Tēnā koutou,

I am concerned by what appears to be multiple instances of police officers abusing the greater powers afforded to them by the current increased COVID-19 Alert Level.

In particular, a video has been published which shows three police officers trying to prevent a member of the public from filming a group of police officers who appeared to be using significant force against another member of the public.

In the video, the three police officers continued to approach the person making the recording for some time after he asked them clearly “Could you keep your distance please?”

I am concerned that these officers chose to put the member of the public’s safety at risk by continuing to approach him, with the intent of effectively forcing him to move away from the events he was attempting to film.

I am particularly concerned that police officers abusing their powers during increased COVID-19 Alert Levels may be undermining confidence in the public health restrictions Police are meant to be enforcing.

Please release the following information:

1. Since 1 January 2020, what advice or guidance has been given to police officers regarding how to respond if a member of the public films their activities?

2. Under COVID-19 Alert Level 1, filming police officers is not unlawful. What advice has Police received regarding whether or not filming police officers under increased COVID-19 Alert Levels is lawful?

3. I understand that the exemption in s23(l) of the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Alert Level Requirements) Order (No 9) 2021 means nothing in the order applies to the New Zealand Police, including the 1-metre and 2-metre distancing rules. What advice or guidance has been given to police officers regarding when they must or should maintain distance from members of the public under the current COVID-19 Alert Level restrictions, and under which circumstances may they get close to members of the public?

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.

As my request relates directly to police accountability during the current COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown, I ask that you please treat my request as urgent.

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

Tēnā koe Michelle,

Thanks for your quick acknowledgement. I'm a little confused by that date though. Police received my request on 29 August, not this morning. As I'm sure you're aware, the Ombudsman's guide on requests made online clarifies that requests made via email are received when they enter the agency's systems:

"Where an agency has designated a particular information system (like an email address, Twitter account, or Facebook page) for the purpose of receiving electronic communications, those communications will be taken to be received at the time they enter the information system, not when they come to the agency’s attention.

So whenever the email, tweet or post enters the system, that’s when it’s received. Use that date as the day of receipt for the purpose of calculating the maximum 20 working days for responding to an official information request. This is so regardless of whether the email, tweet or post was received outside business hours."

https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/site...

By my calculations, 20 working days from that date of receipt would be 24 September 2021, not 27 September 2021. Checking with the OIA calculator on the Ombudsman's website also gives this result: https://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/agen...

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

Tēnā koe,

Can you please confirm for me that this request is on schedule to receive a response as soon as reasonably practicable?

As of today, only three working days remain before the latest date by which NZ Police must communicate their decision to me, barring any extension under section 15A of the OIA, and the COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown still in place in Auckland is due to end at 11:59pm tonight.

I clearly asked when I initially made this request on August 29 that it be treated as urgent, as it relates directly to police accountability during the current COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown, but so far I have heard nothing from NZ Police since our exchange over the initial acknowledgement of my request.

However, I do not believe my request has been treated with any urgency by NZ Police.

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna