Background to manslaughter charge of Mr Longshaw and correspondence with Ms Riddell
Percy Doyle made this Official Information request to New Zealand Police
The request was refused by New Zealand Police.
From: Percy Doyle
Dear New Zealand Police,
Could you please provide a copy of any and all correspondence the Police received from Rosemary Riddell in relation to the death of Polly Riddell and the charges against Carl Longshaw.
Yours faithfully,
Percy Doyle
From: Information Requests
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe Percy,
I acknowledge receipt of your information request below, received by
Police on 03/09/2024.
Your request reference number is 01-24-31216.
As your request raises privacy considerations, we seek further information
to assist us in making an assessment of any public interest considerations
favouring disclosure that might outweigh the protection of any privacy
interest.
Please reply to this email with the following:
- some evidence of your relationship with the person whose information you
have requested and/or some evidence that there is a public interest in you
receiving the information that outweighs the other person's privacy.
The information you provide will be deleted upon completion of your
request.
Pursuant to section 15(1) of the Official Information Act 1982, Police
have 20 working days to complete your request commencing from the day
after it was received. Working days do not include Saturdays, Sundays or
public holidays.
You will receive a response to your request as soon as possible.
Ngā mihi
Tess TKL015
Supervisor
Information Requests | Service Group
P 105
E [1][email address]
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From: Percy Doyle
Dear Tess,
Thank you for your reply.
My request in this case would be under "some evidence that there is a public interest in you
receiving the information".
This case has been a very widely reported in the media by many news organisations throughout the country and the charges that the police made were unusal compared to the many similar cases that occur regularly.
Yours sincerely,
Percy Doyle
From: Information Requests
New Zealand Police
Tēnā koe Percy,
Please see the attached letter in response to your request for
correspondence between Rosemary Riddell and Police in relation to the
death of Polly Riddell and the charges against Carl Longshaw.
Kind regards,
EHHBU9
Senior Analyst
Information Requests | Service Group
P 105
E [1][email address]
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From: Percy Doyle
Dear Senior Information Analyst,
Thank you for your response.
I kindly request that you reconsider your decision.
With all due respect, all cases involving Section 160 and Section 171 of the Crimes Act 1961 inherently concern “natural persons, including deceased natural persons.” The Official Information Act 1982, however, does not specifically exclude the Police from providing information in these cases.
I urge you to place greater weight on this case in the public interest, especially given the high profile of the individuals involved, which I am sure you are aware of. Additionally, please consider the purpose of the Act, particularly Section 4(a)(ii):
'To promote the accountability of... officials, and thereby to enhance respect for the law and to promote the good government of New Zealand'.
The core details of the case, which you have cited as a privacy concern, are already publicly available. There are numerous articles online regarding this matter.
However, crucial details related to the accountability of officials can only be understood through this specific request.
Yours sincerely,
Percy Doyle
From: Information Requests
New Zealand Police
Good morning Percy,
Thank you for your reply.
Whilst Police recognise that the parties involved in this case have a high
profile, this does not preclude their right to privacy.
As you have noted, the core details of the case are publicly available.
This publicly available information includes the timeline of the case’s
evolution and the accountability of officials involved in it. Police do
not believe further understanding of accountability would be served
through releasing the private correspondence requested.
Police have conducted a public interest test and considered many factors
when making the decision to refuse your request. In this instance, the
privacy of Rosemary, and the Riddell family, is deemed to outweigh the
public interest in the release of these communications.
Kind regards,
EHHBU9
Senior Analyst
Information Requests | Service Group
P 105
E [1][email address]
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Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence