told the annual general meeting of the Canterbury Council for Civil Liberties. , Particular attention would be {paid to whether the presence of the Springboks caused breaches of Section 42 of the Crimes Act, which dealt with breaches of the peace, he said. “If I saw that the police could not handle the matter, I would hope I could talk to the Rugby Union and they could do something about it,” said Mr Walton. ; It was not the role of the police to say who could or could not come to New Zealand if they come here within the law;

If the police started dictating on who was allowed to enter, New Zealand would become a police state, he said.

"The police role is to maintain law and order in the event of the tour taking place, and that may well be the time for us to decide whether the tour contravenes the law,” Mr Walton said.

“At this stage it is not my role to point out the implications of such a tour.”

Referring to how the police intended to handle protests against the tour, Mr Walton said that any actions would be governed by “the law of. the land.”

The police had to protect the right of protesters to protest, but they also, had to ensure that, protesters did not infringe the rights of others.

“Indeed, it is the police’s role to protect demonstrators from people who do not

sympathise with their views, but when protest moves to the stage where offences against the law are committed, then the police have to act.” Mr Walton said.

He quoted at length from a police manual on how to deal with protesters. After speaking, Mr Walton answered questions from the group of about 100 people who attended the meeting.

He would not be drawn in to comment on the decision of the Rugby Union to search people attending Springbok matches.

Many questioners expressed fears about the impartiality of the police in dealing with protesters. Incidents at the Veteran Games, where the police arrested six protesters, were cited.

The police would not discriminate between protesters and rugby supporters, because they had “no necessity to do so,” Mr Walton said.