NZ Police job cuts: 24 file-management roles go in a restructure, and police say AI was not a factor

NZ Police cut two dozen jobs in its file management unit last month, in a restructure in which more than 60 positions were disestablished, created or moved, RNZ reported on 4 November 2026 from documents it obtained. The Transcription Services team, whose staff had feared that AI transcription would take their work, was largely spared, though it now faces a modernisation programme of its own. Police say the technology played no part in the job cuts. "Artificial Intelligence was not a factor of workforce reductions in this review," Sarah Hutchings, national manager for front-line file management and transcription services, told RNZ. The internal reports and emails RNZ obtained show why staff worried. Transcription staff raised concerns about officers using the Whisper AI speech-to-text tool "outside of the terms and conditions", questioned the accuracy of its transcripts, and a ban on using it to transcribe English was put in place. When the tool was brought back, a manager warned that its last return had caused panic among the team about job security. Police Association president Steve Watt said police had "reassured us that it was simply a trial and that no jobs were under threat", adding that it was important police kept the union informed.