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Story: Family violence

Safety orders

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From 2009 police were able to use safety orders to remove an alleged family violence offender from the home for up to five days. Safety orders were useful in cases where there was not enough evidence to arrest a person, but good reason to believe that violence had occurred or could do so. They gave victims of violence time to consider what steps they should take next.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Family violence – Law and policing changes from the 1980s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/28295/safety-orders (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 26 April 2011.