The 'real consequences' agenda requires a workable IT solution for police, an OIA request reveals. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
For seven years, police have struggled to deal with a flood of infringements for traffic, small theft offences and the like every week.
Now, that protracted failure to fix their systems is preventing the coalition government from pushing on with its law-and-order agenda.
The National-NZ First coalition deal talked about holding more offenders to account and ensuring "real consequences for low-level crime, such as shoplifting".
Justice officials proposed a law change to advance this, even though police did not want it and foresaw a bigger drain on them, if it went ahead.
By May, police told the police and justice ministers they could not implement a new system anyway.
"The current Police Infringement Processing System (PIPS) is more than 20 years old, at end of life, and is not able to be used to operationalise any potential new infringement offences," their warning went a few weeks ago, revealed in newly released Official Information Act documents from the justice ministry.
This echoes official warnings that began about 2018.
These said, repeatedly, variations of PIPS were "at end of life" and could not handle the 100,000-plus infringements a month.
'Adverse impacts on police'
In May, police told Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith that jamming in more shoplifting offences, without an overhaul, even risked gumming up the courts.
"Should investment not be possible, police advises that new infringement offences could be enforced by filing charging documents for a court appearance for each infringement offence.
"This would have adverse impacts on police resourcing, and your objective of swift and certain consequences outside of the courts, and risks undermining the intent of the proposal."
Police had already advised it thought the legislative settings for investigating, charging and prosecuting theft were fit for purpose, "and do not require amendment".
Justice ministry officials agreed there was no clear legislative gap, but concluded it would not hurt to give the police more options.
Salvage meeting
The OIA papers show Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell met in May to salvage the law change.
"We understand that you are aiming for the Crimes Amendment Bill to be enacted [BLANK]," said officials. "The timing of successful implementation of the infringement offence will be dependent on police having a workable IT solution in place."
Police told them how much money they needed, but this sum was blanked out.
They could be forced to absorb the IT costs on their baseline or seek funding from cabinet, the justice officials said.
"This needs to commence as soon as possible in order to achieve the outcomes we seek."
It aimed to get a paper to cabinet by mid-June.
'Find an IT solution'
"Ministers directed police to find an IT solution (including necessary funding) and justice to progress policy work on a new infringement offence for retail theft."
RNZ asked the ministers for the cost and timeframe.
The old PIPs system already tripped up the speed camera system, when several years ago, police pleaded to be let off administering it and the camera network has since been being transferred to NZTA.
In 2019, running it was already incurring "significant" cost, as well as the risk [. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/390289/speed-cameras-police-seek-to-offload-costly-work-to-nzta it would crash and cease to operate].
In 2021, under the headline 'Infringement Transformation Programme', police called for tenders for a new system, stating the old system was eroding trust and confidence, and loading the Justice Ministry with unnecessary work to enforce fines.
"This project will seek to replace the infringement processing system with a new solution that will remove current manual processing constraints, and offer the opportunity to broaden the infringement processing service for new capabilities and customers," the tender said.
"It is dependent on government decision on ownership of this capability."
The tender was cancelled.
Mitchell told RNZ on Friday that the replacement project was underway, though how to fund it had yet to be finalised.
The cost was commercially sensitive.
Goldsmith said when the law change would be introduced was still under consideration as part of the drafting process though it would be enacted next year.
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