Miss Bartlett Dials 111 (Press, 26 February 1985)

On 26 February 1985, a situation unfolded at the Naenae movie theatre in Wellington when Miss Patricia Bartlett, a member of the Society for the Protection of Community Standards, called 111 to report concerns about underage patrons watching the R13 film "The Terminator." Miss Bartlett, who attended the movie, stepped out during the interval to alert the police as she believed that several viewers were younger than the required age. Senior-Sergeant Jim Keogh responded to the call with a sergeant and a constable who arrived at the theatre to investigate. They interviewed two individuals present, who were both found to be of legal age to watch the film. Despite Miss Bartlett's claims that there were at least 20 children in the audience under the age of 13, the search for those individuals was complicated by the timing of the police's arrival; the interval had ended, and the lights were off in the theatre, making it impossible for Bartlett to identify the alleged minors. The police did not take further action, stating they were not inclined to stop the film to conduct a search. When questioned about her decision to use the emergency number, Miss Bartlett explained that the phone boxes in the area were inadequately lit, preventing her from easily locating the non-emergency contact number for the Lower Hutt police. Bartlett had attended the film specifically to assess its content in relation to the R13 rating, noting that it had received an R18 classification in Britain. Ultimately, she agreed with the R13 rating, describing the film as filled with sadistic violence and obscene language.

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