One week's worth of weapons seized at the Manukau District Court. Photo / Supplied
One week's worth of weapons seized at the Manukau District Court. Photo / Supplied
Knives, homemade tasers, screwdrivers, knitting needles, knuckledusters and even a small axe - these are just some of the banned items people have tried to take into court recently.
Despite security officers - and X-ray machines - being stationed at the entrance to most courts these days, hundreds of people tried to walk through the doors carrying drugs and items that could be used as weapons.
In the past 18 months, court security officers at some of the country’s biggest courts seized more than 22,000 items - an average of nine items a day, per court - from members of the public.
Open Justice was given Ministry of Justice data from Manukau, Auckland and Wellington district courts, as well as Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin district and high courts.
Confiscated items which aren’t deemed illegal, but aren’t allowed in courthouses for safety reasons, included knives, scissors, screwdrivers, Swiss army knives, knitting needles and motorcycle helmets. They were returned to visitors as they left.
A court security officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said potential jurors, ignorant of the rules, often brought these items to court when they were summonsed for service. With hundreds of jurors turning up each week, officers could seize up to 30 banned items in a morning, he said.
The Ministry of Justice said court security protected everyone in the courthouse by ensuring a safe environment. Photo / File
Over the same period, court security officers permanently confiscated 600 prohibited items such as offensive weapons and drug paraphernalia. That included ammunition, gardening implements, drug pipes, large knives, hammers, a homemade taser, pepper spray, a small axe, a steel baseball bat and a bucket bong.
Drug pipes and paraphernalia were the most commonly seized items.
The weapon most often seized was a credit card knife, a small pocketknife designed in the shape of a credit card that sits inside a wallet. More than 40 were discovered in 18 months. That was followed by knuckledusters and kubotans - a self-defence key chain weapon.
From ‘I forgot’ through to ‘self-protection’
Common excuses included someone forgetting they had an item on them, ignorance at not being allowed to bring it, not being the owner of the item, and self-protection.
The officer said the rise in the number of confiscated items reflected the increased number of people attending court. He had seen a range of reactions from people including tears, anger, panic and aggression.
It was up to police to decide if someone was charged with possessing a confiscated item, he said.
The Ministry of Justice said court security was a critical aspect of the justice system that protected everyone in the courthouse by ensuring a safe environment.
The Ministry’s director of national security operations, Peter Cowan, said effective security maintained order, allowing cases to proceed without interference.
Officers at the Auckland District Court temporarily seized the most items - just over 6000 - while Dunedin’s district and high courts had the lowest numbers to deal with, at only 800 items.
The Defence Force’s bomb squad was called in to inspect the fireworks, which led to a search of the man’s home.
Everyone within a 100m radius of his property was evacuated and a homemade bomb, that only required a detonator to set off, was allegedly found in his lounge.
The bomb squad advised police it had a “blast [radius] out to 1km and death would have been immediate for those in close vicinity”.
It was estimated that the shock from the blast would be felt for up to 2km.
The man allegedly said he made the device because he was sick of having property stolen from his house.
He is scheduled to reappear in court in March.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist for 20 years, including at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.
