Redaction of a document already released

B. White made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police

The request was refused by New Zealand Police.

From: B. White

Dear New Zealand Police,

Please supply all information pertaining to the decision making process regarding the release of the of the two linked documents in particular the differences in decision making for the sections which are redacted in one release but not the other. This could be (but is not limited to) emails, memos, or information known by the police but not yet written down.

I am trying to understand why the release of the redacted sections might prejudice the maintenance of the law in one case, but not in another.

If the two documents are different versions (which I cannot tell from my end) please also provide comment as far as practicably allowed as to the extent of change to the redacted sections. For example please let me know if they are substantially the same, or contain major revisions.

If it helps you in processing my request - I reside in New Zealand.

https://fyi.org.nz/request/12018/respons...

https://fyi.org.nz/request/8675/response...

Yours faithfully,
Brendan White

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police

Tēnā koe Brendan
I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act (OIA) request below, received by New Zealand Police on 29 July 2022.

Your request is being actioned pursuant to the OIA. You can expect a response to your request on or before 26 August 2022.

Kind regards, Dylan
Ministerial Services PNHQ

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From: B. White

Hi there,

I note that this request has now passed the maximum statutory timeframe for both response, and extension of time notification.

Can you please give me an update of when to expect a response to this request.

Yours sincerely,

B. White

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police

Mōrena Brendan

Although I am unable to confirm a release date at this stage, I expect you will receive a response before this weeks end. I can confirm that your request has been drafted and is currently progressing through the latter end of our internal consultation process.

Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with a response to your query.
We are endeavouring to provide this to you as soon as possible.

Ngā mihi

Julián (he/him)
Ministerial Services Advisor
NZ Police National Headquarters Wellington
If you’re wondering about the use of pronouns in email signatures, you can find more information here about how sharing pronouns can help create a sense of belonging and respect.
                   

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From: B. White

Good morning,

Can you please confirm if you are giving notice of an extension of time?

I'm sure you will already know, that extension of time notices must be made within the original 20 days and must contain certain information (which your previous response did not have).

Nga mihi,

B. White

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Mark Hanna left an annotation ()

I suspect NZ Police knows they don't have a lawful reason to extend the deadline on your request, otherwise they may have done so prior to the deadline.

Under the circumstances, an apology and an estimate of when you can receive a response is better than leaving you in the dark. But it doesn't change the fact that NZ Police is breaking the law.

I think it's likely that the delay is essentially due to the chronic under-resourcing of the OIA team operating at PNHQ. But the OIA doesn't allow for deadlines to be extended due to a heavy workload.

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police


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Tēnā koe Brendan                                  

Please find attached the response to your Official Information Act
request, received by New Zealand Police on 29 July 2022.

 

Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with this
response.

Ngā mihi

 

Jeremy
Ministerial Services |

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From: B. White

Dear Ministerial Services,

Thank you for the documents provided, however your response contains no explanation as to why the police redacted the document and marked the redaction as being made under section 6(c). Your response only appears to confirm that only that it did do this, and provided evidence to the fact that a cover sheet was produced for each.

Am I correct in inferring, from the lack of addressing the substance of my request, that police do not know why they redacted these parts under section 6(c)? Or is it the case that police redacted these sections on other grounds, and marked these redactions with the incorrect section when doing so.

While comment has been made as to the documents being two versions of the same policy, no information has been tendered to my query as to the extent of change between the two - can you please comment on the extent of change in the redacted sections per my original request.

Yours sincerely,

B. White

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police


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Kia ora Brendan

 

You have been provided with Police’s response to your request.  

 

You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review the decision if you are
not satisfied with the response to your request. Information about how to
make a complaint is available at: [1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.

Ngā mihi

Sarah

Ministerial Services | Police National Headquarters

 

 

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B. White left an annotation ()

Complaint with the Ombudsman has been made.

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Mark Hanna left an annotation ()

I hope you also included NZ Police's unlawful delay in responding to your request in your complaint?

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B. White left an annotation ()

I sure did.

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B. White left an annotation ()

As of yesterday - the Office of the Ombudsman has written to the Commissioner of Police to commence the investigation.

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B. White left an annotation ()

Update received today.

Office of the Ombudsman has received a response from Police - and they are currently reviewing this.

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B. White left an annotation ()

Text below is from Ombudsman letter received 13 June 2024.

Appendix has been left out to avoid being ranty - per moderation policy.

External link mentioned is https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mr White

Official Information Act investigation
New Zealand Police
Request for information relating to redactions to documents

I refer to Manager Alice Cameron’s letter of 13 May 2024, concerning your complaint about the decision of New Zealand Police (Police) on your request for information.
Ms Cameron advised you that she had written to Police seeking some further comments. I have now received Police’s response, and I am able to advise you of my final opinion on your complaint.
Having considered all the issues raised, I have now formed the opinion that:
1. Police’s decision on the part of your request for all information pertaining to the decision-making process regarding the Long request of 2020 and the Joseph request of 2018 was unreasonable, because it ought to have a record of the reasons why information was withheld;
2. Police’s response to the part of your request for the extent of the change between the redacted section of the document in the Long request and the same document in the Joseph request was unreasonable, because its response was incomplete; and
3. Police has acted contrary to law by failing to make a decision on your request within the statutory timeframe.

I attach in Appendix 1 extracts from Ms Cameron’s letter of 13 May 2024 to Police, which explain the basis of my opinion. As a result of that letter, Police wrote to you on 5 June 2024, and provided you with a speculative explanation about the redactions that it made to the Long request, and why the decision it made on that request was different to the decision it made on the Joseph request. It also advised that the redacted content in the Long response is substantially the same as the content that it released in the Joseph response, and apologised for its previous incomplete response to you.
I understand from your email of 5 June 2024 to Investigator Jessie Scott, that Police’s response indicates to you that it does not consistently apply section 6(c) of the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) and that it does not keep records to document its reasoning when it makes the decision to redact information. You also advised that you are disappointed with the length of time it took Police to provide you with a complete response to your information request.

In Ms Cameron’s letter to Police, she advised that I would be likely to recommend that Police:
1. provide you with a speculative explanation as to why redactions were made under section 6(c) of the OIA to the Long request, and why the decisions on the Long and Joseph requests were different;
2. review its record-keeping practices with regard to documenting the rationale for its decisions to refuse or partially refuse information requests; and
3. apologise to you for its incomplete response and provide you with a response as to the extent of differences between the redacted content in the Long request and the released content in the Joseph request.

Police has now provided you with a response that addresses my first and third likely recommendations. Police has also advised my Office that it is currently working to publish the Police Instructions on its external webpage, including those at issue in the Long and Joseph requests.
In relation to my second likely recommendation, Police has advised that its current ICT infrastructure is not sophisticated enough to support the search of previous similar information requests, and that even if it was, Police staff would need to undertake significant work in the analysis of search results. I accept Police’s view that this is therefore not a realistic solution to the issue of consistency in decision-making. However, Police has proposed including a box in the OIA Request Cover Sheets (which it uses for information request sign-outs), in which the reasons for any redactions that have been made to information are noted. Police consider that this would help to ensure there is a recorded rationale for its decisions going forward.
Given that Police has already complied with my likely recommendations, it is not necessary for me to make any formal recommendation in this case.

I have now completed my investigation.

Yours sincerely

Peter Boshier
Chief Ombudsman

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Things to do with this request

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