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DX SX10088 | Wel ington
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[email address] | www.justice.govt.nz
19 December 2024
Lance D. Lavery
[FYI request #29284 email]
Ref: OIA 117786
Tēnā koe Lance
Official Information Act request: Legislative frameworks
Thank you for your email of 22 November 2024, to the Ministry of Justice (the Ministry)
requesting, under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act) information relating to legislative
frameworks. Specifically, you requested:
1. Does the Policing Act 2008, or any other relevant legislation, impose legal
obligations on police constables to identify themselves during public interactions?
If so, please provide the specific sections or provisions that outline these obligations.
2. Are there any legislative guidelines regarding the methods or forms of identification
constables must provide (e.g., name, QID number, or display of an official ID card)?
3. What remedies or legal recourse are available to members of the public if a
constable refuses to identify themselves?
If no explicit remedy exists in the legislation, are there broader mechanisms under
public law to address such refusals?
4. Has the Ministry of Justice conducted or commissioned any reviews, reports, or
policy advice on the topic of police accountability and public interactions, specifically
regarding officer identification? If available, I would appreciate copies or summaries of
such materials.
In response to parts one to three of your request, I understand that you made an identical
request to the New Zealand Police. Please refer to their response to you for these parts of
your request. The Ministry does not hold this information. These parts of your request are
therefore refused under section 18(g) of the Act as the information requested is not held by
the Ministry and I have no grounds for believing it is held by another agency or Minister.
In response to part four of your request, the Ministry holds no information within scope of this
request. Therefore, this part of your request is also refused under section 18(g) of the Act.
If you require further information, please contact social Media Manager Joe Locke at
[email address]
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at:
Of icial Information Act responses | New Zealand Ministry of Justice
If you are not satisfied with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman under section 28(3) of the Act. The Office of the Ombudsman may be
contacted by email to [email address] or by phone on 0800 802 602.
Nāku noa, nā
Louise Ainsley
Manager, Ministerial Services
