An important area of this law specifically is how it functions in the case of police. When a journalist's premises or property are subject to a police search, protecting the identity of those sources must be a primary concern. As it stands, although New Zealand law currently references the importance of respecting journalistic privilege in the case of police searches, it contains a gap as to how this important protection is actually guaranteed. Although the Search and Surveillance Act 2012 identifies the existence of journalistic privilege, with particular reference to the protections laid out in the Evidence Act 2006, it contains no clear description as to the processes that should be followed when this issue of privilege arises.