Police were alerted in March to the "shift" in "behaviour" by Auckland firm Auror. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Thousands more theft reports are being loaded every month into police investigation systems that are already under stress.
The surge in reports comes as a high-tech company - which partners with police and retailers to identify vehicle number plates - started upskilling shops on grabbing officers' attention.
Internal documents show police were alerted in March to the "shift" in "behaviour" by Auckland firm Auror.
"Auror has developed a better understanding of our case management process", teaching retailers to provide sharper CCTV footage of offenders, copies of receipts, even "names, dates of birth, and ages" where they could, according to a police report in March, newly released to RNZ.
Auror, which last month won kudos from the UK government, said it was a good thing.
"Police being able to solve more crime through high quality crime reports, which they are doing, is a good thing for all Kiwis," the firm told RNZ.
But a subsequent police audit of 380 Auror theft cases in March showed a large number were eventually not investigated, the report said - cautioning though that this was just a single audit.
"Exacerbating this issue is the surge in Auror reporting," it said.
Auror theft reports had doubled from 4000 a month in 2022 to 8000 in 2025. Overall Auror crime reports in the same period doubled to 12,000 a month, and 11,000 in 2025, police said.
Police are also expecting a 60 percent jump in shoplifting case numbers due to their new move to dump cash thresholds, as RNZ has revealed.
Police told RNZ they were moving to introduce a new initial assessment and victim support team, and new ways to assess cases early on.
'Auror theft files are driving demand'
Thousands of retailers nationwide connect their CCTV cameras to Auror's automated number plate recognition (ANPR) system.
The system works two ways, sending crime reports to police, and handling police inquiries, such as where a vehicle has been spotted over the past 60 days.
Police use of this and a second ANPR system has quadrupled since 2020 to 700,000 times a year. It is increasingly used in evidence in court -legal challenges over privacy were dismissed last year by two courts.
Law enforcement's embrace of new technology has created opportunities, pressure and controversy worldwide. The rising theft reports show New Zealand is not immune.
Earlier this year, police realised far fewer theft reports were ending up in their too-hard basket, called "early case closure" (ECC).
"A critical analysis... reveals that Auror theft files are driving demand," Superintendent Blair Macdonald said in the March report.
"With better information provided upfront and more lines of inquiry identified, a significantly higher percentage of files are meeting the IFA (Initial File Assessment) solvability threshold."
About 97 percent were getting over the threshold, compared to the 69 percent before. A dismissal rate of 31 percent had dropped to just three percent.
From the police figures, RNZ has estimated the number tripled from about 2800 to about 7700, a month that other officers then had to look into.
The extra files that scored over seven for "solvability" were then sent on to the front line file managment team (FFMT).
This team has been under pressure - its case-closed system of reports that needed filing was backlogged with 66,000 cases in January, the internal report said.
Various OIAs have shown the "solvability threshold" dates back years but had varied widely between districts. Some dropped thefts under $100, when for others the threshold was $500; some would only look at repeat offenders; while Auckland city police required Auror involvement if they were to investigate shoplifting, a document said.
Police began moving in 2024 to standardise the thresholds nationwide.
But instead, after [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/562264/police-commissioner-slams-shoplifting-directive-as-confusing-and-unhelpful RNZ's revelations of the dollar-value thresholds in May, police have dumped that threshold. This will increase the number of cases going to the FFMT.
No change in software - Auror
Auror told RNZ it had not changed its software "in any way that would encourage more or less reporting to police".
"Police is world-leading in its use of many types of technology and it determines how best to accept and handle reports of crime.
"Retailers determine what to report, not Auror," said Auror senior director trust and safety Nick McDonnell, in a statement.
But Auror's marketing regularly tells retailers it has new crime-fighting processes.
In February it introduced 'Collaborate', stating that this would help retailers jointly target the same "person of interest" in a way "which helps strengthen the case for prosecution and preventing reoffending".
Police said in the March report that Auror confirmed to them that "ongoing customer engagement, upskilling, and training are integral to their routine practice with retailers".
The UK government last month told businesses to use Auror more to catch thieves and stem anti-social behaviour. This is part of moves to also spread facial recognition technology more widely. Auror says it does not use facial recognition.
The New Zealand government recently said a centralised system of retailer facial recognition should be looked at.
The rising case pressure centres on high-volume crimes of theft, shoplifting, petrol drive-offs and fraud.
RNZ asked police if the audit of 380 Auror cases suggested new inefficiencies had been created. Their March report had stated: "192 (50.5 percent) do not meet the District rules for further investigation." Another 29, or 7.6 percent, were "inactivated". Only 159 - 42 percent of the 380 - were forwarded on to districts.
Police did not address this in their statement on Friday.
However, they had been forced to anaylse the Auror theft surge more.
"Further analysis is currently underway to gain a deeper understanding of this complex and nuanced data," Macdonald told bosses in March.
On Friday, police told RNZ their retail crime units or operations that were now in most districts were "having an impact on retail theft, but we know there is still more to be done".
A new "initial file investigation" team to manage increased retail theft and petrol drive-offs would be trialed in Counties Manukau; they were also developing a standardised inquiry file template and enhanced case management reporting tools.
RNZ has sought an update on the police analysis since March of ANPR theft reports.
Police also use a second ANPR system, run by the company SaferCities, where usage has skyrocketed. The SaferCities ANPR is now also part of a NZTA trial using cameras in billboards to combat fraudulently issued warrants of fitness, as RNZ revealed last week.
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