Source: Radio New Zealand
Enhanced data management will be “essential to building and maintaining public trust and confidence”, say official police documents. File photo. RNZ / Richard Tindiller
A rush to deliver police new powers has not been matched by promised government funding for the technology needed to carry out those powers.
Police need two new or improved tech systems – one to handle the photos of people and other data generated by enhanced intelligence gathering; and one to issue new infringements under a Bill before parliament.
Official papers say enhanced data management will be “essential to building and maintaining public trust and confidence” and to “establish appropriate constraints” around what data police collected and how they used it.
RNZ inquiries show police are paying for the new infringements system out of an “underspend” last year, and there is no funding for a new data management system.
Police Minister Mark Mitchell was told by police last year that “an important complement to the immediate statutory reform we are progressing, will be the need to consider opportunities to enhance police information management and data protection and security measures”.
Another official paper, written six months ago, said: “This work is likely to be significant and will likely require a business case to be developed, for consideration in a future Budget cycle.”
But Mitchell’s office told RNZ this week: “To clarify, the aim is for police to find solutions through enhancing existing technologies. No additional funding has been sought at this stage.”
Mitchell said he could not comment on any work underway on the development of a newly funded Digital Evidence Management System “as clearly an investment of this kind would require additional funding, likely through a Budget process”.
Legislation and technology ‘in parallel’
Official papers mentioned the significance and complexity of the proposed law changes, and how building better data systems to implement them was a matter of trust.
“Police will progress enhancements to data management controls and assurance processes in parallel with the development and progression of the bill and will continue
following commencement of the legislation,” said one.
“These enhancements will be essential to building and maintaining public trust and confidence in police’s information management practices and treatment of personal information and helping ensure compliance with relevant Privacy Act obligations and principles.”
Police told Mitchell in a proactively-released briefing in May: “It is important that, as we establish lawful authority to record visual and other information, we have information systems that enable us to ensure effective storage, retention, searching and destruction of these images.”
This was partly because it was poor data and evidence handling by police that led to a 2022 inquiry and a Supreme Court ruling last year that constrained their powers.
Police were criticised in 2022 for the haphazard storage and handling of tens of thousands of casually-taken photos of Māori youth and others. Attempts by police to put better technology in place missed a deadline set by the Privacy Commissioner.
Not looking – or looking?
Police told RNZ last week they were not looking at any data tech options.
“As this bill has only just begun going through the parliamentary process police has not yet commenced work to investigating supporting technologies that may be required in preparation for implementation,” they said.
But this week they said they were “continuing” to work on the most effective means of managing data. “We are looking at our existing technology and at additional opportunities presented via things such as our Digital Notebook app.”
The papers showed that police had been pushing since last May for “urgent” law change – the earliest date put forward to enact it was by December 2025.
Mitchell responded enthusiastically, but police had to ease up when early engagement with the Justice Ministry and Privacy Commissioner “highlighted the level of challenge likely to be encountered” while noting that “Police has not been well positioned to respond to those concerns to date.”
Freeing up new intel-gathering tech
One driver of the Bill – and of the need to upgrade to a digital evidence management system – was so that new technologies such as body-worn cameras could be introduced more easily.
“The methods and channels by which police collects personal information have changed as a result of technological developments,” said the regulatory impact statement.
“New technology capabilities are supporting policing practices here and internationally, and are creating new opportunities for more effective policing.”
The papers listed other intelligence-gathering tech police might want to harness more: “Mobile phones, high-resolution cameras, drones, Police Eagle helicopter footage, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera networks in urban and rural locations, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), retail camera convergence platforms (for example, Auror and SaferCities), online open-source search tools, waste-water testing, and geospatial and geolocation tools.”
They also noted how “some of this personal information may have an unknown specific intelligence use at the time of collection” – so the Bill sought to give police the freedom to use it in future.
Critics have voiced concerns that this opens the gate too far, without setting up strong safeguards.
Enhanced information systems were seen as a safeguard. “Further information management investment will assist with strengthening these safeguard [sic], ensuring police is meeting its current requirements, and maintaining public trust and confidence,” said the impact statement.
“Whether any investment required will be met through existing baseline, or through a Budget bid, would be addressed through any necessary assessment.”
New infringement system this year
Lack of funding has also delayed replacement of the Police Infringement Processing System (PIPS) for at least eight years, despite it being overloaded and unable to process anything other than traffic offences.
It had to be replaced for the amendment Bill to be implemented this year.
The Bill would give police new powers to detain and fine people in areas they have declared temporarily off-limits, and the old PIPS could not handle this.
Mitchell told RNZ its replacement would be completed this year, but gave no firm date.
The government aims to enact the policing amendment Bill after the select committee reports back in July.
“Police is developing a phased programme of work to transition to the new system which will support enforcement of the new infringement offences as well as existing infringements,” Mitchell said.
“No new funding has been allocated to this development. The system has been funded from Vote Police underspend from the 2024/5 financial year.”
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
