ANPR Audit results - Auror & vGRID - Surveillance Device Warrants / Privacy Act / Production Orders (re-request 2)

M B made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police

The request was partially successful.

From: M B

Dear New Zealand Police,

After media reports of the Police misuse of Auror and vGRID in September 2022, the Police conducted an audit of the 350,000+ vehicle location / information searches from between 2018 and October 2022 on their third-party ANPR surveillance systems, namely Auror and SaferCities (vGRID).

The Police previously refused my request on (a) how many live ANPR alerts (tracking) were conducted on Auror and vGRID; and (b) how many surveillance device warrants had been obtained for Auror and vGRID. (Refused - https://fyi.org.nz/request/20598-anpr-tr... then https://fyi.org.nz/request/21129/respons...)

This information is now held by the Police in an accessible dataset, as indicated by the Police's recent publication on the Audit process:

The audit involved "extracting aggregate raw data files [for all] queries ... [on Auror and vGRID, then] match[ed] other data available in Police’s National Intelligence Application (NIA) including ... warrant information to produce a dataset ... " (https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default...)

Accordingly, please provide:
- an Excel file of the cited dataset with personal information removed.

Alternatively, if the Police are not willing to release the dataset, please provide:
- The number of historic / retrospective ANPR searches conducted per year audited.
- The number of Live / Active Detection Capability ANPR alerts conducted per year audited.
- The number of ANPR queries conducted under a tracking warrant, categorised by query type (live or retrospective) and year.
- The number of ANPR queries conducted under a production order or general warrant, categorised by query type (live or retrospective) and year.
- The number of ANPR queries conducted under the Privacy Act (Such as the supposed IPP11 authority cited in the Police manual chapter), categorised by query type (live or retrospective) and year.
- The number of ANPR queries conducted under any other Authority, categorised by query type (live or retrospective), authorising enactment or circumstance (Health Act for example), and year.
- The number of ANPR queries conducted where an officer did not enter information related to the circumstances of the request in the applications before conducting the searches (for instance, as would be required to satisfy IPP 11 of the Privacy Act which the Police manual chapter suggests as an authority). Categorised by query type (live or retrospective), authority (warrant, Privacy Act, etc), and year.

If you are to refuse my request due to substantial collation or research, please provide the format in which the "dataset" is in - how the data is categorised and filtered, so that a refined request can be made.

Yours faithfully,
Mason.

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police

Tēnā koe Mason
I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 request below, received by Police on 10 June 2023.

Your reference number is IR-01-23-18049

You can expect a response to your request on or before 7 July 2023 unless an extension is needed.

Ngā mihi
Courtenay
Ministerial Services
Police National Headquarters

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police


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Kia ora Mason

 

I refer to your request of 10 June 2023, regarding an audit of New Zealand
Police’s use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) platforms.

 

You requested the following:

 

Accordingly, please provide:

- an Excel file of the cited dataset with personal information removed.

 

Alternatively, if the Police are not willing to release the dataset,
please provide:

- The number of historic / retrospective ANPR searches conducted per year
audited.

- The number of Live / Active Detection Capability ANPR alerts conducted
per year audited.

- The number of ANPR queries conducted under a tracking warrant,
categorised by query type (live or retrospective) and year.

- The number of ANPR queries conducted under a production order or general
warrant, categorised by query type (live or retrospective) and year.

- The number of ANPR queries conducted under the Privacy Act (Such as the
supposed IPP11 authority cited in the Police manual chapter), categorised
by query type (live or retrospective) and year.

- The number of ANPR queries conducted under any other Authority,
categorised by query type (live or retrospective), authorising enactment
or circumstance (Health Act for example), and year.

- The number of ANPR queries conducted where an officer did not enter
information related to the circumstances of the request in the
applications before conducting the searches (for instance, as would be
required to satisfy IPP 11 of the Privacy Act which the Police manual
chapter suggests as an authority). Categorised by query type (live or
retrospective), authority (warrant, Privacy Act, etc), and year.

 

It is necessary for Police to extend the time limit under s15A(1)(b) of
the OIA, as the consultations necessary to make a decision on your request
are such that a proper response to the request cannot reasonably be made
within the original time limit.

 

Police requires until 24 July 2023 to provide a substantive response to
your request. If it is possible to get information to you ahead of this
new deadline, every effort will be made to do so.

 

You have the right, under section 28(3) of the OIA, to make a complaint to
an Ombudsman about this extension.

 

If you wish to discuss any aspect of your request with us, including this
decision, please feel free to contact
[1][email address].

 

Kind regards

 

Tobias Vandenberg

Senior Advisor | Ministerial Services | Police National Headquarters

 

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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police


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Tēnā koe Mason                                  

Please find attached the response to your Official Information Act
request, received by New Zealand Police on 10 June 2023.

 

Ngā mihi

Dylan

 

Advisor | Ministerial Services | Police National Headquarters  

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===============================================================

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

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