Sir David James Carruthers (born ) is a long-serving member of the New Zealand legal community. He worked as a lawyer in Wellington, Pahiatua and Palmerston North, before being appointed as a

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

Judge in 1985. In 2001, Carruthers was appointed as Chief District Court Judge, a position he held until 2005, when he was appointed as the chairman of the

New Zealand Parole Board The New Zealand Parole Board is an independent statutory body established in 2002 that considers offenders for parole. Its task "is to undertake an assessment of the risk that long-term sentenced offenders might pose to the safety of the communit ...

. In 2012, Carruthers joined the Independent Police Conduct Authority as its chairman. Since 2021 Carruthers has been the Independent Implementation Monitor to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants.

Early life and family

Carruthers was born in 1940 or 1941, and raised in

Pahiatua , image_skyline = Market day pahiatua 1st dec 2007 1.JPG , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shi ...

, New Zealand.Speakers page
of the 10th World Conference of the International Ombudsman Institute He went on to study law, graduating

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 1962. He completed his

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

with honours two years later. Carruthers is married and has five children.

Career

Legal practice

Carruthers practised law in Wellington and Pahiatua for 20 years before moving to

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Judiciary

In 1985, Carruthers was appointed as a judge in the Family Court in Wellington. Five years later he became a judge in the Youth Court, eventually being appointed as Principal Youth Court Judge. In 2000, Carruthers was asked to lead a Ministerial Taskforce on Youth Offending to come up with initiatives designed to reduce youth crime after

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

figures showed that "over the 1990s, offending by 10- to 16-year-olds increased by 55%". In 2001, Carruthers was appointed as Chief District Court Judge, a position he held until 2005. Carruthers also served as a judge on the High Court of

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

New Zealand Parole Board

Carruthers was appointed Chairman of the

in 2005, a position he held until 2012. He was head of the Board when it made the decision to release

Graeme Burton Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan G ...

from prison in July 2006. Six months later, Burton shot and killed Karl Kuchenbecker in the hills of Wainuiomata and injured a number of others.

Independent Police Conduct Authority

In April 2012, Parliament appointed Carruthers as the new chairman of the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).

Independent Implementation Monitor

On 1 March 2021 it was announced that Carruthers would be appointed to the role of Independent Implementation Monitor to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the Victorian Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants. Carruthers provided his first report to the Attorney-General in September 2021. This report provided information to the Attorney-General for their first report to Parliament on the progress of implementation of the Royal Commission’s recommendations which was tabled in the Victorian parliament on 30 November 2021.

Public speeches

Carruthers has given speeches at numerous conferences and seminars both in New Zealand and overseas. For many years he has pushed for a more humane approach to dealing with criminal offenders advocating, in particular, for increased use of restorative and therapeutic justice approaches. He has held a number of public and charitable offices and recommended greater focus on education, and interventions for youth and families rather than locking up more and more offenders. Speaking at a criminology conference in November 2012, Carruthers commented on the reduction in New Zealand's crime rate. He believes the drop may be due to efforts to reduce the number of teenagers being suspended or expelled from school.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Carruthers was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 2005 Queen’s Birthday Honours, he was appointed as a

Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to the District Court. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, following the reinstatement of titular honours by the New Zealand government, Carruthers accepted re-designation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carruthers, David 1940s births Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Pahiatua Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand judges on the courts of Vanuatu District Court of New Zealand judges 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit 21st-century New Zealand lawyers Family Court of New Zealand judges