'Do not reply to this message, this email message has been sent from an
un-monitored email address'
 
Thank you for your email Mark.
 
Your email has been forwarded to the appropriate department.
 
Please email us again at [1][New Zealand Police request email] if we can help you
any further.
 
Regards
 
New Zealand Police
 
'Do not reply to this message, this email message has been sent from an
un-monitored email address'
 
 

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

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. mailto:[New Zealand Police request email]

Dear Mr Hanna

 

I acknowledge receipt of your Official Information Act request about the
response time of official Information Act requests.

Your request is being actioned pursuant to the Official Information Act
1982.

 

 

Ngā mihi

 

Holly Foxwell

Ministerial Services Officer

Ministerial Services

 

E [1][email address]

 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

[3]cid:image011.png@01D3C5CF.0D3B7960[4]cid:image005.png@01D3C5CE.CD2D9DD0[5]cid:image012.png@01D3C5CF.0D3B7960[6]cid:image013.png@01D3C5CF.0D3B7960

 

To: OIA/LGOIMA requests at New Zealand Police
<[7][New Zealand Police request email]>
From: Mark Hanna <[8][FYI request #7621 email]>
Date: 16/04/2018 12:23PM
Subject: Official Information request - OIA response time statistics

Tēnā koutou,

For the past four years, I have been keeping records of the time it takes
for various agencies to respond to requests I’ve made to them under the
OIA and LGOIMA via the website fyi.org.nz. I’ve noticed, over this
relatively small data set, that response times have fallen into three
roughly equal groups:

- Responses received before the due date
- Responses received on the due date (the majority of which are received
after 4pm)
  - Responses received after the due date

I think this may be indicative of agencies disregarding the requirement
that responses to requests must be sent as soon as reasonably practicable.
However, this data set is relatively small and restricted to requests made
by a single person.

I am interested in accessing more complete datasets to see if my anecdotal
observations hold up. I am aware of statistics regarding OIA response
times that have been published by the State Services Commission for
2015/16 and for 2016/17, however the closest statistic in these sets is
the number or proportion of OIA requests “handled within the legislated
timeframe”.

Unfortunately, this measurement obscures the behaviour I am trying to
measure. If I applied the same measurement to my smaller data set, I would
find that 69% of requests were handled within the legislated timeframe.
However, that statistic does not reflect that fact that 45% of those
requests only received a response on the last allowable day.

Please release the following information, from 1 July 2016 to 30 June
2017, broken down by request:

1. The date on which the request was received.
2. The date on which the request was answered.
2a. If the request was answered on the last allowable day, the time at
which the request was answered
  3. Whether or not the request was extended under section 15A of the OIA.
  3a. If the request was extended, the date on which notice of the
extension was sent to the requester.
  3b. If the notice of extension was sent to the requester on the last
allowable day, the time at which the notice of extension was sent to the
requester.
  3c. If the request was extended, the duration of the extension.
4. The outcome of the request (e.g. all information released, transferred
to another agency).

Please provide all information in an accessible, searchable format. A
spreadsheet format, such as CSV or XLSX, is preferable for tabular data.

Please also explain any relevant caveats that should be kept in mind when
analysing this information, including the licence under which it is
released.

If any part of my request is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or would be
difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily available,
I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.

I am aware that the time at which responses and notifications of
extensions were sent may not be recorded centrally and may be difficult or
impossible to retrieve. If extracting this information is likely to
require this request to be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, please
let me know, as in that case I would likely be happy to refine my request
based on what information could be provided.

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

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

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[9][FYI request #7621 email]

Is [10][New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using
this form:
  [11]  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:
  [12]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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.youtube.com/user/policenz
4. http://www.police.govt.nz/facebook
5. http://www.police.govt.nz/twitter
6. http://www.police.govt.nz/instagram
7. mailto:[New Zealand Police request email]
8. mailto:[FYI request #7621 email]
9. mailto:[FYI request #7621 email]
10. mailto:[New Zealand Police request email]
11. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
12. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Dear Mr Hanna

I acknowledge receipt of your request below.  This request is being dealt
with under the Official Information Act 1982.

