IR-01-26-7341
24 March 2026
Grant Chin
[FYI request #33919 email]
Dear Mr Chin,
Request for Information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request of 2 March 2026 in which
you requested:
I am seeking data regarding the recovery of stolen bicycles and e-bikes where
tracking technology was utilised by the victim. In light of the publicly reported case in
January 2024 (Auckland, Patrick Reynolds e-bike theft), where Police declined to act
despite live GPS and CCTV data, I request the fol owing for the last three calendar
years (2023, 2024, and 2025):
(1) The total number of reported bicycle/e-bike thefts where the victim provided GPS,
4G, or Bluetooth tracking data to the Police.
(2) The number of those cases where a Search Warrant was subsequently applied for
based on that tracking data.
(3) The number of those cases where Warrantless Entry powers (Search and
Surveil ance Act 2012) were exercised to recover the asset.
(4) The number of cases where Police attended the location provided by a tracker but
declined to enter the premises, citing legislative barriers or a lack of "evidentiary
sufficiency" as per the official statement in the January 2024 Reynolds case.
(5) Any internal policy documents, training manuals, or "standard operating
procedures" (SOPs) provided to frontline officers specifically addressing the minimum
evidentiary threshold required to act on consumer-grade tracking data.
I have considered your request in accordance with the OIA and consulted across a
number of work groups within the New Zealand Police.
Police would likely charge a person stealing a bike under section 219 of the Crimes Act
1961 (theft or stealing), with penalties being defined in section 223 (punishment of theft)
depending on values. There is no specific offence code for theft of a bicycle.
There is an offence under section 226 (Conversion of vehicle or other conveyance) for a
bicycle. However, there is no identified data from 2023 – 2025 involving cases with
tracking technology.
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
As I am unable to answer the first part of your request, the subsequent questions that link
off that also cannot be answered. The Police Data Team has also confirmed it has been
unable to extract the data requested in parts (1) to (4) above. These parts of your request
are therefore refused pursuant to section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is not held.
Regarding your query at item (5), in certain circumstances Police are granted warrantless
powers to enter and search places, vehicles and things under the Search and
Surveil ance Act 2012 (S&SA).
Police has proactively released a number of Police chapters:
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publications/corporate/police-manual-chapters
This includes the Search Police manual chapter, of which part 3 is relevant to your
request.
It states:
“The 'Search' Police Manual chapter outlines Police powers under the Act and is Police’s
primary reference on practice and policy relating to searches of places, vehicles and
things, and for searching people. Some parts of this chapter have been considered not
appropriate for release and, if requested, would be withheld under the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act). In these parts of the chapter, the relevant sections of the Act that
would apply have been identified.”
You can read part 3 here:
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/search-part-3-
warrantless-powers-to-search-places-vehicles-and-things-170326.pdf
For your convenience a PDF version is included in this response.
On page 28 of that document, it outlines considerations for Police when assessing
complaints involving lost or stolen consumer items that generate tracking data.
It supports staff in determining the appropriate course of action and also provides links to
three related documents that examine these issues in greater depth, al of which have
been included in this response:
•
GPS Tracking and the S and S Act 2017.pdf
•
WiFi Tracking Powers etc 2018.pdf
•
WiFi Tracking Process and Appreciation 2018.pdf
Some details from these documents have been withheld pursuant to section 9(2)(a) of the
OIAas the withholding of the information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural
persons, including that of deceased natural persons.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of this
decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Dalziel
High Tech Crime Group
Police National Headquarters
