Parliament has passed a law that widens who can make a citizen's arrest and when. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said most of the changes will take effect within a week (RNZ).

A citizen's arrest is when an ordinary person, not a police officer, holds someone they catch committing a crime. Under the old law, you could only do this for certain crimes, and in some cases only at night. The new law lets you make a citizen's arrest for any crime listed in the Crimes Act 1961, at any time of day or night (legislation.govt.nz).

If you make a citizen's arrest, you are allowed to use restraints, like handcuffs, "when reasonable." You must contact Police as soon as you can and follow their instructions (RNZ). The official version of the bill says the same thing: anyone other than a police officer who makes a citizen's arrest must get in touch with Police as soon as practicable (legislation.govt.nz).

Goldsmith said the changes are aimed at retail crime. He said shop workers and security guards face abuse and assault, and that retail crime costs the economy billions of dollars. The law is meant to give security guards a clear right to detain thieves (RNZ).

The Ministry of Justice has been working on this issue. It runs a Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime and has published Cabinet papers on changing the arrest and property defence rules around shoplifting (Ministry of Justice). The Ministry also published a regulatory analysis summary for the bill (Ministry of Justice.

A select committee, which is a small group of MPs who examine a bill in detail, reported on the law in December 2025. It said the legislation updates the rules on citizen's arrest and defending property (select committee report). The report followed public submissions on the bill, including its proposal to increase maximum penalties for related offences.

The law also creates some new crimes. These include assaulting first responders and front-line corrections workers, and three new offences for "coward punches." Goldsmith said the law also strengthens trafficking and slavery rules to close loopholes (RNZ).

The updated version of the Crimes Act 1961 is now available on the New Zealand Legislation website, dated 26 May 2026 (legislation.govt.nz).

The broader context here is that the changes lower the bar for when a private person can legally hold someone. The main safeguard is the rule that you must contact Police and do what they say. But the practical threshold for stepping in is now much lower than before. For retailers and security guards, the law gives clearer authority to detain suspected shoplifters. For lawyers advising clients on how much force is allowed, the "when reasonable" wording will need close attention once the law is in force and cases start coming through the courts.