KEY POINTS:
The police are not saying how many criminals have benefited from a computer glitch that allowed those on the witness protection programme to hide previous convictions when re-arrested.
The Sunday Star-Times today said the problem contributed to the death of a South Island woman but could not report the circumstances because of a court suppression order.
However, National MP Nick Smith and a police source confirmed a flaw in the National Intelligence Application, which replaced the Wanganui computer in 2005, allowed protected witnesses to hide previous convictions.
Police are refusing to say how many cases are affected, or whether the fault has been rectified.
In at least one case a man was treated by the courts as a first offender, despite a list of previous convictions under another identity.
The Corrections Department admits that man was on the witness protection programme.
Dr Smith said police were open about the fault in the computer system at a recent meeting, but would not say how often it had caused problems.
"I'm concerned the police are using the confidentiality around the witness protection programme as a mechanism to hide what is a pretty serious cock-up," Dr Smith said.
NZPA
