From drug-dealing grannies with a penchant for diamond rings to white collar fraudsters, those who profit from crime are in the crosshairs of police.

A couple alleged to have ripped off taxpayers to the tune of $375,000 in Work and Income payments have been allowed to keep their names secret for now.

A couple are alleged to have ripped off taxpayers by hundred of thousands of dollars in welfare payments for dental treatments that never happened.

Two people will appear in court in Auckland tomorrow charged over a benefit fraud involving up to $375,000.

An immigration fraudster stripped of his citizenship and barred from New Zealand owes taxpayers more than $150,000.

An advocacy service helping beneficiaries, believed to be the only one of its kind in Auckland, may have to shut after running for 22 years, following a cut in government funding.

Paula Bennett's reputation for being tough on beneficiaries is in jeopardy as figures reveal record high numbers on state financial support.

The number of sole parents on the domestic purposes benefit dropped by 5000 last year - a drop Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is attributing partly to her new policy requiring sole parents to get jobs when their youngest child turns five.

Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has described the Ministry of Social Development as a "megastore of personal details" which needs to lift its game to ensure confidence in the public sector is not harmed.

The Ministry of Social Development is set to roll out new public computers from May next year to replace the kiosks closed after a security hole was revealed in October.

Two important points appear to be missing from the debate about child poverty.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says she left a meeting with hunger striker Sam Kuha with respect for the man and his passion for the problem of child poverty.

An eighty-three-year-old's theft of almost $215,000 in benefit payments was only uncovered when she was seriously injured in a crash with a fuel tanker.

Computer terminals used for 13 years by job seekers at Winz offices had the same security flaw as the self-service kiosks at the centre of the major privacy breach.

A Rotorua man has admitted benefit fraud which lasted more than 15 years.

Paula Bennett says she is embarrassed by the "atrocious'' performance of Winz staff who twice failed to react to warnings over public computer kiosks.

Another Work and Income related privacy breach has come to light, following three already revealed this week.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says there is not a systemic problem with privacy at Work and Income NZ.

The Ministry of Justice has shut down its computer kiosks just days after security issues were uncovered on the Ministry of Social Development's public computers.

There will undoubtedly be some gardening leave on offer soon at the Ministry of Social Development, writes political commentator Bryce Edwards.