Police raid

A police raid is an unexpected visit by police or other law enforcement officers, which aims to use the element of surprise to seize evidence or arrest suspects believed to be likely to hide evidence, resist arrest, endanger the public or officers if approached through other means, or simply be elsewhere at another time. Various tactics are used by law enforcement in raids that often vary based on available equipment, situational factors, laws, and police powers.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) defines a police raid as "a sudden appearance by officers for the purpose of arresting suspected law violators and seizing contraband and the means and instruments used in the commission of a crime."

Dawn raids were a common event in Auckland, New Zealand, during a crackdown on illegal overstayers from the Pacific Islands from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. The raids were first introduced in 1973 by Norman Kirk's Labour government and were continued by Robert Muldoon's National government. These operations involved special police squads conducting raids on the homes and workplaces of overstayers throughout New Zealand, usually at dawn. Overstayers and their families were often prosecuted and then deported back to their countries.

The Dawn raids were particularly controversial, because despite the fact that Pacific Islanders only made up one-third of visa over-stayers, they accounted for 86% of those arrested and prosecuted. The majority of over-stayers were from Great Britain, Australia, and South Africa. Due to opposition from the Pacific community including the Polynesian Panthers, the Labour Party, and Pacific governments, the raids were abandoned by the National Government.

In April 2021, members of the Pasifika community called for an official apology, describing the dawn raids as "government‑sanctioned racism". In mid-June 2021, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that the New Zealand Government would formally apologise for the Dawn Raids at the Auckland Town Hall on 26 June 2021.

In January 2007 Ruth Turner was arrested in a dawn raid as part of the investigation into the Cash for Peerages affair. Senior Labour politicians criticised the move; but their concern about this has been contrasted by their lack of concern at other dawn raids.

In September 2005, Manuelo Bravo killed himself following his arrest in a dawn raid. He and his son (13) were detained in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre where he had been threatened with deportation to Angola, where he feared his life was in danger as other family members had been killed there.

Dawn raids have become a regular feature in the arrest of asylum seekers in Scotland. These have caused a great deal of controversy and pressure has been brought to bear on the Scottish Executive to end the practise. Several support groups have been set up to oppose the practice of dawn raids, including the Glasgow Girls, the UNITY centre in Ibrox and No Border Network which campaigns under the slogan of "No one is illegal".