Police Commissioner Welcomes Report From The Office Of The Privacy Commissioner
Facial recognition technology is valuable for deterring, detecting and resolving crime. While there are many benefits to using technology it is crucial to have appropriate guidance in place.
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has welcomed an Office of the Privacy Commissioner report into the trial of facial recognition technology by a major supermarket chain, saying such technology is a valuable tool for fighting crime.
'I welcome the OPC's comments about the potential benefits of facial recognition technology and the finding that, in the case of the Foodstuffs trial, it was effective at reducing incidences of serious repeat offending.'
'The value of technology such as facial recognition is that it is fair and accurate. It has an important role to play in policing.
Facial recognition technology is valuable for deterring, detecting and resolving crime. While there are many benefits to using technology it is crucial to have appropriate guidance in place.'
'I welcome the clear guidelines from the OPC on how retailers can use it effectively and the safeguards that are required. It offers useful guidance on whether its use is appropriate, what the privacy risks are and how those can be minimised.'
Commissioner Chambers said the use of facial recognition technology as a crime prevention tool was a decision for retailers to make for themselves and their businesses.
'Police is supportive of retailers using tools like this to enhance safety for their staff and communities, as long as it is done lawfully and ethically.
I am very enthusiastic about the opportunity to better use technology to help achieve positive outcomes.
One of the biggest opportunities we have as a country is to embrace technology when it comes to fighting crime.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Release Of Rapid Review Into Police Information Security Controls
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers: A rapid review of Police IT systems and devices has found while Police have a wide range of security measures in place, there are opportunities to strengthen and tighten controls on their use. The review found Police has a range of modern security controls which protect Police information and systems from malicious activity. Most user activity is logged in line with good industry practice and there is clear guidance and expectations for staff around acceptable use. However, the review also identified several areas where improvement was needed. These include more monitoring of staff internet use and stronger filtering mechanisms to guard against inappropriate or harmful content being accessed or downloaded. It also recommended better oversight of all Police-owned devices, including those that sit outside the Police network for legitimate work purposes. Police is an extremely complex workplace and different levels of security settings will always be required by some staff for lawful policing purposes. Some staff also require devices that operate outside the central Police system. However, the review has made it very clear the current settings are not robust enough and urgent attention is required. The report includes recommendations to strengthen the settings. I have made two decisions immediately: - Re-introducing audits of data and internet usage on police devices, a process that was halted 4-5 years ago. These will recommence as soon as possible. - Initiating an assessment of Police-owned standalone devices which operate outside the Police network. While there are legitimate work reasons for such devices, clarity is needed around the oversight of them. I have requested a remediation plan to consider the review's recommendations and address key issues. I have asked this be done quickly and expect to make further decisions within the month. We have shared the review with other relevant agencies. The NZ Police Rapid Review Summary Report is attached.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Review after Jevon McSkimming case finds urgent need to change police internet rules
Former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Photo: Getty Images A review commissioned amid an investigation into the former deputy police commissioner has revealed weaknesses in police's internet access controls, unmanaged devices, limited monitoring and governance gaps. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the review made clear the current settings were "not robust enough and urgent attention is required". He has ordered the re-introduction of audits of data and internet usage on police devices and initiating an assessment of police-owned standalone devices which operated outside the police network. RNZ earlier revealed the investigation into Jevon McSkimming led to concerns that staff could bypass internal controls and "exploit vulnerabilities to access inappropriate content". The concerns prompted Chambers to order a "rapid review" of police's information security (INFOSEC) controls to ensure police had sufficiently strong controls to prevent or detect the misuse of police technology and equipment for non-work-related purposes. A summary of the review was released on Monday. The report said police managed an "extremely complex technology operating environment". "This requires a variety of different user personas to be catered for, each with different levels of security controls (and in some cases a requirement to have permissive controls)." "Additionally, the varied (and law enforcement) nature of policing may require some employees to access websites that in other corporate environments may be blocked." For several years police had been faced with a "technical debt", however steps were being taken to address this. "As with many agencies and businesses, there has been an increase of what is commonly known as Shadow IT - that is, technology purchased or used for legitimate business purposes but operated outside of the management and oversight, and often the knowledge of the ICT group." The report said police had a "wide range" of modern security technology in place which protected police information. "Most user activity is logged and monitored in accordance with good industry practice. "The review found some key issues however, which provide opportunity for improvement." The main risks were; weaknesses in technology configuration, lack of visibility over user activity and gaps in governance. The report included key findings and recommendations in relation to each of the