Latest news with #FileManagementCentre
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Police launch review after controversial retail crime directive
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro Police have launched a review to establish how many cases of retail crime were filed while a controversial and now scrapped directive was in place. RNZ revealed last week a directive was recently sent to staff relating to police's File Management Centre (FMC) titled 'Assignment Changes - Theft and Fraud'. The directive said that from 26 March, the FMC was applying "nationally standardised value thresholds" when assessing theft and fraud files. The value thresholds were: General theft $200, petrol drive off $150, shoplifting $500, fraud (paywave, online, scam etc) $1000, and all other fraud $500. "When assessing files with these offences, you will apply the relevant value threshold and file any file under that threshold regardless of any lines of enquiry or IFA score," it said. The police instructions relating to Case Management define an IFA score as "a numeric value derived from a series of weighted factors which gives an indication of the solvability of the case, based on the presence or absence of certain key lines of enquiry". Police Commissioner Richard Chambers canned the directive , which he called "confusing and unhelpful" on Tuesday following significant backlash. On Friday, a police spokesperson confirmed to RNZ the national value threshold applied to the prioritisation of lower-level theft and fraud offences was being removed. "A review is being completed on any cases that may have been impacted by those thresholds to assess whether they should be assigned to districts for follow-up," the spokesperson said. The review will be done by police's data quality team. "Police want to reassure that cases will continue to be managed locally balancing demand, resources and priorities to ensure the best possible service to victims in those communities." The national value threshold applied to the prioritisation of lower-level theft and fraud offences was being removed. Photo: Andrey Popov Retail NZ advocacy manager Ann-Marie Johnson told RNZ earlier this week the organisation would "like assurance that no cases have slipped through the cracks due to any misunderstandings around the directive". Motor Trade Association (MTA) head of advocacy James McDowall told RNZ he welcomed the Commissioner's comments on Tuesday. "We are pleased to hear that police will be taking fuel theft seriously. If police want to conduct a review of the directive and any impact from it, we would be willing to take part and interested in the results," he said. "But why stop there? Why not go back over the last six or 12 months and see how many fuel thefts under $150 were investigated, not simply recorded." McDowall said members reporting that police did not take fuel theft seriously "goes back much further than March". "But we are heartened by the Commissioner's comments yesterday that police will do their 'absolute best for the retail community to hold offenders to account'. We are keen to meet and work with police to this end." Motor Trade Association (MTA) head of advocacy James McDowall. Photo: RNZ / Anneke Smith On Tuesday, Chambers told media at a press conference he was "very disappointed" when he learned of the memo talking about thresholds. "The content of that memo is inconsistent with my expectations as the Commissioner of Police," he said. On Tuesday afternoon, Chambers spoke with a number of leaders in the retail sector at a pre-planned meeting. "We sat down and we talked about what the opportunities are to work together in terms of addressing the problem of retail crime," he said. "My staff across the country work incredibly hard to address the problem of retail crime. We know that retail crime has been increasing over recent years, but so too have the number of prosecutions that police have laid addressing offenders." Chambers said police relied on the support of the retail community and members of the public to gather information and evidence that allowed police to hold offenders to account. "We won't always be able to be there, but we will do our absolute best for the retail community to hold offenders to account," he said. Chambers said he first became aware of the memo on the weekend, after RNZ revealed its existence. He read it for the first time on Monday night. "Having read the memo myself, some might think that we were giving license to those who choose to break the law. That's not the case," he said. "In fact, my appeal is for the retail community and the public to continue to help us to ensure that we gather information to hold people account that hasn't changed." Chambers said the staffer behind the directive "thought they were being helpful". "But actually, when we think about the processes that we have internally to address demand, we must also be thinking about the impact of those decisions externally. "Our role as law enforcement, we are working incredibly hard with the retail community, and the memo was inconsistent with my expectations. I have not spoken to the individual myself, but I think the Commissioner coming out and being very clear about my expectations is probably sufficient." Chambers described himself as an "understanding leader," but said he was "disappointed" the memo spoke to things "that are very inconsistent with my expectations when it comes to retail crime". He said he was "concerned" when he read the memo that it may "impact on trust and confidence in police". "So I'm here today making very clear, and I'm hoping reassuring, that my expectations have not changed." Victims and Resolutions executive director service Rachael Bambery sent an email to District Commanders on Tuesday. The email, supplied to RNZ by police, spoke about "public commentary about national consistent thresholds" for certain offences. "I want to reaffirm that