Information for organisations receiving Police vetting services

Information handling

The information supplied by Police will be sent directly to a designated person within the requesting organisation and may not be divulged to anyone except the person to whom the information relates.

The personal data collected for vetting applications is provided under Government Security Classification 'In Confidence'. The organisation must establish security procedures to protect the Confidential Information and any NZ Police material they hold.

Information supplied by Police must be destroyed once it is no longer useful for employment purposes. Burning or shredding the information ensures secure destruction. If the information needs to be retained for any audit purpose, the individual being vetted must be made aware of this prior to consenting to the vetting application.

Potential employees should be given the opportunity to view any personal information provided by Police and to correct this if necessary (under the Privacy Act 1993). A correction may be sought by writing to:

The Manager
Licensing & Vetting Service Centre
Police National Headquarters
PO Box 3017
WELLINGTON

Considerations

The decision about an individual's suitability for a position remains with the employer/organisation. Employers might need to consider the following when assessing the results of vetting:

  • the nature of the offence and relevance to employment
  • the length of time since the crime was committed
  • age and maturity now as compared to when the crime was committed
  • the seriousness of the crime e.g. length of sentence, use of a weapon
  • the circumstances at the time of violent behaviour
  • the pattern of crime, e.g. a short spate may indicate a "phase" but a regular pattern may indicate continuing inappropriate behaviour
  • the proximity of the person undergoing vetting to the vulnerable person(s). For example, are they likely to have unsupervised access to these vulnerable people?
  • any explanation the person makes when discussing the information with them.

Red Stamp

Where vetting indicates information is held about behaviour that would impact adversely on vulnerable people (such as behaviour of a violent or sexual nature) which is not shown on an individual's criminal record, Police may release minimal relevant information about that behaviour.  Alternatively, a "red stamp" may be placed on the request by way of response recommending that an individual does not have unsupervised access to children, young people, or more vulnerable members of society. This is indicated by an electronic red stamp flag on the application.

The basis of a red stamp recommendation is that disclosing the relevant information would breach a Court order or be likely to prejudice to the maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation, and detection of offences, and the right to a fair trial.  A red stamp recommendation is made, for example, where there is a suppression order in place, or information was provided in confidence, or is in the nature of intelligence.

Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004

The Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act is designed to allow individuals to conceal their criminal record if they meet certain criteria. Once an individual meets the eligibility criteria set out in section 7 of the Criminal Records (Clean Slate Act, they automatically become an "eligible individual". The person is deemed to have no criminal record for the purposes of any question asked of them - they may respond by saying that they have no convictions.

It is important to note that the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act applies only to criminal conviction records. It does not apply to other information.

Please note, it is an offence under section 18 of the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act 2004 to require or request an individual to disregard the effect of the clean slate scheme and give consent to the disclosure of his or her criminal record . In addition, should a member of Police disclose a criminal record that is otherwise required to be concealed, on the basis of the Consent to Disclosure of Information request forwarded by you, you may be party to an offence committed under section 17.

See also the Ministry of Justice for further information.