9 October 2020
Amy S Van Wey Lovatt
REF: IR-01-20-27347
Dear Amy,
I refer to your Official Information Act (OIA) request dated 12 August 2020 in
which you requested the following:
Thank you very much for your response. However, I note the OIA does not
refer to the holding of statistics, but any documents. Thus, your denial of my
request on the grounds that the NZ Police does not hold these statistics is
irrelevant.
Thus, I go back to my initial request. If there have been cases where there has
been alleged a breach of section 20 of the summary offences act, or breaking
and entering in a hospital, as recently reported at occurred in Wellington,
<https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12362165>
, the NZ Police would have documentation. This may be in the form of a police
report in their log book and a case summary file (case number) which would
satisfy the definition of document held by an agency. I request these
documents, with identifying details (name, address) redacted.
I do not require all documents pertaining to Trespass Notices, use of false
credentials, or breaking and entering. Only the documents that relate to NZ
DHBs.
Given that New Zealand Police do not record specific offences relating to section
20 of the Summary Of ences Act, a manual examination of thousands of case
files would be required to find out if they had any relevance to your request. The
exercise would place a significant burden upon Police resources. Therefore, your
request is refused under section 18(f) of the Of icial Information Act as the
information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation and
research.
For the specific incident you cited, the DHB contacted NZ Police to discuss the
incident. The DHB concerned said that they would look into the matter and make
a formal report. No formal report or complaint to Police were received. Therefore,
as the news article mentioned, “… it was not a considered to be a police matter”.
I regret that on this occasion I cannot provide you with the information you have
requested. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact
[email address].
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not
satisfied with Police’s response to your request.
Yours sincerely
Simon Wil iams MSt. (Cantab)
Acting Director
Evidence Based Policing Centre
New Zealand Police
