Christchurch Police Apologize After Officer Mistake Let Child Leave Country

A child who was subject to a Family Court order preventing removal from the country was allowed to leave New Zealand after an error by a police officer.

Now, the police have issued an unreserved apology to the boy’s father and a settlement has been reached after a civil lawsuit in Christchurch High Court.

Details of the deal cannot be disclosed, police say.

But a full investigation was launched to determine how the boy was able to leave the country, despite the activation of a border alert that was notified to the police by customs officials.

The mistake was made by a police officer at Christchurch International Airport on February 7 last year.

The boy’s father issued a civil proceeding in his own name and that of his son in the Superior Court that were to be heard on August 3.

The police say that these civil proceedings have been resolved “after an agreement between the parties.”

“The police unreservedly apologize for the mistake that was made and for the great anguish caused to the plaintiffs,” said a police spokesman.

“The police are fully committed to ensuring that we provide the services that the community expects and deserves.”

Airport police “deal with these orders on a routine basis” at New Zealand international airports, the spokesman said.

Police policy is that once a border alert confirming an order from the Family Court is triggered, the affected passenger will not be allowed to travel in the absence of proof that the order has been complied with or modified to allow travel.

“A full investigation was conducted into why that did not happen in this case and improvements have been made to the airport’s processes and practices to ensure it does not happen again,” the police spokesman added.