Temporary carriage of firearms directives
Mark Hanna made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police
The request was partially successful.
From: Mark Hanna
Tēnā koutou,
I am interested in knowing more about how Police use temporary carriage of firearms directives, such as the one issued on 1 March 2019 in Canterbury (https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...) and the one issued on 20 January 2020 in Eastern District (https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...).
I understand that these are sometimes referred to as “general arming orders”, such as in this one issued on 16 August 2019 in Waikato (https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...). I’m not sure if there might be other names also used for these directives, or if there is a preferred standard name for them.
I’m not aware of any place where information about any temporary carriage of firearms directives that are currently in place can be found. I know press releases on the NZ Police website sometimes mention that one of these directives has been issued, remains in place, or has been lifted, however in my searching though these press releases I haven’t found a consistent way to identify press releases containing information about these directives, and as far as I can tell there isn’t always a press release about one of these directives beginning and ending.
From media coverage of these directives, such as this article published by Stuff on 17 February 2020 (https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/1195696...), I am given the impression that Police keeps some form of collated records of these directives so that information such as the number of these directives given in a particular district over a particular period of time can be readily retrieved. However, I’m not sure how Police keeps records of these events.
Please release the following information:
1. Any policy or framework documents outlining how temporary carriage of firearms directives may be implemented.
2. What records does NZ Police keep regarding temporary carriage of firearms directives?
3. Is there any place where NZ Police proactively makes information about current temporary carriage of firearms directives publicly available?
Please also explain any relevant caveats that should be kept in mind when analysing this information.
Please provide this information in an accessible, searchable format.
If any part of my request is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me.
If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or would be difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily available, I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.
Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna
New Zealand Police
Dear Mr Hanna
I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (OIA) request
below, received by NZ Police on 5 June 2020.
Your request is being actioned pursuant to the Act with a response due to
you on or before 3 July 2020.
Kind regards
Fiona
Ministerial Services
PNHQ
-----"Mark Hanna" <[FOI #13035 email]> wrote:
-----
To: "OIA/LGOIMA requests at New Zealand Police"
<[New Zealand Police request email]>
From: "Mark Hanna" <[FOI #13035 email]>
Date: 05/06/2020 12:01PM
Subject: Official Information request - Temporary carriage of firearms
directives
Tēnā koutou,
I am interested in knowing more about how Police use temporary carriage of
firearms directives, such as the one issued on 1 March 2019 in Canterbury
(
[1]https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
) and the one issued on 20 January 2020 in Eastern District (
[2]https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
).
I understand that these are sometimes referred to as “general arming
orders”, such as in this one issued on 16 August 2019 in Waikato (
[3]https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
). I’m not sure if there might be other names also used for these
directives, or if there is a preferred standard name for them.
I’m not aware of any place where information about any temporary carriage
of firearms directives that are currently in place can be found. I know
press releases on the NZ Police website sometimes mention that one of
these directives has been issued, remains in place, or has been lifted,
however in my searching though these press releases I haven’t found a
consistent way to identify press releases containing information about
these directives, and as far as I can tell there isn’t always a press
release about one of these directives beginning and ending.
From media coverage of these directives, such as this article published by
Stuff on 17 February 2020 (
[4]https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/1195696...
), I am given the impression that Police keeps some form of collated
records of these directives so that information such as the number of
these directives given in a particular district over a particular period
of time can be readily retrieved. However, I’m not sure how Police keeps
records of these events.
Please release the following information:
1. Any policy or framework documents outlining how temporary carriage of
firearms directives may be implemented.
2. What records does NZ Police keep regarding temporary carriage of
firearms directives?
3. Is there any place where NZ Police proactively makes information about
current temporary carriage of firearms directives publicly available?
Please also explain any relevant caveats that should be kept in mind when
analysing this information.
Please provide this information in an accessible, searchable format.
If any part of my request is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me.
If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or would be
difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily available,
I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.
Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna
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References
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1. https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
2. https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
3. https://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/...
4. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/1195696...
5. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
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From: Mark Hanna
Kia ora,
A response to this request is due as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than the 3rd of July, which is 2 working days from today. I understand that Police's approvals process for OIA responses takes 5-7 working days. Please confirm for me whether or not the response for this request has been prepared and submitted for approval early enough that I can expect Police's decision to be communicated within the legal timeframe.
If the decision is anticipated to be unlawfully delayed past this date, without an extension being granted under section 15A of the OIA, please tell me when I can expect to receive the response and what the cause of the delay was.
Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna
From: Response & Operations
New Zealand Police
Hi Mark,
Your request is currently going through the review and signoff stage.
We are working to get the finalised response to you ASAP.
Nicholas
RESPONSE AND OPS GROUP
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street, Wellington
[1]cid:image002.png@01CF897B.1077C0A0
===============================================================
WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the
addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect
those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in
error, please email or telephone the sender immediately
References
Visible links
New Zealand Police
Kia ora Mark
Please find attached the NZ Police response to your OIA.
Kind regards
Hannah
Ministerial Services
PNHQ
===============================================================
WARNING
The information contained in this email message is intended for the
addressee only and may contain privileged information. It may also be
subject to the provisions of section 50 of the Policing Act 2008, which
creates an offence to have unlawful possession of Police property. If you
are not the intended recipient of this message or have received this
message in error, you must not peruse, use, distribute or copy this
message or any of its contents.
Also note, the views expressed in this message may not necessarily reflect
those of the New Zealand Police. If you have received this message in
error, please email or telephone the sender immediately
From: Mark Hanna
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for your response to my request. However, I am a little confused about the answer to part 2 of my request, in which I had asked "What records does NZ Police keep regarding temporary carriage of firearms directives?"
I appreciate your response that "Police is currently undertaking a review of firearms policy to include the recording of all temporary carriages of firearms". However, I do not believe this completely answers my question regarding what records Police currently keeps regarding these directives.
Should I interpret your brief answer to imply that Police does not currently keep any particular records regarding temporary carriage of firearms directives? Given the considerations you explained in your response to part 1 of my request, I would have thought Police would keep records on things such as the specific timeframe of these directives?
Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna left an annotation ()
It's been over six months. I guess Police are just not going to answer this question.
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Mark Hanna left an annotation ()
I have lodged a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the unlawful delay in NZ Police communicating their decision on this request.
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