The roles of "Agent Echo" and "Agent Oscar".
Sarah Jones made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police
The request was successful.
From: Sarah Jones
Dear New Zealand Police,
Under the OIA 1982, I would like to request information as to the job titles, roles and job descriptions of all Police officers, sworn/non-sworn uniformed/non-uniformed (please specify), that use the call signs "Agent Echo", followed by a number, e.g. Agent Echo 2, and "Agent Oscar", followed by a number, e.g. Agent Oscar 1, and a brief outline of their KPI's and/or targets and objectives.
As a citizen of New Zealand, I meet the legislative requirements to make this request. Please direct all responses to this inquiry through FYI.org.nz webserver, in accordance with the standard procedures for Official Information Act requests. I am aware of the right, under the Official Information Act, to have my request processed without needing to fill out any additional forms or provide further personal details through other channels.
Your attention to this request is highly valued, and I look forward to your response.
Yours faithfully,
Ms S Jones.
From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe Sarah
I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.
Your reference number is IR-01-24-3266.
You can expect a response to your request on or before 27 February 2024 unless an extension is needed.
Ngā mihi, Michelle
Ministerial Services - Police National Headquarters
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From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe S Jones
Please find attached the response relating to your Official Information
Act request, received by Police on 29 January 2024.
Ngā mihi
Lisa
Ministerial Services
Police National Headquarters
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From: Sarah Jones
Dear Ministerial Services/Detective Inspector Paul Berry,
The call signs in question, which you state "Police do not use the above call signs or position titles as outlined in your request.", ARE actively used call signs.
They have been actively used on the Hamilton radio frequencies by the Hamilton Police. I have heard the officers, who are using those call signs, communicating with "Comms" on a number of occasions, and "Comms" radioing specifically through to those call signs, stating those names.
If they are not official call signs or acknowledged as official Police employee positions/roles, and Ministerial Services are completely unaware of these call signs/positions/roles, are the officers using these call signs and/or the Hamilton Police, operating lawfully?
Yours sincerely,
Ms S Jones.
Sarah Jones left an annotation ()
Thank you C Fuller. I appreciate you taking the time to read and respond.
I wasn't the only person to hear these call signs so I'll put it to the group, though applying logic, it sounds quite feasible that we have misheard it... I do feel that your explanation is the most likely scenario.
Thank you again. 😊
From: Ministerial Services
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe
Police reiterate that the term 'Agent' is not used in any official police call signs and the initial response remains accurate. Patrol may or may not correctly use the recognised phonetic alphabet when making transmissions, meaning that errors may occur on occasions. We advise that you should not act upon police information or radio transmissions.
Ngā mihi
Lisa
Ministerial Services
Police National Headquarters
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C Fuller left an annotation ()
It seems likely that you have misheard the callsigns “HNE2” and “HNO1”. For instance the HNE2 callsign would be pronounced “H N Echo Two” - which you may have misheard as “Agent Echo Two”.
The first two letters of the callsign indicate the police station that the unit belongs to. In this instance, ‘HN’ is the station code for ‘Hamilton Central’.
The third letter indicates the ‘unit type’. The letter ‘E’ indicates the unit is an ‘Enquiry Car’, whereas the letter ‘O’ indicates the unit is a community constable.
The final number of a callsign indicates the shift that the unit belongs to.
You can read more about police callsigns in the response to the following request: https://fyi.org.nz/request/8908-nz-polic...
Link to this