Police being turned into quarantine ‘babysitters’

‘‘Police need to be dealing with family harm incidents, mental health incidents and road safety, for example.’’

He also questioned if police would be getting extra funding to take on the responsibility.

‘‘Given the limited number of escapes, I don’t think this is warranted and police should only be called to deal with incidents at facilities.’’

Minister in charge of managed isolation and quarantine Megan Woods said yesterday that over the 24 hours since the isolation breach, the Government had sought to further tighten security.

From today, each facility will now have a 24/7 police presence to ensure compliance and prevent further breakouts, she said.

The man, who later tested positive for Covid-19, ‘‘absconded’’ from his managed isolation facility in Auckland on Tuesday night through a gap in the fence.

He went to a Countdown supermarket in the CBD where he took selfies and purchased personal hygiene products.

It was the second time someone has escaped. A woman who allegedly absconded from managed isolation at an Auckland hotel was charged last week for breaching isolation.

‘‘Anyone who chooses to break out of these facilities is committing a reckless act of selfishness, and we will come down on them with the full weight of the law. Frankly they don’t deserve to join the team of five million,’’ Woods said.

The reason the police were being brought onsite was because they had the power to arrest and to detain and stop people from leaving, she said.

The move was a redeployment of police resources and Police Commissioner Andrew Coster had pointed out that would mean staff would need to be taken off other duties, she said.

‘‘To be clear, every police officer that needs to be assigned would otherwise be doing something else, just like every nurse assigned.’’

When asked about funding, she said those discussions still needed to be had.

The facilities were a snapshot of society and there would inevitably be problems, she said.

‘‘We must ensure our security arrangements anticipate the type of behaviour we are seeing from the worst of our returnees.’’

While the facilities were not prisons, they did have six-foot high fences and security 24/7 security to keep returnees inside.

She rejected the idea adding police to the mix would make people feel like criminals.