The National Law Enforcement System, better known as ''the Wanganui Computer'', was a database set up in 1976 by the

State Services Commission The Public Service Commission (PSC; Māori: ''Te Kawa Mataaho''), called the State Services Commission until 2020, is the central public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing, and improving the performance of the ...

in Wanganui, New Zealand. It held information which could be accessed by

New Zealand Police The New Zealand Police ( mi, Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa) is the national police service and principal law enforcement agency of New Zealand, responsible for preventing crime, enhancing public safety, bringing offenders to justice, and maintai ...

, Land Transport Safety Authority and the justice department. The Wanganui computer was a

Sperry Sperry may refer to: Places In the United States: *Sperry, Iowa, community in Des Moines County *Sperry, Missouri *Sperry, Oklahoma, town in Tulsa County *Sperry Chalet, historic backcountry chalet, Glacier National Park, Montana *Sperry Glacier, ...

mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

computer built to hold records such as criminal convictions and car and gun licences. At the time it was deemed ground-breaking, with Minister of Police,

Allan McCready Allan McCready (1 September 1916 – 8 August 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography McCready was born in Kawakawa in 1916, the son of Alexander McCready. He received his education at Kawakawa District H ...

, describing it as "probably the most significant crime-fighting weapon ever brought to bear against lawlessness in this country".Wellington, Randall Jackson (30 May 2005
Farewell to the Wanganui ComputerComputerworld
Retrieved 21 July 2009. Seen by many as a

Big Brother Big Brother may refer to: * Big Brother (''Nineteen Eighty-Four''), a character from George Orwell's novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' ** Authoritarian personality, any omnipresent figure representing oppressive control ** Big Brother Awards, a sat ...

initiative, the database was controversial, attracting numerous protests from libertarians with concerns over privacy. The most notable event was in 1982, when self-described

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

punk Neil Roberts, aged 22, detonated a home-made gelignite bomb upon his person at the gates of the centre, making him New Zealand's highest-profile suicide bomber. The blast was large enough to be heard around Wanganui, and Roberts was killed instantly, being later identified by his unique chest tattoo bearing the words "This punk won't see 23. No future." The centre survived this and other protests until the 1990s when the operation was transferred to Auckland, although this new system has retained its Wanganui moniker. The original database, having lasted 30 years and growing increasingly outdated, was finally shut down in June 2005, with the responsibility being successfully handed over to Auckland at the National Intelligence Application (also known as NIA). The building, known as 'Wairere House' was later occupied by the

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

and contained newspaper archives.

References

{{Reflist Law enforcement in New Zealand 2005 disestablishments in New Zealand Computer systems

See also

References