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Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014

Detention and supervision of persons posing very high risk of imminent serious sexual or violent offending - Management of residents - Telephone calls may be monitored

59: Destruction of recordings

You could also call this:

"Recordings of calls must be destroyed after six months if they're not needed for investigations or court cases"

Illustration for Public Safety (Public Protection Orders) Act 2014

When you make a call to a resident, it may be monitored and recorded. The person in charge must destroy or erase these recordings after six months, or sooner if they are not needed. They might be needed for an investigation, a court case, or to follow the Privacy Act 2020.

If someone complains about the recording under the Privacy Act 2020, the recording must not be destroyed until the complaint is resolved. The police or the department in charge must also destroy recordings they have, once they are no longer needed for a court case.

There are some exceptions to these rules, like when a recording is used in a court case. In that situation, the recording does not have to be destroyed. If many recordings are stored together and it's hard to destroy just one, a copy can be made of the ones that should be kept, and the originals can be destroyed. Any copies made are allowed to be used as evidence in court.

The Public Service Act 2020 explains what a public service agency is, and who is responsible for destroying recordings in certain situations.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4751182.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Police and safetyCrime and justice > Victim supportRights and equality > Privacy
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58: Application of Privacy Act 2020, or

"Rules to protect your privacy when your phone calls are monitored"

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60: Notice to be given of intention to produce evidence of recording, or

"Telling someone you plan to use a recording as evidence in court"

Part 1Detention and supervision of persons posing very high risk of imminent serious sexual or violent offending
Management of residents: Telephone calls may be monitored

59Destruction of recordings

  1. The chief executive must take all practicable steps to ensure that every recording of a resident call held by the chief executive is destroyed, or completely erased,—

  2. on or before the expiration of the period of 6 months after the call was made; or
    1. as soon after that expiration as it appears that no information contained in it would be likely to be—
      1. required for the purposes of an investigation into an offence or possible offence; or
        1. required for the purposes of an investigation into the possibility that an offence may be committed in the future; or
          1. required for evidence in a prosecution or possible prosecution for an offence; or
            1. required to be disclosed under the Privacy Act 2020.

            2. Despite subsection (1), if the Privacy Commissioner has notified the chief executive in writing that a complaint has been made under the Privacy Act 2020 in relation to the recording, the recording must not be destroyed or erased in accordance with that subsection until the Privacy Commissioner has notified the chief executive in writing that the complaint has—

            3. not been proceeded with; or
              1. been finally disposed of.

                1. The Commissioner of Police or, as the case may be, the chief executive or board of a public service agency must take all practicable steps to ensure that every recording of a resident call held by the Police or that department that was obtained by the monitoring of the call under this Act is destroyed, or completely erased, as soon as it appears that no proceedings (or no further proceedings) will be taken in which any information contained in it would be likely to be required to be produced in evidence.

                2. Nothing in subsections (1) and (3) applies to any record of any information adduced in proceedings in any court or tribunal.

                3. Subsection (6) applies if—

                4. 2 or more recordings of resident calls are stored in such a way that it is not practicable to destroy or completely erase one without destroying or completely erasing the others; and
                  1. subsection (1) requires the destruction or complete erasure of 1 or more, but not all, of them.

                    1. If this subsection applies, an authorised person may arrange for the recording or recordings that are not required to be destroyed or completely erased to be copied, so that the copy or copies may be retained and all the recordings may be destroyed or completely erased.

                    2. Any copy made in accordance with subsection (6) is admissible in evidence to the same extent that the destroyed recording it is a copy of would have been.

                    3. For the purpose of subsection (3),—

                    4. public service agency has the meaning given to it in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020:
                      1. if the recording referred to in subsection (3) is held by a departmental agency or an interdepartmental executive board (within the meaning of those terms in section 5 of the Public Service Act 2020), compliance with that subsection is the responsibility of its host department or, as the case may be, servicing department.

                        Compare
                        Notes
                        • Section 59(1)(b)(iv): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).
                        • Section 59(2): amended, on , by section 217 of the Privacy Act 2020 (2020 No 31).
                        • Section 59(3): amended, on , by section 135 of the Public Service Act 2020 (2020 No 40).
                        • Section 59(8): inserted, on , by section 135 of the Public Service Act 2020 (2020 No 40).