risks. There was "inconsistent application" of internet access policies across different workgroups as well as a "lack of robust filtering mechanisms" to consistently prevent access to unauthorised websites. The review also found there was "insufficient monitoring of internet usage to detect and respond to potential security threats and inappropriate usage." Other findings included unmanaged devices being used for operational activities and inadequate monitoring of user activity and network traffic. There was an absence of centralised logging and analysis tools to detect anomalies and potential issues and "insufficient resources allocated to continuous monitoring and incident response". The review also said there was lack of "clear governance structures and accountability" for INFOSEC controls, with "inconsistent enforcement" of security policies and procedures. The report called for "improved oversight and coordination among different workgroups". Among the recommendations was that police implement consistent internet access policies across all work groups and use advanced filtering mechanisms to block unauthorised websites. It was also recommended that police enforce policies to ensure all devices were managed and monitored, and that they allocate resources to "continuous monitoring and incident response". In relation to the concerns about governance, the report recommended police established clear structures and accountability for INFOSEC controls and "ensure consistent enforcement of security policies and procedures. "Addressing these issues through the recommended actions will enhance operational security, visibility, and policy enforcement, ensuring a robust INFOSEC posture," the report said. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the review made clear the current settings were "not robust enough and urgent attention is required". Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Chambers said the review found that while Police had a wide range of security measures in place, there were "opportunities to strengthen and tighten controls on their use". "The review found Police has a range of modern security controls which protect Police information and systems from malicious activity. Most user activity is logged in line with good industry practice and there is clear guidance and expectations for staff around acceptable use. "However, the review also identified several areas where improvement was needed. These include more monitoring of staff internet use and stronger filtering mechanisms to guard against inappropriate or harmful content being accessed or downloaded." The review also recommended better oversight of all Police-owned devices, including those that sit outside the Police network for legitimate work purposes, Chambers said. "Police is an extremely complex workplace and different levels of security settings will always be required by some staff for lawful policing purposes. Some staff also require devices that operate outside the central Police system. "However, the review has made it very clear the current settings are not robust enough and urgent attention is required. The report includes recommendations to strengthen the settings." Chambers said he had made two decisions immediately in wake of the review. He would be re-introducing audits of data and internet usage on police devices, a process that was halted about four to five years ago, and initiating an assessment of Police-owned standalone devices which operate outside the Police network. "While there are legitimate work reasons for such devices, clarity is needed around the oversight of them. "I have requested a remediation plan to consider the review's recommendations and address key issues. I have asked this be done quickly and expect to make further decisions within the month." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Scoop
New Beat Team For Rotorua And One Year Anniversary Of Community Beat Teams
Rotorua has a team of six Police starting on the beat across the CBD. 'Rotorua is launching their first beat team and later in the quarter we will see other beat teams operating across the Bay of Plenty and other districts,' says Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. The city becomes the fifth to have a dedicated beat team. 'The public and retailers have welcomed the beat teams in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch and other centres will benefit from them too. A beat team has also just been launched in New Plymouth. 'We know that certain crime types have gone down in the areas beat teams operate. That shows the impact visible policing has. We want to see other communities experience that too. 'While the results from the first year of beat teams are encouraging, it is also clear ongoing focus is needed to drive down theft and violent crime. This remains a priority for Police,' says Commissioner Chambers. Crime reductions by beat location of the last 12 months to April 2025 compared with previous 12 months: • Auckland has seen a reduction in assault by 9%, theft by 21%, and robbery by 25% • Wellington has seen a reduction in sexual assault by 21%, robbery by 22% and unlawful entry by 7% • Christchurch has seen a huge reduction in robbery of 67%, unlawful entry by 29% and sexual assault by 16%. 'It's great to see hard work from our staff is paying off and I expect to see similar results around the country as more teams roll out,' says Commissioner Chambers. The three new beat teams have done 14,108 hours of foot patrols on the beat since starting in July last year to end of April this year. This is an increase of 189% from the same period in 2023-2024. Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson says it's great to be starting a team in Rotorua. 'We have already done a lot of work with our partners over the recent years to improve safety in our city. With the Rotorua Lakes Council and Māori wardens we created a CBD safety plan that has already shown results for the people and businesses in our city. 'Now we'll have a beat team to support this ongoing work to keep our residents, retailers, and businesses safe.' 'We all know we face some complex issues in our city which require a joint approach of agencies, iwi, and community groups working together to solve them. For our part, we want to ensure everyone who comes into our city feels safe – whether they live here, work here, or are visiting. I'm feeling really excited about having our team in place and I'm already looking forward to the next teams we'll roll out,' says Superintendent Anderson.
