19 August 2021
REF NUMBER: IR-01-21-22792
Sophie
[FYI request #16164 email]
Dear Sophie
I refer to your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 29 March 2021 for
information relating to New Zealand Police’s policy.
You requested:
1. This question is about how proactive the New Zealand Police is when issuing
infringement tickets. So, according to the Code of Practice of the New Zealand
Police, if a police officer does not find or mention any issue about the car's WOF
or REGO expiry status after they pul ed over a car for some other reason such as
traffic light infringement or speeding, should the police officer, after going back to
the office, double check the expiry status of the car's WOF or REGO to see if
they can issue one more infringement ticket?
There are no such instructions that instruct a police officer to double check the expiry
status of a vehicle’s warrant of fitness or vehicle registration for the intended purpose of
issuing more than one infringement offence notice after a vehicle stop for a primary
detected offence has been completed.
If a police officer identifies a warrant or registration offence in any situation, they have the
discretion decide the next course of action, whether this issuing an infringement offence
notice, written traffic warning, compliance or providing education, depending on the
circumstances.
However, in accordance with the Police Instructions on Traffic Patrol Techniques, when
an infringement offence notice is issued at the roadside, the driver should be informed of
that fact, including the details of the notice. Issuing an infringement notice for an expired
vehicle licence or warrant of fitness in the manner you have described, and without
informing the driver, does not meet Police’s expectations of good practice.
I trust that this information is satisfactory in answering your request.
Yours sincerely
Superintendent Steve Greally
Director: National Road Policing Centre
Police National Headquarters 180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. Fax: 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