 

Regards

Ministerial Services, Police National Headquarters

To: OIA/LGOIMA requests at New Zealand Police
<[1][New Zealand Police request email]>
From: Mark Hanna <[2][FOI #7621 email]>
Date: 16/04/2018 12:23PM
Subject: Official Information request - OIA response time statistics

Tçnâ koutou,

For the past four years, I have been keeping records of the time it takes
for various agencies to respond to requests I’ve made to them under the
OIA and LGOIMA via the website fyi.org.nz. I’ve noticed, over this
relatively small data set, that response times have fallen into three
roughly equal groups:

- Responses received before the due date
- Responses received on the due date (the majority of which are received
after 4pm)
  - Responses received after the due date

I think this may be indicative of agencies disregarding the requirement
that responses to requests must be sent as soon as reasonably practicable.
However, this data set is relatively small and restricted to requests made
by a single person.

I am interested in accessing more complete datasets to see if my anecdotal
observations hold up. I am aware of statistics regarding OIA response
times that have been published by the State Services Commission for
2015/16 and for 2016/17, however the closest statistic in these sets is
the number or proportion of OIA requests “handled within the legislated
timeframe”.

Unfortunately, this measurement obscures the behaviour I am trying to
measure. If I applied the same measurement to my smaller data set, I would
find that 69% of requests were handled within the legislated timeframe.
However, that statistic does not reflect that fact that 45% of those
requests only received a response on the last allowable day.

Please release the following information, from 1 July 2016 to 30 June
2017, broken down by request:

1. The date on which the request was received.
2. The date on which the request was answered.
2a. If the request was answered on the last allowable day, the time at
which the request was answered
  3. Whether or not the request was extended under section 15A of the OIA.
  3a. If the request was extended, the date on which notice of the
extension was sent to the requester.
  3b. If the notice of extension was sent to the requester on the last
allowable day, the time at which the notice of extension was sent to the
requester.
  3c. If the request was extended, the duration of the extension.
4. The outcome of the request (e.g. all information released, transferred
to another agency).

Please provide all information in an accessible, searchable format. A
spreadsheet format, such as CSV or XLSX, is preferable for tabular data.

Please also explain any relevant caveats that should be kept in mind when
analysing this information, including the licence under which it is
released.

If any part of my request is unclear, please don't hesitate to contact me.

If any of the information that I have requested is unavailable or would be
difficult to retrieve, but similar information might be readily available,
I would be happy to discuss altering or refining my request.

I am aware that the time at which responses and notifications of
extensions were sent may not be recorded centrally and may be difficult or
impossible to retrieve. If extracting this information is likely to
require this request to be refused under section 18(f) of the OIA, please
let me know, as in that case I would likely be happy to refine my request
based on what information could be provided.

Ngâ mihi,
Mark Hanna

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

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

Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[3][FOI #7621 email]

Is [4][New Zealand Police request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to New Zealand Police? If so, please contact us using
this form:
  [5]  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:
  [6]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

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[New Zealand Police request email]
2. mailto:[FOI #7621 email]
3. mailto:[FOI #7621 email]
4. mailto:[New Zealand Police request email]
5. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
6. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers

hide quoted sections

Dear Mark

 

Please find attached the New Zealand Police response to your Official
Information Act request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Jason Smith

Ministerial Services| New Zealand Police
E  [1][email address]
Police National Headquarters, 180 Molesworth St, Thorndon, PO Box 3017,
Wellington 6140 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

[3]cid:image002.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[4]cid:image003.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[5]cid:image004.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[6]cid:image005.png@01D374F7.587B0E00

 

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

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. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.youtube.com/user/policenz
4. http://www.police.govt.nz/facebook
5. http://www.police.govt.nz/twitter
6. http://www.police.govt.nz/instagram

Hi Mark

When and how exactly did you send the request? I've just checked our OIA tracking system and can find no new requests from you.

Thanks

Jason

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Hanna [mailto:[FYI request #7621 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2018 2:45 p.m.
To: SMITH, Jason <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information Act request

Tēnā koe,

It has now been two weeks since I sent a follow-up on your refusal of my request, but I have not received any response.

