STATUS QUO FOR USUAL SUSPECTS

A judgment saying police should not search people because of their
appearance will not affect how officers work, says the Police Association.

In a landmark written ruling, Judge Phil Gittos found the police breached
the Bill of Rights when they searched Chris Fowlie, president of the
National Organisation for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (Norml), and
arrested him for possession of a small amount of cannabis.

Police Association president Greg O'Connor said on Saturday police did not
search people because of how they looked.

"That doesn't happen and never has been justified ... You've got to have
more grounds than the way people look to search them."

Judge Gittos had said the police had no reason to suspect that Mr Fowlie
and a friend were doing anything illegal when Mr Fowlie was arrested on
Karangahape Rd in Auckland at 1.30 am on June 17.

The two friends were saying goodbye after meeting for a coffee when they
were approached by two members of a team policing unit.

Constable Karen Hoshek told the court on February 8 that the police were
engaged in a "sweep" of Karangahape Rd to speak to people "to find out what
they are doing".

She said that as she approached Mr Fowlie as a matter of routine, she
noticed a strong smell of cannabis.

Judge Gittos said the circumstances left an "uncomfortable perception" that
the police were "engineering opportunities to conduct personal searches of
persons minding their own business in a public street at random or on a
purely speculative basis.

"It needs hardly be said that such conduct would manifestly contravene the
provisions of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act."

Furthermore, the judge criticised the police for using the smell of
cannabis as the sole grounds for searching Mr Fowlie. The charge against Mr
Fowlie, of possessing 0.7g of cannabis, barely enough for half a joint, was
dismissed.

Mr O'Connor said he thought the police were justified searching Mr Fowlie.

"The reality of it is if smelling drugs doesn't give grounds for suspecting
someone's got them, then it's hard to imagine what does.

"However, I suspect the judgment is probably a reflection of how much
[cannabis] was found more than anything else," Mr O'Connor said.

"I suspect that the judge wouldn't have been making the same decision had
the police found a pound of cannabis on him."

Mr O'Connor said he thought the judge's comments would make the police job
a little bit harder but would not change who they searched.

A spokeswoman for the police said on Saturday night that they would take on
board and respect the judgment and it could lead to a review of how much
evidence was needed to stop and search people.

Don Mathias, a criminal defence law expert, said the ruling was significant.

"It shows how the police are acting unreasonably when they require people
to account for their presence in a public place in circumstances where
there is no indication that they are doing anything unlawful."

Green MP Nandor Tanczos, Fowlie's business partner in The Hempstore
Aotearoa, hailed the ruling as an important legal finding for civil rights
in New Zealand.

Mr Fowlie said the ruling was an excellent decision because it upheld the
rights and freedoms of everyone, especially those stereotypes who were
regularly hassled by the police.

"It will make the police job a little bit harder, but it makes them better
as policemen because it means they are actually protecting people instead
of creating situations like this."