Police commit to change ‘hate’ threshold in training

15 April 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Police commit to change ‘hate’ threshold in training 

Following a constructive meeting this afternoon between the Free Speech Union and Assistant Police Commissioner Jill Rogers, who is responsible for Police training, the Free Speech Union is pleased to welcome a change in approach. Police have affirmed their commitment to changing the threshold for ‘non-criminal hate incidents’ to be an objective criteria that corresponds to Police interest and intelligence collection, says Jonathan Ayling, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. 

“Since October, this change has seen the number of incidents flagged as ‘hateful’ drop from, on average, 100 per month to fewer than five per month. This is good news for all Kiwis’ speech rights.

“The Free Speech Union raised concerns in August last year with respect to new training that instructed Police officers to “recognise, record, and respond’ to ‘hate speech’ and ‘hate crime’. This was despite the fact that no law in New Zealand references ‘hate crime’.

“We’re pleased that Police will no longer be using the term ‘hate crime’, opting instead to use thresholds concerning hate-motivated crime. 

“The Sentencing Act 2002 allows ‘hate’ to be considered as an aggravating factor at sentencing, which the Free Speech Union has never opposed. What we did oppose was scope-creep in Policing that saw them attending to and observing ‘non-criminal hate incidents’. It is not the Police's job to impose social cohesion.

“The Free Speech Union will continue to work closely with Police on this matter, reviewing the new training material in coming weeks and meeting with the Assistant Police Commissioner again before the end of next month. 

“We highly value the critical and incredibly difficult role the Police play in our society to protect our freedoms. We welcome the Police’s openness to reflect on this issue and their willingness to continue to work towards ensuring free speech is respected in New Zealand.”