A ban on publishing the names of all drink drivers in the Wellington region has made the crime an “anonymous offence” and could lead to an increase in drink-driving, police say.
After nearly a decade of publishing a list of all excess blood-alcohol convictions, The Dominion Post no longer receives information from the police, who cited privacy reasons.
A spokesman said police national headquarters was given legal advice that the information was not theirs to supply and, by making it publicly available, police were breaching the Privacy Act.
A Justice Ministry spokesman said that, beyond the public gaze of the courtroom, the Privacy Act gave an individual’s right to privacy precedence over the right of media to personal information held by the court.
Read more in The Dominion Post.