Whānau express their feelings of shame and anger towards police after their rangatahi were racially profiled due to police officers' lack of awareness of their privacy obligations, a new report has found.
The investigation has called for an overhaul of police privacy practices after police took photographs of young Māori without proper consent and a "lawful policing purpose".
The report also found thousands of photographs of members of the public have been kept on officers' mobile phones for an unlawful amount of time.
The joint inquiry from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) and the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) was initiated in March 2020 after media publicity revealed police were illegally taking photos of young Māori in Wairarapa.
Whānau described their rangatahi walking alone in broad daylight when police approached them and insisted they take their picture.
One mother told RNZ her 15-year-old son was told he would be taken to the station if he refused to have his photo taken.
The reports found a pattern of racial profiling of young Māori in the region going back for at least two years, sparking the independent inquiry.
In relation to three complaints from whānau in Wairarapa, which were upheld, the inquiry found that Police were not justified in photographing the rangatahi, "as the photographs were not necessary for a lawful policing purpose".
Whānau described to the OPC "their feelings of whakamā (shame), embarrassment, frustration and anger they feel from the actions by police towards their rangatahi".
It found in one incident, police had wrongly threatened to arrest a rangatahi if they did not consent to being photographed.
The inquiry also found the police had not properly sought consent from the rangatahi or their parents/guardians before taking the photographs and had not adequately explained why the photographs were being taken and used for.
There are different thresholds under the Privacy Act for taking a photograph of youth, however, the inquiry found some officers didn't believe youth "are afforded any extra rights or protection" when involved in intelligence-gathering or investigative purposes.
"There was a widespread belief amongst officers that there is no difference between photographing adults or youths for intelligence-gathering or investigative purposes, notwithstanding the fact that children and young people have special protections in the NZ criminal justice system," the inquiry said.
The inquiry also found police were regularly taking duplicate sets of "voluntary" fingerprints from youths who were in police custody for suspected offending and retaining them for a longer period than permitted.
But the inquiry found there wasn't just a lack of awareness amongst police of their obligations under the Privacy Act for youth photos, but also the storage of photographs of members of the public.
During a broader investigation, the inquiry also found many officers appear to have little understanding of the law in relation to keeping photos of members of the public.
As a result of this, thousands of photographs of members of the public were found on mobile devices of individual officers or, if transferred to the Police computer system, not destroyed after there is "no legitimate need for them".
What is being done
The inquiry found that police policy, procedures and training need to be significantly revised.
In December 2021 the Deputy Privacy Commissioner issued a compliance notice to police to stop collecting duplicate photographs and biometric prints from young people and delete unlawfully collected material.
Since then, police have been reporting regularly to OPC on progress with the notice.
"The Joint Inquiry team is heartened by the undertakings made by Police to prioritise the implementation of the recommendations of both the Joint Inquiry and compliance notice," the inquiry said.
Police are to consult quarterly with the OPC on their progress with this work and publish progress updates on both the compliance notice and Joint Inquiry recommendations on their website.
Responding to the report, Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said it had accepted the findings.
"We will take some time to consider the broader findings, which have implications for police's ability to effectively investigate and prevent crime," he said in a statement.
"As an organisation we are committed to ensuring New Zealanders can have trust and confidence in the way personal information is obtained and managed.
"However, some of the findings and recommendations present significant challenges to our staff being able to carry out their duties successfully."
But the Police Association has rejected the findings, with president Chris Cahill saying they appeared "to be based on anecdotes and a few poor examples of practice".
"Most importantly, the report's key findings represent a serious misunderstanding of what constitutes biometric data. As such, the report is fatally flawed and should be withdrawn immediately.
"Further, the assertion by the IPCA that police cannot take voluntary fingerprints from youths is ridiculous and if permitted to stand would deny justice to hundreds, if not thousands, of victims of crime.
"New Zealanders are extremely concerned about the wave of crime across Aotearoa, much of it committed by youth offenders. Correspondingly, police officers find it repugnant to not act on evidence that positively identifies offenders."