Please send me an acknowledgement that my last message was received. Please also let me know if this request is being looked at again as I had requested, so I know whether or not it will be necessary for me to lodge a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman regarding this refusal.

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

-----Original Message-----

Dear Mark

 

Please find attached the New Zealand Police response to your Official Information Act request.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Jason Smith

Ministerial Services| New Zealand Police E  [1][email address] Police National Headquarters, 180 Molesworth St, Thorndon, PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140 

[2]wordmark transparent

 

[3]cid:image002.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[4]cid:image003.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[5]cid:image004.png@01D374F7.587B0E00[6]cid:image005.png@01D374F7.587B0E00

 

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

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. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.youtube.com/user/policenz
4. http://www.police.govt.nz/facebook
5. http://www.police.govt.nz/twitter
6. http://www.police.govt.nz/instagram

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FYI request #7621 email]

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.

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

hide quoted sections

Hi Mark

I'm still working on finding out what happened to your request, as we have no record of it being received here at PNHQ. We are transferring to a new information request tracking tool, and it is possible that your request was missed as a result of that. I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

In terms of your amended request with its amended timeframe, the response that Police sent to your original request would still stand as the information you request is not held by Police. As I said in my previous response the information you request isn't held by Police, and unfortunately the amended timeframe of your request does not alter that. Even with the reduced timeframe, there would still be a minimum of six thousand Official Information Act requests within the scope of your requests, that Police would need to manually examine to collate information from.

The Official Information Act requires government agencies to provide information they already hold, it does not require them to create data in order to answer requests. The nature of your request and the way that OIA requests are held by Police would require Police to create the data to answer your request, something we are not required to do under the Act.

In light of the above do you still wish to continue with the request, in the knowledge that the request will be declined as the information requested is not held.

Regards

Jason Smith
Ministerial Services| New Zealand Police
E [email address]
Police National Headquarters, 180 Molesworth St, Thorndon, PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140 

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Hanna [mailto:[FOI #7621 email]]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 June 2018 7:10 p.m.
To: SMITH, Jason <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information Act request

Kia ora Jason,

I replied directly to the most recent response I had received on my initial request, which I received on 2018-05-15. I'm using the website fyi.org.nz to make this request, which sends my messages as emails. I'll check with the site admins to see if there may have been an issue with my last message being sent to the correct address.

In the meantime, I've included the message I sent earlier below for your convenience:

==========

Tēnā koe,

Thank you for your response to my request. I’m sorry for the confusion regarding the date range over which I was seeking this information. Originally I had incorrectly asked for information from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017, however in a follow-up message sent the day after my original request I corrected this to 1 July 2017 - 30 December 2017.

I was under the impression that this update had been received, since I received a reply acknowledging receipt the day after it was sent, but in your response letter I see the original 2016-2017 date range was referenced. I hope this clarification that I am requesting data for a smaller date range of 6 months would make my request easier to handle.

I have lodged similar requests with various other agencies as well as NZ Police, and many of them have released the requested information in part rather than in full. I understand that it is rare for the specific times of day that extension notices and responses were sent to be stored in a way that allows this to be easily retrieved on a scale such as this, and I much prefer to receive some of the information I have requested than none at all.

Some other agencies have also consulted with me on refining my request. For example I agreed with MPI that the date a request was due, which was information they could retrieve, was sufficient information for me to then calculate the length of any extension, which they do not record.

I would be quite happy to make similar compromises in this case as well, and I’m disappointed that NZ Police have refused this request without taking me up on my offer to refine my request.

The information made available by the SSC includes the number of OIA requests received by NZ Police that were completed within the legislative timeframe, which implies that at least some information similar to what I have requested is stored in a way that would allow it to be retrieved.

I’d appreciate it if this request could be re-examined, as I’m confident it would be possible for at least some of the information I have requested - or very similar information - to be provided. For example, would it be possible to extract the date each request was received, the number of working days taken to complete it or the date on which it was completed, and the date it was due?

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

-----Original Message-----

Hi Mark

When and how exactly did you send the request? I've just checked our OIA tracking system and can find no new requests from you.

