Use of undercover police in housie raids denied

Press, 2 June 1984, Page 8

Use of undercover police in housie raids denied

PA Wellington Undercover police officers were not being used to infiltrate church and sports club housie sessions, said Deputy Police Commissioner, Mr Brian Davies, yesterday. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr Highet, ordered a crackdown on housie after many operators ignored department guidelines on how to run housie and started offering big prizes to lure customers. The department’s executive officer for gaming and racing, Mr Roger Beatty, was quoted on Wednesday saying that undercover and uniformed police were used

because the department’s gaming inspectors were too easily spotted and the game was cleaned up as soon as they arrived. Mr Davies said some reports gave the impression of countless police agents skulking about housie halls the length and breadth of New Zealand. “Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said. Mr Davies said it was important that any wrong impressions were corrected. This came after a number of adverse newspaper editorials on the matter. “Certain statements by non-police sources have been misleading,” he said.

“Police do not supply undercover staff for this type of operation. What those who made the statement to the media are no doubt referring to are plainclothes staff. But even the use of plainclothes staff for this type of operation is extremely rare. “They have been used only two times in the last six months. The fact is that such activities are not accorded a high priority.” Undercover police were used only for serious crime which lends itself to such an activity. This was mainly confined to drug trafficking but could also involve the bigger burglary and receiving operations, he said.