12. Question No. 12—PoliceRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister of PoliceQuestion No. 12—PoliceRAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori): Tēnā koe e te Māngai o te Pāremata ora. My question is to the Minister of Police. Does he stand by his statement that he wouldn't take off the table the potential for Parliament to take further action to support the police" in response to a report released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and the Police Commissioner in September which found photos and fingerprints of five youth in Wairarapa were taken by police illegally?SPEAKER: The written question says "Privacy Commissioner".12. RAWIRI WAITITI (Co-Leader—Te Paati Māori) to the Minister of Police: Does he stand by his statement that he "wouldn't take off the table the potential for Parliament to take further action to support the police" in response to a report released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority and the Privacy Commissioner in September which found photos and fingerprints of five youth in Wairarapa were taken by police illegally?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister of Police): Yes in the context in which those comments were made. While the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) and Privacy Commissioner report highlighted practices that were wrong and needed to stop that's also raised wider implications for the police that need to be carefully considered and that's what I intend to do.Rawiri Waititi: Does he accept that the police taking photos of adults and young people—which is illegal—leads to a significant mistrust of police in the community?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I think in some circumstances yes that is the case and the IPCA and Privacy Commissioner report highlighted some examples of that. However there is also a need for police to be able to do their jobs effectively and that does involve being able to investigate and resolve crime. And we've just got to make sure that we get the balance right there.Rawiri Waititi: Is his expectation that police are bound by the same laws as everyone else including the Privacy Act?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Except where the law particularly allows them different powers.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he agree that police need more tools—not fewer tools—to deal with serious youth crime and if so will he give them more tools? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: One of the things that the police are currently doing is working through with the Privacy Commissioner and the IPCA the implications of the report that they have released. It may be that police need more tools but it may also be that agreement can be reached on interpretations of existing law such that police can continue to do their jobs effectively. I think it's important that we allow them to go through that process. If in that process it highlights that practices that should be legitimate police practices might otherwise have to stop then that is something that I wouldn't rule out bringing proposals before Parliament to address.Hon David Parker: Does the fact that in some circumstances the private sector have wider powers of search and surveillance than the police show the complexity of the issues that the Minister has to work through?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Yes absolutely.Rawiri Waititi: Will he rule out changing the law to allow police to continue their practice of photographing adults and children for looking out of place or suspicious—more than 50 percent of whom have been Māori; if not why not?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I think we can agree that people looking out of place or looking suspicious shouldn't be sufficient grounds for those kinds of practices. But there are examples where a blanket prohibition could actually have the reverse outcome of what we're looking for. It could incentivise police to charge more people rather than pursue alternative resolutions for example.Rawiri Waititi: Can he confirm that the police are totally in compliance with a notice to police from the Deputy Privacy Commissioner in December 2021 to stop collecting duplicate photos and biometric prints from young people and delete unlawful collected material? Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I can confirm that police are working very very hard to ensure that they are complying with that notice. One of the findings from the most recent report is that actually training and guidance across the police on these matters could be significantly improved and I know that police are working hard to give effect to that."