IR-01-22-39238
17 February 2023
S Patterson
[FYI request #21449 email]
Dear S Patterson
Request for information
Thank you for your Official Information Act 1982 request dated 18 December 2023, in which you
requested the fol owing:
“Can you please provide what happened to your old film stocks when you switched
over to digital for both surveil ance but also that was used for gathering evidence and
also can you provide the timeframe for when the switch occurred.”
I apologise for the delay in responding.
Police does not hold records of surveil ance photography procedures specific to your request,
however I can advise that in general, photographs using film stock were provided to the
requesting investigation team and not held central y. Police surveil ance staff have used digital
cameras for over 20 years and likewise provide digital images to the requesting investigators.
There is no centralised repository of old film stock photographs.
In respect of forensic photography, a number of forensic imaging units around the country have
been digitising al relevant photographic evidence. Many of the negatives go back to the 1960s.
Al homicides and cases of public interest are being kept as negatives plus scanned into a
digital format. Low-end offending negatives (for example wilful damage and road crashes) are
destroyed as per the destruction and retention requirements in the Public Records Act 2005.
You have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review my decision if you are not satisfied with the
response to your request. Information about how to make a complaint is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz.
Nāku noa, nā
Director John van den Heuvel
New Zealand Police
Police National Headquarters
180 Molesworth Street. PO Box 3017, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Telephone: 04 474 9499. www.police.govt.nz