Thanks

Jason

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7621 email]

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

Kia ora Mark

The reason Police used section 18(g) of the OIA to refuse your request is that in order to answer your request Police would have to create the information, as the information is not already held by Police. The database we use to track requests has only a limited reporting capability that does not record sufficient information to answer your questions. It can provide a count of requests received, completed requests and the number that were completed within legislated timeframe only. It is not able to extract specific information about requests such as received dates, answered dates i.e. information you request. Advice we received is that this better meets the requirements of section 18(g), rather than the requirements of 18(f) which is about the resources and/or length of time required to extract existing information.

The only possible way for Police to extract information regarding specific dates for requests, including the date responses to requests were sent would be to manually examine each request file. For the six month period of your amended request this would still be in excess of six thousand requests.

I hope that explains the Police position and why we are unable to answer your request.

Naku nä

Jason

-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Hanna [mailto:[FOI #7621 email]]
Sent: Monday, 18 June 2018 1:11 p.m.
To: SMITH, Jason <[email address]>
Subject: RE: Official Information Act request

Kia ora Jason,

I’m not sure what might have happened to that first email. I’m glad that at least we seem to be receiving each other’s messages now, so I’m not feeling too worried about it.

It sounds like it would be better to try to clarify things than reconsider my original request as I'd asked. I’m quite confused by the fact that my request has been refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, rather than section 18(f) (i.e. that it would require substantial collation or research). I’m sure NZ Police must hold at least some of the information I have requested, for example the dates on which OIA requests have each been received?

However I’m not sure how this information is recorded, and that’s making it very hard for me to know how I could refine my request in a way that would be useful. I’m wondering if perhaps you might be able to help me understand that to some extent? Then hopefully it will be possible for me to refine my request down to a manageable level.

I know, from looking at the statistics published by the State Services Commission, that NZ Police receive far more OIA requests than any other agency. I totally understand that it would be reasonable to refuse to collate information that would require manually going through each record, under section 18(f) of the OIA.

However, I know NZ Police have also been able to report to the SSC the number of requests completed within the legislated timeframe. This has led me to believe that some information about all requests must be stored in a database that would allow some information to be collated without needing to manually examine each request?

Though I don’t know what information is recorded here for each request, or how easily any of it can be retrieved. For example I’m not sure if “completed within legislated timeframe” has been recorded manually against each request instead of being calculated by looking at the dates a request was received and completed, and the length of any extension.

Though of course there is more I could do with raw data like what has been provided to me by nine other agencies I sent similar questions to, the primary thing I’d like to look at is the distribution of the number of working days remaining when OIA requests are completed (ideally split by requests that have and have not been extended under section 15A of the OIA).

In my experience it’s quite common for requests to receive a response on the final day, and I’m trying to investigate how prevalent this is, as unfortunately it’s obscured by the “completed within legislated timeframe” statistics reported by the SSC. Do you know if there’s any way this information, or any related or similar information that I might be able to use for the same purpose, might be able to be extracted without having to manually look through each OIA record?

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna

-----Original Message-----

Hi Mark

I'm still working on finding out what happened to your request, as we have no record of it being received here at PNHQ. We are transferring to a new information request tracking tool, and it is possible that your request was missed as a result of that. I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

In terms of your amended request with its amended timeframe, the response that Police sent to your original request would still stand as the information you request is not held by Police. As I said in my previous response the information you request isn't held by Police, and unfortunately the amended timeframe of your request does not alter that. Even with the reduced timeframe, there would still be a minimum of six thousand Official Information Act requests within the scope of your requests, that Police would need to manually examine to collate information from.

The Official Information Act requires government agencies to provide information they already hold, it does not require them to create data in order to answer requests. The nature of your request and the way that OIA requests are held by Police would require Police to create the data to answer your request, something we are not required to do under the Act.

In light of the above do you still wish to continue with the request, in the knowledge that the request will be declined as the information requested is not held.

Regards

Jason Smith
Ministerial Services| New Zealand Police E [email address] Police National Headquarters, 180 Molesworth St, Thorndon, PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140 

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #7621 email]

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