Further thoughts on Police informant story

We now know that at least one activist has been working for the Police, and also that several activists worked for private investigators.

I wonder if it is possible that some of the smaller activist groups are 100% made up of informers? 🙂

Trevor Loudon has blogged the reaction on Indymedia to the revelations.

Also Bryce Edwards has blogged an e-mail from three years ago raising concerns about Gilchrist.

The Dom Post reports what John Key said on Breakfast:

Mr Key today said police investigations were an operational matter and the Government could not direct who it investigated.

But the spying allegations raised some concerns, he said.

“I think the main point here is we would need to be satisfied as any New Zealander would that those being investigated were worthy of investigation, in other words, they present a real or credible risk to the safety and security of communities, not just a group the police target because they feel like it,” he said on TVNZ’s Breakfast programme.

He said he would be concerned if frivolous investigations led to a loss of public loss of confidence in the police’s judgment.

“I wouldn’t like an individual group like Greenpeace to be targeted,” he said on Newstalk ZB.

However, he would be more comfortable if it was individuals who were being investigated rather than organisations.

But he said police based their actions on a wide range of information and even environmental groups could “undertake quite violent behaviour”.

And Judith Collins is sounding more concerned than initial reports suggested:

Mrs Collins said she wanted to know the facts before deciding whether an inquiry was needed, but would be concerned if innocent people were being watched.

She has asked Mr Broad for a report at their weekly meeting today. “I would be very concerned if law-abiding groups and activities were being spied on.”

It will be most interesting to see if anything eventuates. Ministers need to be very careful about second guessing the Police, but there certainly seem to be some questions that need answering.