警方承认电脑出错开错罚单（英语新闻）

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http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/thousands-wrongly-ticketed-traffic-offences-5840142

Thousands wrongly ticketed for traffic offences
Published: 2:20PM Tuesday February 18, 2014 Source: ONE News

Police have apologised after a computer problem resulted in thousands of people being accidentally ticketed for traffic offences they were not liable for, including for vehicles they formerly owned.

Police say an isolated fault in the Police IT system resulted in vehicle transaction data from the New Zealand Transport Agency between October 22 and December 16 last year not being automatically updated on police systems as normal, affecting more than 20,000 traffic infringement notices.

Among those affected were people who had sold their vehicles during the two-month period, who were then incorrectly ticketed for offences incurred by the new owners or others driving the vehicles, says National Road Policing Manager, Superintendent Carey Griffiths.

Also affected were those who had changed their address or their surname after getting married during the same period, he says.

"Police sincerely apologise to all of those who have been affected by this one-off technical issue, which has now been resolved," Mr Griffiths says.

"I can also reassure anyone who has been incorrectly ticketed as a result of our mistake that they won't need to pay the fine, and anyone who has paid in error will be completely refunded."

Mr Griffiths says police became aware of the issue when a member of the public contacted the Police Infringement Bureau (PIB) about a notice received for a vehicle she no longer owned. However, the scale of the problem only became clear this week as a result of ongoing investigations, he says.

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"Once the problem was brought to our attention, police took action to investigate and ensure it was fixed," Mr Griffiths says. "We have also put a number of steps in place to ensure it does not happen again."

The affected traffic notices included mainly speed camera infringements, and a smaller number of other camera-related notices, including red light camera offences, as well as police-issued parking notices. Council-issued parking notices are not affected.

Police are now in the process of ensuring that the liability for these infringements is transferred away from those incorrectly ticketed across to those responsible. However, Mr Griffiths says any further action on these notices will be considered on a case by case basis, depending on the circumstances.

Higher demand during the busy holiday period also meant that people attempting to contact the PIB about the problem via phone had experienced delays, and police apologise for this, Mr Griffiths says.

He says while the total amount of any incorrectly issued notices is unknown, the individual amounts involved could potentially range from $30 to $630. However, based on previous infringement data for the same period, the largest proportion are likely to be in the $30 bracket, he says.

Mr Griffiths says if anyone has questions or concerns over an infringement they believe may have been issued incorrectly, they should contact the PIB  with their notice details so police can put it right.

Have you had a traffic infringement notice you are not liable for? ONE News would like to hear from you. Email us at  [email protected]