Tēnā koe Joel,

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

Your reference number is IR-01-25-41908.

You can expect a response to your request on or before 16 March 2025 unless an extension is needed.

Ngā mihi

Jonelle|Advisor: Ministerial Services |(she/her)
Policy & Partnerships |Police National Headquarters |

-----Original Message-----
From: J. P. W. Pitt <[FOI #32884 email]>
Sent: Monday, 17 November 2025 4:10 pm
To: Ministerial Services <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - Detection thresholds for the DrugWipe 3S which is being used for saliva drug testing

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the New Zealand Police Network. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and are assured that the content is safe.

Dear New Zealand Police,

I am a concerned resident of New Zealand and live in the Wellington region.

You have recently announced that the DrugWipe 3S will be used for road-side drug saliva testing, which is being trialled in Wellington this December 2025.

The law and demerit system has clear thresholds for impairment via alcohol, yet does not provide any thresholds for other substances. This makes it impossible to know what the law considers to impair driving, and it is now coupled to how a proprietary testing device behaves.

I believe it is in the public's interest - and I am requesting under the OIA - the purported detection thresholds, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, false positive and false negative rate for the DrugWipe 3S against each substance it can detect.

This will allow the New Zealand public compare to the recommendations of the Independent Expert Panel published by the Ministry of Transport here: https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Upl...

Without this information citizens of New Zealand will be unable to determine exactly how long to wait after using a substance, before it is "safe" to drive according to the law.

Separately, I am also requesting how much each test is costing the tax payer.

Yours faithfully,
Joel Pitt, PhD

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #32884 email]

Is [New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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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Apologies Joel,
This is due to you by the 15 December 2025.

Jonelle|Advisor: Ministerial Services |(she/her)
Policy & Partnerships |Police National Headquarters |

-----Original Message-----
From: Ministerial Services
Sent: Monday, 17 November 2025 4:22 pm
To: J. P. W. Pitt <[FOI #32884 email]>
Subject: OIA Acknowledgement IR-01-25-41908

Tēnā koe Joel,

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request below.

Your reference number is IR-01-25-41908.

You can expect a response to your request on or before 16 March 2025 unless an extension is needed.

Ngā mihi

Jonelle|Advisor: Ministerial Services |(she/her)
Policy & Partnerships |Police National Headquarters |

-----Original Message-----
From: J. P. W. Pitt <[FOI #32884 email]>
Sent: Monday, 17 November 2025 4:10 pm
To: Ministerial Services <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - Detection thresholds for the DrugWipe 3S which is being used for saliva drug testing

CAUTION: This email originated from outside the New Zealand Police Network. DO NOT click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and are assured that the content is safe.

Dear New Zealand Police,

I am a concerned resident of New Zealand and live in the Wellington region.

You have recently announced that the DrugWipe 3S will be used for road-side drug saliva testing, which is being trialled in Wellington this December 2025.

The law and demerit system has clear thresholds for impairment via alcohol, yet does not provide any thresholds for other substances. This makes it impossible to know what the law considers to impair driving, and it is now coupled to how a proprietary testing device behaves.

I believe it is in the public's interest - and I am requesting under the OIA - the purported detection thresholds, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity, false positive and false negative rate for the DrugWipe 3S against each substance it can detect.

This will allow the New Zealand public compare to the recommendations of the Independent Expert Panel published by the Ministry of Transport here: https://www.transport.govt.nz/assets/Upl...

Without this information citizens of New Zealand will be unable to determine exactly how long to wait after using a substance, before it is "safe" to drive according to the law.

Separately, I am also requesting how much each test is costing the tax payer.

Yours faithfully,
Joel Pitt, PhD

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #32884 email]

Is [New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using this form:
https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...

Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA page.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

hide quoted sections