our collective focus remains on the victims and retail crime… The Service, Victims, and Resolutions teams remain committed to supporting you and your districts-both in progressing files and in ensuring our victims are kept informed. "As outlined in the recent memo regarding the development of a consistent IFA approach, please remember this is not a hard and fast directive. To be clear, districts continue to retain the discretion to investigate based on local context, and local resources. Early case closure is not final-many files are reactivated as new information or patterns emerge." Bambery said victim feedback continued to highlight a common theme. "They want to know what's happening next. A consistent national approach will help us provide timely, meaningful updates to victims-something that builds trust and reinforces our commitment to service. "Encouragingly, recent prosecution data shows an increase in shoplifting charges being laid." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Police Commissioner slams shoplifting directive as 'confusing and unhelpful'
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says the directive sent to staff was "confusing and unhelpful". Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel The Police Commissioner says a directive sent to staff about not investigating retail crime below certain thresholds was "confusing and unhelpful". He has asked for a reminder to be issued to all district commanders that they should continue to catch offenders wherever possible, regardless of the memo's thresholds. RNZ revealed last week a directive was recently sent to staff relating to police's File Management Centre (FMC) titled 'Assignment Changes - Theft and Fraud'. The directive said that from 26 March the FMC was applying "nationally standardised value thresholds" when assessing theft and fraud files. The value thresholds are - general theft $200, petrol drive off $150, shoplifting $500, fraud (paywave, online, scam etc) $1000, and all other fraud $500. "When assessing files with these offences, you will apply the relevant value threshold and file any file under that threshold regardless of any lines of enquiry or IFA score." The police instructions relating to Case Management define an IFA score as "a numeric value derived from a series of weighted factors which gives an indication of the solvability of the case, based on the presence or absence of certain key lines of enquiry". Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said in a statement to RNZ that he wanted to reassure the retail community and the public that retail crime is one of his top priorities. Chambers said the wrong message had been sent to the retail community and the public about the Police approach as a result of confusion about the memo which referred to thresholds for retail crime. "I have made retail crime one of the priorities for the Police executive and that means increasing the focus on it. The memo has been confusing and unhelpful and does not meet my expectations on retail crime or the expectations of the retail community." He had asked for a reminder to be issued to all district commanders that they should continue to catch offenders wherever possible, regardless of the memo's thresholds. "It is my expectation police continue to work hard to catch offenders wherever possible. Our role is to enforce the law. If we were to take our focus off that, we are giving license to offenders to commit crime. That will not happen. "That is important for police, for the retail community and for trust and confidence with the wider public." "Retail crime is increasing and we are working closely with the retail community to address it. I want them to have confidence that we will continue to do so." He said there were examples of successful approaches to retail crime, such as in Tauranga and Gisborne where a combination of dedicated teams, highly visible beat police and close work with the retail community had paid dividends. Victims and Resolutions executive director service Rachael Bambery said district commanders were being reminded today that districts continued to have discretion to investigate crimes, taking into account the context and available resources. "Early case closure is not final as new information and patterns often allow Police to revisit cases, for example where a small number of offenders can be linked to multiple offences." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
23-05-2025
- RNZ News
Confusion over how police investigate crimes like shoplifting after secret memo
Police say they will 100 percent investigate crimes, irrespective of value. Photo: Glenda Wakeham A police directive to staff says they will no longer be investigating allegations of shoplifting below $500, petrol drive-offs below $150, and online frauds below $100 regardless of lines of inquiry as part of a new nationwide directive. However, there's confusion about the reality of the situation with police conceding the wording of the directive "could have been clearer" but saying police will continue to investigate reports if there are avenues of inquiry to explore. RNZ has seen a directive that was recently sent to staff relating to police's File Management Centre (FMC) titled 'Assignment Changes - Theft and Fraud'. The directive said that from 26 March the FMC was applying "nationally standardised value thresholds" when assessing theft and fraud files. The value thresholds are - general theft $200, petrol drive off $150, shoplifting $500, fraud (paywave, online, scam etc) $1000, and all other fraud $500. "When assessing files with these offences, you will apply the relevant value threshold and file any file under that threshold regardless of any lines of enquiry or IFA score." The Police instructions relating to Case Management define an IFA score as "a numeric value derived from a series of weighted factors which gives an indication of the solvability of the