Research – External Researcher Requests
New Zealand Police Research Panel Shut Down Period 2025-2026
Kia ora,
A note to potential researchers.
The New Zealand Police Research Panel will be taking an extended shut down period over Christmas/New Year.
If there is urgency in your application or if you’re anticipating requiring research panel approval for any research, we encourage you to engage with us as soon as possible so we can provide you with advice and guidance as early on in the process.
As always, the panel remains committed to supporting External Researchers (including employees undertaking study) to undertake research for, with and on areas related to Policing through access to New Zealand Police data, resources or people.
Shut down dates:
Friday 5th December 2025 - Friday 16th January 2026
Proposals received before Friday 5th December 2025 will receive an update on or before Wednesday 17th December 2025.
Proposals received during our closed period will not be progressed or allocated to the Panel for assessment until Monday 19th January 2026. An update will be provided to you 10 working days after 19th January 2026.
External researchers can apply to the New Zealand Police Research Panel for access to New Zealand Police information and resources.
- Information and resources include staff time and research that involves staff as participants.
- External researchers include police staff who may be studying towards a higher degree or collaborating with an external agency on a research project.
Research proposals submitted to the New Zealand Police Research Panel should use the template below. All sections should be filled out, and all requested information should be provided. This will ensure that the New Zealand Police Research Panel receives all relevant information needed to consider and progress applications as quickly as possible. Applicants will not be progressed if documentation is missing.
Once an application is received, complete with supporting documentation, an initial review of the application is carried out by New Zealand Police subject matter experts and Evidence Based Policing Research and Evaluation staff. Once it is established that the application meets the minimum requirements it is reviewed by the New Zealand Police Research Panel.
Please note that full ethical approval from an accredited institutional ethics committee is currently a mandatory requirement in our process. If you do not have access to a committee, please contact us for advice. It is also important external researchers are familiar with the Police policy for External Researchers’ Access to Resources, Data or Privileged Information (PDF 192KB) prior to submitting a proposal. You can find a copy of this Policy below.
Police Data Requests
The privacy, security, and confidentiality of the information we collect as part of our role and hold about individuals is important. Oversight of what and how data specifically is released outside of the organisation requires careful assessment and consideration by our Data Science Team to make sure the process is safe and robust.
Currently the panel cannot accept any research applications for bespoke access to Police data (i.e. data that is not already available on our external website and/or data matching enquiries), due to capacity and the other responsibilities of our Performance and Data directorate.
Please consider the following alternative avenues:
- Publicly available Police data
- Official Information Act request
- Accessing the IDI
Research Application Timeframes
The New Zealand Police Research Panel meet regularly to progress research proposals submitted for consideration. Typical processing times are between 2 to 3 months. In addition, progress for applications will be reduced due to capacity of staff. This will mean longer than usual timeframes for approval. We encourage you to engage with us as soon as possible so we can provide you with advice and guidance as early on in the process.
Please email completed applications to research@police.govt.nz