Production Orders

Question 1

What is a production order?

Answer 1

Production orders are orders made under section 74 of the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 requiring a person or organisation (such as a business) to produce documents to enforcement agencies as evidential material of a specified offence.
Production orders are issued by issuing officers. (These are the same people as for search warrants).

Question 2

Production Order versus Search Warrant

Answer 2

While compliance costs are incurred by a business issued with a production order, these costs are offset against the avoidance of the disruption that would otherwise occur by physical entry and search of the premises under a search warrant. Very often production order powers will be less intrusive and involve less cost, than using search warrants as an alternative.

Question 3

Who may apply for a Production Order

Answer 3

Any enforcement officer may apply to an issuing officer for a production order. (Section 71(1).

Question 4

Matters to consider before granting approval (District approver)

Answer 4

• the grounds for applying for a production order are met
• the resource benefit of making an application is advantageous to Police and the investigation
• the information sought does not make unreasonable or unnecessary demands on the telecommunications provider, whom the order is against, particularly if those documents sought are forward looking

Question 5

Approval to apply for Production order for media organisation

Answer 5

• obtain approval from a Police Executive member in the case of PNHQ or a district commander for a district matter, and
follow the guidance on ‘Search warrants, production orders and examination orders involving media organisations in the Search chapter in the Police Manual.

Question 6

Grounds for applying for a Production Order

Answer 6

You may apply for a production order if you have reasonable grounds to:
• suspect that an offence has been, is being, or will be committed, and
• believe that the documents sought by the proposed order:
− constitute evidential material in respect of the offence, and
− are in the possession or under the control of the person against whom the order is sought, or will come into their possession, or under their control while the order is in force. (Section 72).

Question 7

Using hearsay evidence

Answer 7

Hearsay evidence can be used to outline the grounds on which the application is made, if it is highly reliable. Indicate its reliability by stating:
• sufficient information to prove the reliability of what has been stated
• the informant’s reliability and whether they have given reliable information in the past. An appropriate way to say this is: “In the past, Informant A has supplied Police with information that has proved to be reliable.”
• whether the information has been confirmed by other means.