Activism
Resisting arrest or obstructing the police
Resisting arrest
Summary Offences Act 1981, s 23
It’s a criminal offence to intentionally obstruct a police officer or encourage another person to obstruct or resist a police officer. If you are convicted, you can be imprisoned for up to three months or fined up to $2,000.
This isn’t limited to physically interfering with an arrest – it can include giving false information, warning a friend who has committed an offence that the police are coming, or refusing to follow a lawful instruction.
Forming a human chain can be used to make it more difficult for individuals to be arrested. However, in some cases, this could amount to the offence of obstructing the police.
You cannot be convicted solely on the basis that a police officer was obstructed in some way. For a conviction, it must be proved that you had intended to obstruct them.
Can I interfere if police are trying to arrest someone else?
Summary Offences Act 1981, s 23 Cases: R v Thomas [1991] 3 NZLR 141 (CA)
Intervening to prevent the police arresting someone else could amount to the offence of obstructing the police.
However, you may have a defence to this charge if you honestly believed that the police were using excessive force. For you to be convicted, the police must have been acting lawfully at the time you obstructed them.
