Trump assassination attempt – how well protected are New Zealand politicians?

Explainer – The recent assassination of former US President Donald Trump has caused a global uproar. In a world of frequent violence, what kind of protection can New Zealand politicians get?

Could a Trump-style shooting happen here?

While it has not reached the level of assassinations, political violence has affected New Zealand in recent years, including during the 2022 occupation of Parliament House. The conflict ended in violence.

In 2009, Prime Minister John Key The man was attacked while attending Waitangi celebrations at Te Tii Marae but his injuries were not serious..

In 2019, then Green Party co-leader James Shaw Attacked in the street A man shouted political comments at him.

The following events also occurred In 2022, a woman attacked then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office with a sword.

Of course, this doesn’t take into account the massive amount of threats made online every day against politicians of all kinds.

A recent Otago University study examining harassment of politicians found that 98 per cent of the 54 MPs surveyed said they had “stated they had experienced harassment ranging from uncomfortable communications to actual physical violence”.

So does New Zealand have its own secret service?

In the U.S, The Secret Service is responsible for protecting the president.

The department was established in 1865 as a branch of the U.S. Treasury Department. It was not until the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 (the third presidential assassination in less than 40 years) that its responsibilities were expanded to include the protection of the president, vice president, and others.

The Political Protection Service (DPS) is a unit of the New Zealand Police responsible for protecting the Prime Minister and other dignitaries.

However, security details are kept strictly confidential.

A New Zealand Police spokesperson told ABC New Zealand: “Police do not comment on who we provide close protection to, or how that protection is provided.”

The New Zealand Police website says the Department of Public Safety, based in Wellington and Auckland, is “responsible for protecting Parliament, Government House in Wellington and Auckland, and the Prime Minister’s Office”.

Paul G. Buchanan, a former intelligence officer and head of the 36th Parallel Assessment Risk and Strategic Assessment Consulting, said the DPS is nowhere near the size of the U.S. Secret Service.

“The US Secret Service is a specialist agency with over 8000 staff, both in uniform and in plain clothes… The DPS is a specialised unit within the New Zealand Police with a much smaller staff and lacks its own autonomous resources.”

How does protection work?

Police officers serving in the DPS receive special training for their duties.

They must be physically fit, observant, cautious, adept at multi-tasking and need to “remain cool, calm and collected in times of crisis,” Buchanan said.

“In other words, no Rambo or John Wicks. In other words, low-key bodyguard professionalism.”

DPS staff had few comments on the record.

in a Interviewed by Newshub in 2018“There’s a lot going on behind the sunglasses. You have to constantly scan your surroundings and figure out what’s going on,” said DPS Officer Stephen Worthy.

Buchanan said generally New Zealand’s conservation approach followed that of other countries.

“VIP protection provided by the New Zealand Police DPS and uniformed officers is much looser than that provided by the US Secret Service, but follows a concentric circle format – close physical protection around the VIP, then protection by police and other security personnel in a wider area.”

He said the level of protection offered by DPS is not as large-scale as in the United States.

“Think of it this way, have you ever seen an armored convoy and a sniper on a rooftop?

When the Prime Minister is out and about and walking in public?”

New Zealand Police said protection services include advance familiarisation and planning of sites and routes, site and accommodation searches and security, foot escorts, convoys, “safe havens” and other contingency plans.

There are also a variety of links with other police services, foreign police forces, partners and external agencies.

Who is protected?

New Zealand police say on their website that the sitting governor-general and prime minister receive ongoing protection.

The agency said it would provide protection for individual MPs, judicial personnel and opposition leaders as required. It also provides a range of protection services for VIP movements at home and abroad.

In a statement to Radio New Zealand, Parliamentary Services chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said safety remained the top priority.

“Parliamentary Services takes the safety of members and staff of Parliament very seriously,” he said.

“For security reasons we cannot disclose what measures are in place to protect people in the council area.”

Trump was already the President of the United States when he was attacked, but he was still protected by the Secret Service.

All former presidents of the United States and their spouses are granted lifelong protection unless they refuse protection. The Secret Service said.

However, for the former New Zealand prime minister, it appears that protection measures are decided on a case-by-case basis. New Zealand police again declined to provide specific details.

For example, when Ardern stepped down as prime minister, Buchanan told RNZ he believed she and her family needed to continue to be protected because of ongoing threats against her. “Given the level of violent hatred directed at them”.

What else can be done to keep politicians safe?

In the 2023 budget, the government allocated $14 million to be invested over four years to improve parliamentary security.

Gonzalez-Montero Then say The funding will be used to deploy security officers to constituency offices when needed and to meet the growing demand for MPs to have their homes checked and equipped with security equipment.

On the eve of the general election last September, Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke’s home was reportedly broken into, vandalised and a threatening letter left behind.

Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee Last month, he said he wanted to improve security for lawmakers. “Before serious problems occur” in the community.

Brownlee told the New Zealand Herald he was not saying the DPS should cover more MPs “but we do need to have a discussion about what the interface is between parliament’s own security services and the police outside of the parliamentary environment”.

RNZ asked the Office of Parliamentary Services whether the $14 million had been spent.

“Over four years, we have allocated a total of $14 million for safety measures and member support staff, of which approximately $5.7 million has been allocated for enhanced safety measures for members and their staff,” Gonzalez-Montero told ABC New Zealand.

He said the funding would be used to provide additional security assistance to MPs and their home or Wellington residences when they attend public or community events and engage with constituents.

This work was successfully piloted in the run-up to the 2023 general election.

“Part of this funding will also be used to increase the number of security staff on parliamentary grounds to ensure everyone is kept safe.

“This allows us to quickly increase staffing levels when necessary and provide safety assistance to member offices across the country. The remaining funds will be used to increase member staffing capabilities and capacity.”

Buchanan said security must evolve with the times, and while the situation in the United States is very different (gun controls are more relaxed, for example), that could easily change.

“New Zealand is nowhere near as safe as the US, but is starting to show signs of being influenced by the US way of dealing with social and political divisions. That’s not a good thing.”

“Given the current situation, the call for increased security is reasonable.”