Impact of Police Safety Orders evaluated

A formative evaluation of the first 12 months of Police Safety Orders (PSOs) has just been released. The Key Findings state:

"Overall, PSOs have been well received by both police and the community and are generally being executed as intended, strengthening the range of responses available to police when dealing with family violence incidents. However, some barriers to their effective implementation were noted and, accordingly, there are a few areas where improvement can be made to enhance the efficacy of this tool."

Since July 2010, police have been able to issue Police Safety Orders (PSOs). The orders are a new option for police attending family violence incidents where there is insufficient evidence of an offence but action is considered necessary to ensure the safety of the people at the address. Police are able to order a person out of the premises, effective immediately, for a period of up to five days.

The evaluation was carried out by the Crime and Justice Research Centre, Victoria University, Wellington.

Read Police Safety orders formative evaluation: summary report via the NZFVC libary

Read Police Safety Orders working well, NZ Police media release, 9 May 2012

Read Police safety orders are making victims safer, Shine media release, 9 May 2012

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