case, based on the presence or absence of certain key lines of enquiry". The directive to staff says all files with a line of inquiry and over the value threshold would be assigned to the appropriate district workgroup. "No further triaging or district rules will be applied by FMC (i.e. no recidivism considerations or CCTV requests)." RNZ approached police for comment on the directive on Wednesday. On Friday, Police's National Retail Investigation Support Manager Matt Tierney confirmed police was "standardising" its approach to reports of lower-level crime, "ensuring more consistency nationwide" and freeing up frontline staff to focus on "the most significant incidents and prolific offenders." "Previously, Districts applied their own thresholds to the management of lower level offences, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistencies across the country. The standardising follows consultation and feedback from districts looking for more consistent ways to better manage how cases were triaged, and processed." He said there was no change to the way police assessed and responded to reports of "lower-level crime". "Police staff across the board consistently triage all reports made to us and assess their priority, in order to determine next steps." Tierney said that if a 111 call was placed regarding an incident such as shoplifting which had just occurred, and the offender was still there or had only just left, this had always been - and would continue to be prioritised for dispatch by police. "This means that, pending availability, officers will typically be immediately dispatched. This is regardless of the value of goods taken. "However, the reality is that police cannot attend every such report right away - but we need people to keep reporting incidents to us, so we continue to have a picture of when and where offending is occurring." He said the public could be "rest assured" that each report had always been, and would continue to be, assessed on its individual merits. "Reports through 105, or Auror, where there is clear accompanying evidence to support a potential prosecution - CCTV, for example - will continue to be forwarded to Districts for further follow-up. "However, if there is no provided or potential further evidence to support a report below a certain threshold, the possible lines of enquiry are limited - meaning that unless further supporting evidence comes to light, no further action can be taken." Tierney said police knew it was "likely to be frustrating for victims" if police cannot progress their report. "But we need to ensure that our staff focus on cases where we have potential leads. "We would continue to urge people to report all offending, no matter how low-level. It is this information that allows us to track patterns, and link offences together - potentially leading to significant prosecutions. "Police's focus is on holding the most harmful retail offenders to account, meaning those who are undertaking brazen and dangerous retail offending, such as aggravated robbery. Increasingly, various technologies are helping police identify and hold to account more prolific offenders." Further pressed on the directive by RNZ's Checkpoint , Tierney said the value of the crime did not change the way that police investigate. Asked what police would do if the offender had left the scene after stealing $450 worth of goods and police were called, Tierney said it depended on the level of evidence available. He said the examples given in the directive would be "investigated as part of a wider investigation" into offenders when police are "looking at the offender as a whole". Tierney said the document seen by RNZ was not his document and that it was an internal email sent out by another senior police officer. Asked if police's position had changed since the directive was sent out, he said it had not. "But it needs to be read and understood in its entirety. You're focusing on the value that's not the whole entirety of the email." Asked what the purpose of supplying the dollar values was, he said Checkpoint would have to ask the author of the report. Tierney said police would be seeking prosecutions on files below the financial levels. He said the directive had been "taken out of context and possibly misunderstood". "Police will 100 percent investigate crimes, irrespective of value." "I can assure the New Zealand public that that person will be prosecuted and put before the courts. There's no change in that at all. Whether they're arrested on site or arrested later after the fact, and it could be, you know, up to a year after the fact, they'll still be held to account for whatever that value is." He said he had only been made aware of the email after RNZ made inquiries. "There's multiple 1000s of emails that go through police every day. I'm not privy to all of them, so it's not unusual, but it's good that it has come through, and we can seek clarification and we can explain how we can explain our point." In response to further questions a police spokesperson said while the wording of the directive RNZ had seen "could have been clearer", it must not be considered in isolation. "There have been a number of conversations and discussions around getting this to a nationally-consistent place. "This is more of a back-channel streamlining of initial report assessment - practically speaking, the public can be reassured that if there is something for police to follow-up with, we will do so." Police Minister Mark Mitchell declined to comment. Labour police spokeserson Ginny Andersen told RNZ retail crime was "continuing to go up under this government's watch". "People are already feeling frustrated that when they call the police they don't always get a response. Rather than telling Kiwis that thefts under $200 don't matter, maybe the government should focus more on finding the 500 police officers they promised, but failed to deliver." Do you know more? Email
