Bringing in police at the country's Covid-19 isolation facilities is a knee-jerk reaction that won't fix the issues at hand, according to a top security expert.
Two people have been charged after separate incidents where they allegedly absconded from their managed isolation facilities in Auckland.
One of them, a 32-year-old man, was waiting for his Covid-19 test result when he allegedly left the Stamford Plaza hotel and went to a supermarket. The test returned positive the next day.
Yesterday the Government announced a police officer would guard each facility 24/7, to prevent further escapes, but WARN International's Lance Burdett doesn't think that's the right call. Mr Burdett, a former crisis negotiator for New Zealand Police, wrote a bestselling book about his career.
"Police officers are trained for a specific role, they could do it and they could do a very good job at that," he told TVNZ1's Breakfast this morning.
"The first thought I thought of was, 'What about Corrections? What about prison staff?' Prison officers are great at keeping people in building, so have they been consulted?"
That doesn't necessarily mean bringing in prison guards to watch the isolation facilities, but discussing measures that work to keep people in the building, he says.
Mr Burdett says he thought the point of bringing the army into the facilities meant they'd be used as guards, and he questions the briefing the current security staff have been told.
"Have the staff, when they come on, been told what their job is? To challenge everybody - don't care who it is, even if you know that person," he says.
"Even if Minister [Megan] Woods turns up, I'd like you to challenge her and say, what are you doing here, what's your credentials please, and where are you going? It's about challenging and having the confidence to do so."
Rather than threatening arrest, the authorities should focus on communication, Mr Burdett says, as "communication is the key to success".
"These are Kiwis coming home. These are people we're welcoming back. But what we do need to say to them is there will be some management of you," he says.
"You will go to breakfast at this time, you'll have a schedule, you'll have a roster. You can go to the gym, you can go for a cigarette, but you have to do it by yourself.
The beefed-up security at 28 facilities comes after two people escaped recently, one confirmed as a Covid-19 case. (Source: Other)
"The reason being is that we're treating everybody as homecoming, and the last thing you would want as Kiwis coming home was to be the person that brought it into the country.
"Don't threaten them with arrest. Don't threaten them with all that. Say that you are risking the safety and security of your fellow New Zealanders."
Threatening arrest and tough enforcement will only make people want to push back against it, according to Mr Burdett.
"Yes it's gonna be a little bit of an inconvenience for two weeks. But after that we will welcome you with open arms back to New Zealand."
Yesterday Megan Woods, the minister in charge of the isolation facilities, announced there'd be a police presence at each of the facilities after the recent breaches.
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