Lawyers challenge widespread police use of number-plate software as evidence (www.rnz.co.nz)

Lawyers have asked New Zealand’s Court of Appeal to curb widespread police reliance on a private ANPR (automated number-plate recognition) system run by Auckland firm Auror, arguing its use amounts to mass, rights‑evading surveillance that bypasses traditional search controls. The pre‑trial challenge — brought by three defendants in property and driving cases who say ANPR evidence should be inadmissible — could topple prosecutions if judges rule the AI‑enabled plate identifications unlawful. Crown lawyers counter that retailers voluntarily deploy cameras and the system simply speeds up checks; lower courts have previously held ANPR is not a “police search.” The privacy commissioner is participating in the hearing. Technically, police can retrieve 60 days of plate “hits” at the press of a button; Auror is reportedly queried about 250,000 times a year and, together with a second system (SaferCities), was accessed more than half a million times last year. An internal review found the system lacks central logging, allows access by over 8,500 police email accounts, and hides deployment and fee details behind commercial sensitivity. The legal question centers on whether ANPR access requires a warrant or production order or falls under an exception in Principle 11 of the Privacy Act. A ruling against the practice would reshape how police use private surveillance platforms, affect other ANPR and facial‑recognition rollouts, and trigger stricter access, audit and transparency requirements.