While courts grapple with AI and deep fakes in evidence, New Zealand Police are quietly refusing to provide evidence for their own public claims.

In recent weeks, Police have denied two separate OIA requests asking for the factual basis of Police statements about roadside drug testing. The requests, both visible on FYI.org.nz, asked for the data and methodology behind claims Police have made publicly about the effectiveness and accuracy of their roadside drug testing programme. (Source: FYI.org.nz (OIA tracker), oia-refusals)

Police refused both times.

The refusals sit alongside two other recent rejections: requests for OIA request statistics themselves. That's right. Police refused to provide statistics about how often they refuse to provide statistics.

This matters because roadside drug testing has expanded rapidly across New Zealand. Police regularly cite the programme's success in media releases and public statements. Drivers are stopped, tested, and potentially prosecuted based on these tests. Yet when someone asks to see the evidence underpinning Police's own claims about the programme, the answer is no.

The timing is particularly striking. Courts are currently wrestling with how to verify evidence in an age where technology can fabricate almost anything. Judges and lawyers are developing new protocols to authenticate digital evidence. Meanwhile, a government agency is refusing to authenticate its own public statements.

The four recent refusals represent just a snapshot. FYI.org.nz tracks thousands of OIA requests across government agencies, and the pattern of refusals tells you which agencies operate transparently and which don't. Police appear increasingly in the latter category.

What makes these particular refusals notable is their subject matter. Police aren't protecting operational security or witness identities here. They're refusing to show their working on statements they've already made publicly. If you've told the country your roadside drug tests work, showing the data behind that claim shouldn't be controversial.

The OIA exists precisely for this: to let New Zealanders see the evidence behind government claims. When agencies refuse, they're not just declining a request. They're telling you they'd rather you didn't check their homework.

For drivers subject to roadside drug testing, the message is clear: trust the system, but don't ask to verify it. For courts worried about fake evidence, here's an uncomfortable question: what do you call evidence that exists but won't be shown?

The refusals don't prove Police are hiding something damaging. They prove Police would rather refuse than reveal. In an era where courts are scrambling to authenticate evidence, that should concern anyone who thinks transparency and accountability still matter.