Arming police witnesses when they are in attendance at courts will break with centuries of tradition of removing weapons from courts, and produce no positive safety outcomes.
Concerns have come to the fore again with the NSW Police Association calling for police to be able to carry guns into courts, threatening to ‘black ban’ police witnesses giving evidence in person if they are not armed.
Greens MP and Police Spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“Police come to court as witnesses, not to maintain court security, that’s the job of the NSW Sheriffs Office.
“No other witness in what is a time-honoured, peaceful system of dispute resolution is allowed to be armed, let alone carry a gun.
“The Court Sheriffs are well resourced, with handcuffs, metal detectors and x-ray screening, while dangerous in-custody defendants are secured with guards and segregated cells in court.
“The Police Association has given three examples of police assisting in court security incidents, and not a single one of those incidents would have benefited by adding a gun to the mix.
“It would be an extremely rare case where adding a gun to a packed courtroom will make anyone in attendance safer.
“In exceptional cases, such as genuine terrorist threats, police can ask for permission from the courts to carry firearms. There’s absolutely no reason for it to be the norm.
“General duties police in the United Kingdom and New Zealand manage to maintain public order nation-wide without guns. There is no doubt that NSW courts can be kept safe without the addition of heavily armed police,” Mr Shoebridge said.
Media contact: David Shoebridge 9230 3030