The University of
Otago stood by the use by police of plain-clothes officers on
campus if that was what police believed was required when
dealing with people breaking the law there, university
director of student services David Richardson said yesterday.
Posters showing photos of and naming plain-clothes police
officers working on campus recently were posted around the
university area this week.
The posters were labelled "Narks in our Class?" and
"Narkiology 101. How to spot a nark".
Mr Richardson said the university welcomed political debate,
but did not condone law-breaking on the campus.
The university was not consulted on the use of plain-clothes
officers on campus, "but would expect the police to use their
normal range of powers in dealing with such a matter", he
said.
The recent issuing of 12 trespass notices was related to a
small number of students and non-students who had been
campaigning for the liberalisation of cannabis law.
The university did not believe misuse of illegal drugs was a
significant problem among its students, he said.
Dunedin and Clutha area commander Inspector Dave Campbell
said yesterday three recent arrests and the issuing of
trespass notices on campus were not part of an undercover
police operation.
He said the arrests were made after a complaint was received
just after noon on July 16 that people were smoking cannabis
on the university's union lawn.
Plain-clothes police officers were sent to investigate and,
as a result, uniformed officers were called in to arrest a
suspect.
The plain-clothes officers were not working undercover and
carried police identification.
Insp Campbell said plain-clothes officers were often used to
carry out observations when police believed criminal activity
might be taking place. Police were only interested in those
who broke the law, he said.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.