Review of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 (MOJ)

Executive Summary 

1. The Salvation Army supports the recommendations made by the Law Commission for the Search and Surveillance Act. We do however recommend that under the law commission’s recommendations for Policy Statements that these policy statements include reference to the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the exercising of its powers under the Act. This clause would help provide some checks on the disproportionate impacts on Māori from the operation of the Act in its current form. 
2. Increasing the powers and reach of the Act will disproportionately affect whanau we work with and there is a large risk of over-reach and intrusion in the lives of already vulnerable people and their whanau and communities. We do not support extending these powers and urge greater transparency and accountability to the affected communities in the way powers under the Act are applied. 
3. The Act in its current form does not include enough safeguards and transparency around its application. We recommend amendments to strengthen these safeguards through a review of the reporting requirements for enforcement agencies under the Act. We also acknowledge that it is vital in this current review to balance the powers and reach of the Search and Surveillance Act with both current law and future law. 

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