Tēnā koe Nigel,

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act 1982 request below, received by Police on 13 May 2026.

Your reference number is IR-01-26-17181.

You can expect a response to your request on or before 12 June 2026 unless an extension is needed.

Ngā mihi,

Keenia
Advisor | Ministerial Services
Police National Headquarters

-----Original Message-----
From: Nigel Gray <[FOI #34696 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, 13 May 2026 1:51 PM
To: Ministerial Services <[email address]>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Official Information request - Crash classification, toxicology status, and coronialpending information

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.

To: New Zealand Police

Dear New Zealand Police,

I am making a new request for official information under the Official Information Act 1982.

This request concerns information held by New Zealand Police relating to:

Traffic Crash Reports (TCRs)

toxicology testing and status

coronial referral status

medical‑event identification

drug/alcohol involvement

and Police guidance for completing crash reports.

In response to my earlier request (which Police transferred to NZTA), NZTA stated that Police hold several categories of information that NZTA does not. For example:

“New Zealand Police also records drug and alcohol test results and comment in TCRs…”
“NZTA has no knowledge of what might be pending. This would need to be referred to the Coroner’s Court.”
“NZTA does not hold any information regarding coding used by New Zealand Police.”

Accordingly, I request the following information held by New Zealand Police:

1. Traffic Crash Report (TCR) guidance and instructions Please provide all internal Police documents, manuals, instructions, training material, or guidance used by officers when completing a TCR, including:

how officers identify and record a suspected medical event,

how officers identify and record drug involvement,

how officers identify and record alcohol involvement,

how officers determine whether a crash should be referred to the Coroner,

how officers record pending toxicology,

how officers record medical history, symptoms, or collapse at the wheel,

and any factor‑coding or narrative conventions used by Police.

This includes any Serious Crash Unit (SCU) guidance.

2. Toxicology processes and status information Please provide:

the process Police follow when requesting toxicology after a crash,

how Police record the status of toxicology (e.g., “pending”, “requested”, “received”),

how Police record toxicology results in TCRs or associated systems,

any internal guidance on interpreting toxicology results for crash classification,

and any documents describing how Police communicate toxicology outcomes to NZTA.

3. Coronial referral and pending‑status information Please provide:

the criteria Police use to determine whether a crash fatality is referred to the Coroner,

how Police record coronial referral status in their systems,

how Police record cases where coronial findings are pending,

and any documents describing how Police track coronial outcomes for crash cases.

4. Classification logic used by Police
Please provide any internal Police documents, guidance, or criteria used to determine when a crash is considered:

a medical event,

drug‑related,

alcohol‑related,

or otherwise flagged for NZTA as involving impairment or sudden illness.

This includes any definitions, thresholds, or decision rules used by Police when forming the narrative that NZTA later codes into CAS.

5. Information about the transfer of my previous request Please provide:

any internal Police correspondence, emails, or notes relating to the decision to transfer my previous request to NZTA,

including any assessment of what information Police believed they did or did not hold.

I am happy to receive this information electronically.

Yours faithfully,

Nigel Gray

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

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[FOI #34696 email]

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