Boy's 111 'parent assault' call unfounded
Eastern Courier
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A boy called 111 after learning about the new child discipline regulations at school.
The 11-year-old turned to police fearing he was assaulted by his parents, but it turned out that he was being disciplined.
"He was engaging in offensive and obstructive behaviour and his parents intervened with reasonable force," Howick-Otara family violence coordinator sergeant Brett Woodmass says.
"The boy said he had learnt about the law at school and I believe he was misinformed," he says.
A few calls to police related to Section 59 of the Crimes Act reveal some residents are confused over the new regulations.
Mr Woodmass says there have been calls that police normally would not have.
"A father of a child didn't like his sister-in-law smacking his child on the hand," he says.
"It was deemed reasonable to minimise the child's actions to prevent potential harm."
The police investigate every case and still have the discretion not to prosecute complaints against the parent.
"Until a case law develops on the section, it is not known how it will be interpreted and applied by the courts," Mr Woodmass says.
The legislation update states that parents are legally allowed to use reasonable force to 'control' their child to protect them or other people from harm; to prevent the child committing a crime or engaging in offensive or disruptive behaviour; and to perform the normal daily tasks of good care and parenting.
But it is illegal for parents to use force to 'correct' children.
There will no longer be a defence for parents or care-givers charged with assaulting their children who claim that they were using reasonable force to correct their children?s behaviour.
As children get older, the use of reasonable force will become less justifiable.
Factors that are considered are the age and maturity of the child, ability of the child to reason, characteristics of the child, such as physical development, sex and state of health and circumstances that led to the use of force.
Mr Woodmass says when using force the parent must act in good faith and have a reasonable belief in a state of facts to justify their force.
District family violence coordinator Tim Smith says he has appointed staff to collect data of incoming calls related to the bill in the Counties Manukau area.
He says towards the end of August he may have an idea of how the changes to the bill have affected the community.
Changes to the the Crimes (Abolition of Force as a Justification for Child Discipline) Amendment Bill 2005 were passed through Parliament on May 16 this year and came into force on June 22.
