Version : 21.0
Spark (Telecom) inquiries
Summary
This chapter provides direction and guidance on requesting information and investigative
assistance in relation to customer subscriber details and calling records from Spark New
Zealand Trading Ltd (formerly known as Telecom New Zealand).
Part 3 - Protocol 2 of the Police and Telecom (now Spark) agreement prescribes the
procedure that must be followed in relation to the submission of request for disclosure of
customer information to Police.
Spark contact details
Requests for subscriber and call activity information must be made to the Spark Call
Investigation Centre (CIC) via email at
Note: These contact details are provided for the use of Police and
must not to be
released to members of the public.
Standard (non-urgent) requests for information
Where Police seek either subscriber or call activity information while conducting an
investigation into a crime, Spark will only release information:
• upon receipt of a request that is submitted in writing on a Police Information Request
Form (PIRF) (through Microsoft Word> Police Forms> Reports>) and that form has
been approved and signed by a Police employee listed in Schedule 9 of the agreement
(see the section 'Approval of requests'); or
• pursuant to a Production Order issued under the Search and Surveillance Act 2012
which must be accompanied by a Police Information Request Form.
Exception
Requests which relate to confidential numbers, unlisted mobile numbers or business
numbers must, in addition to the completed PIRF, be accompanied by either a signed
Production Order or a written authority signed by the Spark customer.
The written authority should state:
I ________________ am the subscriber and user of phone number ___________. I
authorise any Police employee to access details of my accounts with Spark and any
phone calls made or received in respect of my complaint to Police.
CIC business hours
Because the
Urgent after hours requests can be obtained by calling the
number and
listening to the recorded greeting message.
Urgent verbal requests for information
There are instances where Police require information that relates to a serious or
imminent threat to public health, public safety or the life or health of an individual. There
may also be occasions when this information is required urgently for investigative
purposes and any delay could critically impede the investigation of a serious offence.
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The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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In these circumstances a constable, or a Police employee who is nominated by the
constable on whose behalf the request is being made, may make an urgent verbal
request for information to the CIC.
Such urgent requests for information may be made without the prior authority of an
authorised approver.
Urgent verbal requests must be:
• followed up with the documentation required for a standard request within 24 hours of
the initial request
• approved in the usual manner and provided that the authorised approver believes
that an urgent request was appropriate in the circumstances, they may sign the
written request form.
If the urgent request relates to a confidential number, an unlisted mobile customer or
business customer, Spark may release the relevant information, but where the request
relates to the investigation of an offence, the documentation subsequently provided by
Police must include either a Production Order or written authority from the subscriber.
Note: Urgent requests can be made
at any time.
Large Police operations
Where a Police operation is expected to generate a large number of requests for
information, an authorised approver may nominate a constable from the investigation to
manage and submit requests to the CIC.
Once nominated the constable can authorise requests for the particular operation and
the CIC will assign a team member to the operation.
Complaints involving malicious or nuisance calls
Police deal with complaints involving or relating to the commission of an offence,
including life threatening, abusive, or obscene telephone calls, or those hoax telephone
calls where an offence is disclosed. Police also action calls in respect of breaches of
protection or restraining orders.
However, nuisance calls where no offence is disclosed such as no-speech calls, calls
where the person hangs up when the call is answered, or computer generated calls can
be dealt with by referring the person to ring Spark directly.
Spark will also deal with hoax calls such as false food orders, taxis requests, or similar
situations which do not involve property loss or significant inconvenience to the
complainant.
In terms of general background information, before Spark will action a nuisance
complaint they require that a minimum of three calls have been received and answered
within a seven day period. Victims should be advised to keep a log of the time and date
that the calls were received.
Spark customers can obtain advice in relation to nuisance calls from the Spark website
or by contacting Spark directly.
Approval of requests
The CIC employ specialist staff to provide Police (and others) with information about
calls and subscribers.
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The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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However, they have limited resources and requests to them must be correctly approved
so that the resources available are directed to those investigations that will benefit most
from Spark assistance.
Under the agreement between Police and Telecom (now Spark) each request must be
signed by an authorised approver. Police employees should note that Spark actively
monitor requests to ensure that they have been correctly approved.
The National Manager: Criminal Investigations maintains the up-to-date list of persons
who may approve requests. Requests for additions or alterations to the list should be
made to the Manager: Covert Operations Group at the National Criminal Investigations
Group at PNHQ. The list is updated each quarter.
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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Annex A - Schedule 9: List of approvers in districts
Download the list of approvers in districts (word doc, 69 KB).
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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Annex B - List of approvers in Communications centres
Download the list of approvers in Communication centres (word doc, 43 KB).
This is an uncontrolled document printed for reference only.
The controlled document can be found in the Police Instructions site which is accessible via the New Zealand Police Intranet.
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