Body Camera's
Liam made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police
The request was partially successful.
From: Liam
Dear New Zealand Police,
This is a request for information, made under ss 4 and 5 of the Official Information Act 1982 (“the Act”). I therefore would like the following information;
1. Any reports, documents or studies on the use of body cameras by Police both in New Zealand, and other jurisdictions and departments. This is in relation to the below article:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nz-priso...
2. If there are none, or are not available, what are Police doing when it has been stated that they are "investigating whether or not body cameras would be beneficial". If there are any documents in relation to this response, please provide them.
Please CONFIRM receipt of this email to prevent unnecessary follow-up emails and extensions being requested.
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As required by s12(1) of the Act, I am a New Zealand citizen. I will provide confirmation of this, if required. However, since all of our correspondence will be published on the FYI.org.nz site, I will only do so over the phone or email, with which you provide. This would only be for the purpose of citizenship confirmation, and nothing further related to this request.
As required by s12(3) of the Act, I shall provide reason(s) why this request should be treated as URGENT. The questions above raise important issues of accountability of the Government, its departments and agents. Any and all information provided as a result of this request could and may be published either by the writer online to a wide audience or passed onto media outlets for publication so that the public can be kept informed on important issues of transparency.
As required by s13(c) of the Act, if this request “has not been made … to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority”, it is your duty to give reasonable assistance to me to direct my request to the appropriate department or Minister of the Crown or organisation or local authority.
Further to the above statutory requirement, under s14 of the Act, if the information I seek is either not held or you believe it is more closely connected with another department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or of a local authority you shall promptly, and in any case not later than 10 working days after the day on which the request is received, transfer the request to the other department or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or to that local authority, AND inform me accordingly.
As required under s15A of the Act, if you believe that a time extension is warranted for this request, you must under ss15A(2),(3) and (4) give notice to me of this extension within 20 working days after the day on which my request was received. In that notice, you should state; the period of the extension, give reasons for the extension and remind me of my right to complain to the Ombudsman under s28(3). Finally, the extension must be for a reasonable time, having regards to the circumstances.
As required by s18B of the Act, you must consider consulting me before refusing my request under the provisions of ss18(e) and (f) which relate to a document not being able to be found or existing or where substantial collation and research would be required for my current request.
As required by s19(a)(i), you must provide reasons if you refuse any parts of this request.
I will, if required, complain to the Ombudsman, as is my right under s28(3) of the Act, if any of the above statutory requirements on you are not complied with. Further to this, if your reply is not “as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day on which the request is received” as required under s15(1) of the Act, I will also complain to the Ombudsman.
This request is made through the site FYI.org.nz. All correspondence will be automatically forwarded to me through the site and published online immediately. I require, where appropriate, all electronic copies of all documents in your response. For more information on how the site works, please visit www.fyi.org.nz/help/about.
Yours faithfully,
Liam Stoneley
From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police
Dear Mr Stoneley
Your request of 24 June 2015 for information about body cameras has been
received and is being processed.
Your sincerely
Teresa McMahon
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
From: THOMSON, Raewyn
New Zealand Police
Dear Mr Stoneley
I refer to your Official Informatin Act request of 24 June 2015. You
requested the following information:
1. Any reports, documents or studies on the use of body cameras by
Police both in New Zealand, and other jurisdictions and departments. This
is in relation to the below article:
[1]http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nz-priso...
2.
. If there are none, or are not available, what are Police doing when it
has been stated that they are "investigating whether or not body cameras
would be beneficial". If there are any documents in relation to this
response, please provide them.
Pursuant to section 15A of the Official Information Act 1982, I advise you
of the requirement to extend the time limit to respond to your requests.
The period of the extension is until 21 August 2015.
The reason for the extension is that the time required to research and
collate the requested information and for the consultations necessary to
make a decision on the request are such that a proper response cannot
reasonably be made within the original time limit.
You have the right, under section 28(3) of the Official Information Act
1982, to ask the Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision to extend
the time limit for deciding upon your request.
Yours sincerely
‘Raewyn Thomson
Executive and Ministerial Services
===============================================================
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
References
Visible links
1. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/nz-priso...
From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police
===============================================================
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
From: Liam
Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,
In your response, it is stated that some information requested is declined as it is publicly available. Please provide an index of those documents.
I look forward to your reply within 20 working days.
Yours sincerely,
Liam Stoneley
From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police
Dear Liam Stoneley
Your request has been received and will be processed under the Official Information Act.
Can you please clarify which of your previous requests, or which topic, your email relates to?
That would be appreciated.
Thank you
show quoted sections
From: Liam
Dear MCMAHON, Teresa,
Your letter is found at:
https://fyi.org.nz/request/2875-body-cam...
Or alternatively, the letter has the subject name:
Stoneley Liam 15 130 13 reply
Yours sincerely,
Liam Stoneley
From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police
Thank you. That is very helpful.
show quoted sections
From: MCMAHON, Teresa
New Zealand Police
===============================================================
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
Matt Taylor left an annotation ()
Hi Liam,
Can you please query the redactions in the Consultation for PEM Papers document? It's unclear what section the redactions are made under and the Police's accompanying letter only discusses pricing information being removed.
It's also interesting that it seems to be the Police's policy to withhold any Police employee's name, however they do not disclose that they have done so or that they are applying the privacy section of the OIA.
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
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Anatoly Kern left an annotation ()
As a side note - I have asked personally a question of plans of using body cameras within NZ Police to one of the National MP's, closely associated with NZ Police.
His response was very direct - it will never happen without any reasons or explanations.
NZ Police needs to keep their secrets dark and shallow, which would be problematic with body cameras.
Link to this