Police must be reined in after internal report reveals loose access and controls

Media Release | 8 October 2025 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Banning under-16s form social media “won’t protect children and will erode freedom and privacy” says PILLAR

“Police need to be seriously reined in.”

PILLAR Executive Director Nathan Seiuli says it’s time the New Zealand Police “start operating more professionally and transparently if they want to rebuild public trust and protect the right to privacy for kiwis”

“Police have a difficult job, but they make it harder on themselves when they refuse to operate in line with their purpose – service to the community,” Seiuli said.

An internal Police review into the use of automatic number-plate recognition technology found that access controls were alarmingly weak. An article by RNZ, released on 7 August 2025, revealed that anyone with a Police email address could access the system – even staff with no operational reason – and were not required to state why they were using it.

“There are few controls on who can log into the platform and no requirement to state the legal basis for collecting information. Their own report warned of ‘a risk of misuse by staff,’” Seiuli said.

Despite clear warnings and now evidence that concerns were accurate, Police have confirmed they are not investigating potential deliberate misuse of vehicle-spotting cameras, even after reports suggesting some officers may have used the system for unauthorised tracking.

Officials told a select committee that “there were still some issues with people using the platforms without legitimate use cases.”

Police also refused to release the draft report that detailed repeated number-plate searches, claiming it contained “operationally sensitive information.” However, the final version released publicly made no mention of those issues.

“There’s no question why public trust in Police is at an all-time low,” Seiuli said. “Behaviour like this only entrenches those feelings. Police have an opportunity to do the right thing – but they must realise they can’t surveil or control Kiwis into safety. They need to respect the right to privacy. Their role should be protecting freedom, not enforcing ‘safety.’”

ENDS