Search and Surveillance Act 2012

General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers - Reporting

169: Reporting of exercise of powers within law enforcement agency

You could also call this:

"Telling your boss when you use special search powers"

If you are a police officer who uses a special power to enter or search somewhere without a warrant, you must write a report about it. You have to give this report to your boss, the Commissioner, or someone they choose, as soon as you can after using the power. You have to include some important details in your report, like why you used the power and what you found. You also have to say if you took any evidence and if you might use it in court.

If you are not a police officer, but you work for a law enforcement agency and you use a special power to enter or search somewhere without a warrant, you must also write a report. You have to give this report to your boss or someone they choose, as soon as you can after using the power. You have to write about what happened and why you used the power, and if you found any evidence. Some searches do not need a report, like when you search someone who has been arrested or is in prison, or when someone agrees to let you search them.

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This page was last updated on 24 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2136884.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Criminal law

168: Relationship between sections 164 to 167 and other enactments, or

"How sections 164 to 167 work with other laws"

170: Annual reporting of search and surveillance powers by Commissioner, or

"The Commissioner's yearly report on how police use search and surveillance powers, like hidden cameras and tracking devices, to investigate crimes."

Part 4General provisions in relation to search, surveillance, and inspection powers
Reporting

169Reporting of exercise of powers within law enforcement agency

Any constable who exercises a warrantless entry power, search power, or surveillance power conferred by Part 2 or 3 of this Act must provide a written report on the exercise of that power to the Commissioner or a Police employee designated to receive reports of that kind by the Commissioner as soon as practicable after the exercise of the power.
Any person (other than a constable) who exercises a warrantless entry power, search power, or surveillance power conferred by this Act or by an enactment specified in column 2 of the Schedule must provide a written report on the exercise of that power to an employee designated to receive reports of that kind by the chief executive of the law enforcement agency concerned as soon as is practicable after the exercise of the power.
A report referred to in subsection (1) or (2) must—
contain a short summary of the circumstances surrounding the exercise of the power, and the reason or reasons why the power needed to be exercised:
state whether any evidential material was seized or obtained as a result of the exercise of the power:
state whether any criminal proceedings have been brought or are being considered as a consequence of the seizure of that evidential material.

This section does not require the provision of any report in respect of—
a rub-down search of a person under section 85 or 88 that is undertaken in conjunction with that person's arrest or detention under any enactment:
any search of a person in lawful custody carried out under section 11 or under the Corrections Act 2004:
the exercise of any power of entry that does not also confer a power of search:
a search undertaken by consent.