IR-01-22-35618
20 December 2022
John Walter
[FYI request #21129 email]
Tena koe John
Request for Information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) request dated 15 November 2022,
in which you sought information about Police’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition
(ANPR) systems and privacy assessments. Police’s response to each of your questions
is set out below.
1.
On what date did the Police first use the Auror or VIBE (vGRID) application to
set up a live alert?
We have interpreted ‘live alert’ to mean an active detection using the Auror ‘Track a
Vehicle’ function; or SaferCities vGRID ANPR (formerly VIBE) ‘Plate of Interest’ function.
The first record of an active detection being set up in the Auror portal is 4 April 2018. The
first record of an active detection being set up in the SaferCities portal is 29 June 2022.
2.
When was the first Surveil ance Device Warrant (tracking warrant) applied for to
use either Auror or VIBE (vGRID) as a tracking device?
A surveil ance device warrant may have been applied for in relation to an active detection
that has not been recorded in an ANPR platform. The system that records Police warrants
is not connected to either ANPR platforms. The first record of an active detection being set
up after obtaining a surveil ance device warrant in the Auror portal was 4 April 2018. The
first record of an active detection being set up with a warrant through the SaferCities portal
was 29 July 2022.
3.
How many tracking warrants have the Police applied for to use either Auror or
VIBE (vGRID) as a tracking device? This information should be readily available
in light of the on-line Search and Surveil ance system portal used for warrant
applications and reports.
Police’s Search and Surveil ance Act portal which holds records of tracking device
warrants does not record in a specific field if the warrant is to be applied to an ANPR
platform. An exhaustive search of free text fields in this system would be required to find
references to the two ANPR platforms. This cannot be made available without substantial
collation and research, and it fol ows that this aspect of your request is refused under
section 18(f) of the OIA.
4.
How many Auror or VIBE (vGRID) live alerts have the Police set up?
For the purposes of answering this question, we interpret ‘live alerts’ as active detections.
Police National Headquarters 180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Telephone: 04 474 9499. 04 498 7400. www.police.govt.nz
The information relating to the Auror part of your request is currently being discussed with
our platform provider. We wil provide a response once we have completed our
discussions.
The table below displays the number of times a vehicle has been queried using the
SaferCities ‘Plate of Interest’ function. One query to test the functionality was conducted in
May 2022 prior to making the capability available to staff in June 2022. The data reflects
individual searches, including searching the same vehicle multiple times, by multiple
users.
Number of vehicle tracks using the
vGRID ANPR component of the
SaferCities platform
Month
2022
May
1
June
7
July
34
August
41
September
37
October
25
5.
Does Auror al ow for a warrant number and case identifier to be entered with an
ANPR search or live alert and what verification procedures (such as an email to
a supervisor) are conducted to ensure the validity of a live alert request before
data is available?
The Auror platform requires information to be entered into the online form to use search
and live detection functions. The information requirements are different depending on the
information being requested. The requirements are available in our
Police Manual chapter
on ANPR, which is available on our public website:
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-
us/publication/ automatic-number-plate-recognition-police-manual-chapter-0.
The Auror platform cannot verify the credentials of any approvals as it is not connected to
the Police network. In instances where approval is required, a notification email is sent by
the Auror system to the nominated Police approver.
a. Please provide a screenshot of the Auror portal for entering a live alert.
This information is withheld under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA, because disclosure of
information on the design and interface of the Auror portal would be likely to
unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it to Police.
6.
How many audits have been completed for ANPR searches conducted by the
police on third party hosted databases including Auror and VIBE (vGRID)?
No audits have been completed. However, an audit has commenced, and the intention is
to proactively publish summary findings in due course
a. In recent media statements to RNZ and the Herald the Police stated they
conducted 327,000 ANPR checks last year alone.
(https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/475662/police-made-false-report-to-
use-anpr-cameras-to-track-women-who-triggered-northland-lockdown)
(https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/police-talk-of-auditing-its-use-of-the-
powerful-surveil ance-network-it-accessed-by-creating-a-fake-stolen-car-
alert/COMP7B36KPEVOEQJSJULOQBAEI/) Please provide all
information and correspondence from when this figure was obtained
(presumably a dataset or audit?) and any further particulars of this figure
This figure was provided by Auror to Police in a recent report. This Auror-produced
document contains information about Police’s use of the platform and is withheld from
release under section 9(2)(b)(i ) of the OIA, on the grounds that to do so would be likely to
prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied it.
In the interests of clarification, it is appropriate to record that the 327,000 Police checks
referenced in earlier media reports related to Police use of the Auror investigation and
intelligence functionality, not the ANPR functionality. Overall, Police conducted
approximately 165,700 ANPR queries across both the Auror and SaferCities platforms from
July 2021 to June 2022.
(Was it only Police's ANPR checks or third party Auror & vGRID checks
too)?
As stated above, the figure related to queries within the Auror platform, and a correction
has now been made to the earlier media response.
b. If an audit was conducted, please provide the figures for each type a
ANPR search (retrospective vs live).
See the above answer to question 6.
7.
Have there been any investigations into the misuse of ANPR searches? How
many, when, who by, and what was the search for?
Police has identified two instances where use of a stolen vehicle alert on a vehicle which
has not been stolen was used to trigger alerts on third party ANPR systems. These relate
to the October 2021 investigation of serious risk to public health in a unique set of
circumstances, where police were aiding the medical officer of the Ministry of Health to
locate persons considered at the time to be a risk to public health and safety; and an
investigation in Counties Manukau District from early 2020. This matter is before the
Courts and therefore we cannot comment further.
Neither of these identified instances were considered ‘misconduct’ and as such no
internal investigations have been carried out by Police’s Te Ohu Manawanui
(Employment Resolutions) or Integrity and Conduct teams.
8.
The number of ANPR cameras providing data to the Police when they conduct
retrospective or live ANPR searches through Auror and VIBE / vGRID, two
companies which have contracted to the Police (and developed) a direct access
portal exclusively for Police access.
a. This request is made pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, s 2(5),
where "any information held by an independent contractor engaged by
any public organisation in his capacity as such contractor shall, for the
purposes of this Act, be deemed to be held by the public organisation."
b. Alternatively, the request is made for information held directly by the
police as provided in proposals or marketing materials.
Auror and SaferCities are commercial entities which provide services to camera owners,
and as such the number of cameras on their networks is a matter between them and their
clients. While Police has access to information gathered through these cameras via the
Auror and SaferCities platforms, we do not require or have access to a register of the
number of cameras to which the portals provide access. This request is therefore refused
under section 18(g)(i) of the OIA, as the information is not held by Police.
Although it has not been possible to provide every element of the information requested,
we trust that you find this response helpful. If you are not satisfied with this response,
however, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review Police’s handling of your
request. Information about how to do so is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Sincerely
Carla Gilmore
Manager Emergent Technology
