Zane Roberts leaves the courtroom after the verdict is announced. Photo / Andrew Warner
A Rotorua police officer was sentenced to pay a total of US $ 2,400 to a fish and game officer for unlicensed fishing and misrepresentation.
Constable Zane Roberts, 26, will also be there
Subject to an internal police investigation.
Roberts appeared before the Rotorua District Court this week on charges of unlicensed fishing and providing false information such as a false name, date of birth, address and phone number.
The charges relate to the actions of the policeman on Lake Rotoiti on October 1st last year, the opening day of the trout fishery.
Lake Rotoiti is managed by Fish & Game New Zealand Eastern Region, which spends about $ 100,000 annually on maintenance, Judge Greg Hollister-Jones said in court. The license costs contribute to this.
Roberts’ attorney Fraser Wood demanded permanent name suppression and dismissal without conviction for him, but the judge denied both.
Judge Hollister-Jones said Roberts went fishing with a friend that day and planned but failed to get a day license, which costs $ 21.
That afternoon, the boat they were on was approached by a fish and game officer who asked about their licenses. Roberts’ friend presented a valid family license which Roberts said had been accepted and claimed to be a half-brother.
Roberts claimed that the second name “Denise” on the license was a typo and that his name was actually Dennis.
In a signed statement to the officer, Roberts gave a false name, date of birth, address and phone number.
On the subject of matching items
Twelve days later, after further investigation, Fish & Game contacted Roberts’ employer, the police, to speak to him.
Roberts went to the local Fish & Game office that same day and when told what it was about, he exercised his right to remain silent and made no explanation.
A fish and game officer then recorded an exchange in his notebooks where the officer asked, “Did you catch something out there,” and Roberts said, “I wasn’t even there,” said the judge.
Wood said Roberts couldn’t remember saying that.
“He was trying to work his way out of what was obviously stupid … He didn’t proactively raise his hand on Fish & Game and apologize.
“Overall, the seriousness of the crime is relatively low. Only because of his role as a police officer there are direct consequences.”
Fish & Game attorney Sefton Revell said the phrase “I wasn’t even there” was an example of how Roberts doubled his initial lie.
“There’s ample opportunity to get clean, and when faced with the same investigator who was on the boat … and got the chance to get clean, he’ll say, ‘No, no, no, I wasn’t once out there ‘. “
Revell acknowledged that there was a “real risk” that Roberts could lose his job as a police officer due to a “massive misjudgment.”
“The police are aware of this, and very well aware of the circumstances and the dishonesty.”
A release without conviction, which Roberts lawyer was looking for, is when a defendant, despite being guilty of a crime, has no previous convictions.
Wood argued that conviction would make Roberts more likely to lose his job, but Judge Hollister-Jones said that although conviction would be “a significant personal setback,” he believed Robert’s career would also be affected if the court did not take him Conviction would be released.
He also opposed permanent name suppression.
Constable Zane Roberts at a previous event. Photo / file
He admitted that the crime was taken seriously by the New Zealand police and “could well contribute to the loss of his job”.
“The consequences of a conviction are personal and professional, but they are the usual consequences of a conviction.
“I accept that this can lead to the loss of my job. This is a New Zealand Police business.
“A conviction is likely an additional factor your employer will consider in determining whether you have discredited the police.”
He paid tribute to Roberts’ good character, his employment as a police officer, lack of previous charges and remorse, and said royalty-free fishing was at a low level.
“I suppose you wouldn’t be here today if you had done all of this.”
But Roberts had not only given false information orally, he had also signed a statement. Making the false information charge moderate to moderate, the judge said.
He acknowledged Roberts’ personal troubles in 2020, including his grandmother’s death in June and a sports injury in August, but said he did not accept that they contributed to his decision to sign a false statement.
“I can accept that your head may not be in the right place on October 1st when you forgot to get a fishing license before starting.
“You say you thought you could talk your way out of the capture, you went further because you signed a false statement and you took no steps to correct the situation.”
The maximum fine for fishing without a license is $ 5,000.
Judge Hollister-Jones fined Roberts $ 500 for fishing without a license, $ 900 for misrepresenting, and ordered him to pay $ 1000 to Fish & Game to pay legal fees . Roberts also pays $ 130 in legal fees.
The friend Roberts was fishing with had previously been fined $ 300, the judge said.
A police spokesman confirmed in a written statement that Roberts was still working for the New Zealand Police, the organization had been informed of the matter in court and would conduct an internal investigation.
“We are unable to go into this for privacy reasons,” they said.
Scott Thompson, director of the Bay of Plenty Police Association, said it was inappropriate for him to comment until the investigation is complete.
In a statement, Andy Garrick, Manager of Fish & Game in the Eastern Region, said the organization was happy with the outcome in court.
“By far the majority of the anglers we encounter are law abiding and it is very disappointing when we meet the relatively few who choose not to, especially when these individuals give us false information and go to considerable lengths to establish their identity to hide, as has been the case so far. “
source https://outdoorsportsnews.com/police-officer-fined-for-fishing-without-licence-giving-false-details/
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