Parliament has passed the Crimes Amendment Bill at its third reading, widening citizen's arrest powers to cover any offence under the Crimes Act 1961. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said most of the legislation will take effect within a week (RNZ).

The bill amends sections 35 and 36 of the Crimes Act. Previously, a private citizen could make an arrest only for specific offences, and section 36 applied only to offences committed at night. Under the changes, members of the public may intervene in any Crimes Act offence, regardless of the time of day (legislation.govt.nz).

Think of it this way: under the old law, the list of situations where a citizen could lawfully detain someone was narrow and partly tied to the clock. The new law broadens that list to every offence in the Crimes Act and removes the night-time restriction.

A person making a citizen's arrest under the new provisions may use restraints "when reasonable" and must contact Police as soon as practicable and follow their instructions (RNZ). The legislation.govt.nz version of the bill sets out the same requirement for anyone other than a constable who carries out a citizen's arrest (legislation.govt.nz).

Goldsmith framed the changes as a response to retail crime. He said retailers and security guards face abuse and assault, and that the economic cost of retail crime runs into the billions. The bill is intended to allow security guards to detain thieves (RNZ).

The policy backdrop includes work by the Ministry of Justice, which maintains a Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime. The Ministry has published a Cabinet paper and minute on amendments to the arrest and defence of property provisions in connection with shoplifting and retail crime (Ministry of Justice). It also published a Regulatory Analysis Summary for the bill covering those arrest and defence of property amendments (Ministry of Justice.

The select committee stage produced a report in December 2025 stating that the legislation modernises the law around citizen's arrest and defending property (select committee report). The report followed public submissions on the bill's proposal to amend the law on citizen's arrest and defence of property and to increase maximum penalties for those offences.

Beyond citizen's arrest, the amendment creates new specific offences. These include assaulting first responders and front-line corrections workers, and three new offences for "coward punches." Goldsmith said the amendment also strengthens trafficking and slavery laws to close loopholes (RNZ).

The New Zealand Legislation website now hosts a version of the Crimes Act 1961 as at 26 May 2026 reflecting the amendments (legislation.govt.nz).

The broader context here is worth noting for those tracking this government's law-and-order agenda. The removal of the night-time restriction under section 36, and the extension of section 35 to all Crimes Act offences, together amount to a substantial widening of the circumstances in which a private individual may lawfully detain another person. The obligation to contact Police and follow instructions is the key safeguard, but the practical threshold for intervention now sits much lower than under the previous regime. For retailers and security operators, the changes provide clearer statutory authority to detain suspected shoplifters, which has been a live policy concern given the advisory group and Cabinet-level attention to retail crime victimisation. For practitioners advising clients on use-of-force questions, the "when reasonable" restraints language will require close attention once the provisions are in force and inevitably tested in case law.