IR-01-24-30023
9 September 2024
A Stephenson
[FYI request #28092 email]
Tēnā koe A Stephenson
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request on 18 August 2024, in
which you requested information on Police’s agency-to-agency agreements and demand
service contracts. You asked:
1. Can you please tell me how many agency-to-agency agreements have entered
into force as per Policing Act 2008 s95E(1) and where you make them publicly
available.
2. Where can we find a copy of the demand service contracts you have entered into
– Policing Act 2008 s79B(1)(2).
3. please specify ‘specified demand services’ s102A(1)(a) and where we can find
the related fees and charges.
Police currently has five agency-to-agency agreements in force pursuant to sections
95B(3)(a) and 95D of the Policing Act 2008 (the Act). Section 95E(1) of the Act requires
making a copy of an agency-to-agency agreement publicly available as soon as
practicable after it enters into force. Per section 95E(4) of the Act, this section does not
apply to:
i.
an agency-to-agency agreement, or to any directions, that may be withheld under
the Official Information Act 1982 or whose existence need not be confirmed or
denied under that Act:
ii.
any provision of an agency-to-agency agreement, or of any directions, that may
be withheld under the Official Information Act 1982.
The two primary sources for the public to access Police’s agency-to-agency agreements
is via the
Publications and statistics webpage or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade’s
New Zealand Treaties Online webpage. A member of the public may also ask to
inspect an agency-to-agency agreement, free of charge, at Police National Headquarters
during normal business hours (Monday to Friday).
Here is a list of the five agency-to-agency agreements Police currently has in force:
1.
EU-NZ EUROPOL Agreement for exchange of personal data to combat
serious crime and terrorism and
EUROPOL (Working and Administrative
Arrangement). The
EUROPOL (Working and Administrative Arrangement)
agreement sits under the
EU-NZ EUROPOL agreement. The
EU-NZ EUROPOL
agreement came into force on 20/02/2023 and the scheduled review date is
31/07/2026. The
EUROPOL (Working and Administrative Arrangement) agreement
came into force on 27/11/2023 and the scheduled review date is 28/11/2028.
This agreement is publicly available on our website:
www.police.govt.nz/about-
us/structure/police-teams-and-units/europol.
2.
United States Drug Enforcement Administration (US DEA). This agreement
came into force on 16/07/2024 and the scheduled review date is 16/07/2029.
This agreement makes clear the US DEA wil not make the document publicly available in
accordance with the United States Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552. The
agreement is therefore withheld by Police under sections 6(a) and (b) of the OIA on the
link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2 link to page 2
basis that its release could prejudice the security or defence of New Zealand or the
international relations of the Government of New Zealand; or prejudice the entrusting of
information to the Government of New Zealand on a basis of confidence.
The fol owing three agreements are not currently published on our website. Police is
working with business owners to determine whether they can be made publicly available
imminently or to confirm the legal basis on which they are required to be withheld.
3.
International Anti-Corruption Coordination Centre. This agreement came into
force on 18/07/2022 and the scheduled review date is 18/07/2027.
4.
Transnational Serious & Organised Crime Taskforce (TSOC). This agreement
came into force on 13/02/2019 and the scheduled review date is 13/02/2020.
5.
Vietnam – Countering Transnational Crimes. This agreement came into force on
16/09/2019 and the scheduled review date is 16/09/2024.
A demand service is a policing service requested by an individual or organisation that is
of direct benefit to that individual or organisation (even though there may also be some
indirect benefit to the public). It does not include responding to 111 calls, conducting
criminal investigations, or prosecuting criminal offences.
The term “demand service” has been used in the Policing (Cost Recovery) Regulations
because it describes policing services that are driven by the demand or request of
individuals or organisations, rather than by Police.
The Policing (Cost Recovery) Regulations 2017
1 determined that Police vetting checks
are a “demand service”, meaning it is fair and reasonable for Police to charge for the
service. The Police Vetting Service Cost Recovery Guide
2 is publicly available along with
other Cost Recovery
3 information you may find helpful.
Police’s Vetting Service provides conviction history reports and other relevant non-
conviction information on potential employees, volunteers, and vocational trainees. This
service is provided for Approved Agencies of which Police have 14,723 active approved
agency agreements in place. A full list of Approved Vetting Agencies
4 is available on the
Police Website.
In closing, I trust the information provided satisfactorily addresses your areas of interest.
In any event, you have the right under the OIA to ask the Ombudsman to review the
handling of your request if you are not satisfied with Police’s response. Information about
how to do so is available from:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
For completeness, please also note that, as part of its commitment to openness and
transparency, Police proactively releases some information and documents that may be
of interest to the public. An anonymised version of this response may be publicly released
on the New Zealand Police website.
Respectful y
Mike Webb
Chief Assurance Officer
1
Policing (Cost Recovery) Regulations 2017
2
nzpvs-cost-recovery-guide.pdf (police.govt.nz)
3
Cost Recovery | New Zealand Police
4
List of Approved Vetting Agencies | New Zealand Police
