The best of RNZ’s In Depth stories in 2022

There were thousands of stories published by RNZ in 2022. You may have missed some of the most significant.

Here are some of our picks from the In Depth team in 2022.

Crime and justice

The harrowing story of Sam - and his mother Rachel - was among the most-read pieces published by RNZ in 2022. Sam was sexually abused by his father. His mother fought for years to keep him safe and to achieve justice. They also struggled against a town that turned on them, backing the abusive father and turning against Rachel and Sam. This is their story.

New Zealand police fatally shoot people at 11 times the rate of officers in England and Wales. Why? An RNZ investigation went in search of answers.

That investigation was followed by a series of stories on the death of Shagrin Stephens, who was shot dead by a police officer in 2016. Stephens appeared to be getting his life on track but became upset with constant bail checks by police. It emerged in RNZ's reporting that police described "ninja style" tactics to carry out checks on Stephens repeatedly late at night. Shagrin was shot and killed in Rotorua in July 2016 after lashing out and smashing up an empty police car.

In February, RNZ's Sam Olley revealed Crime Scene Cleaners - a company used by a number of public sector agencies - had posted images of the aftermath of suspected suicides, attempted suicides, assaults, sudden deaths and domestic violence on social media. The posts were sometimes accompanied by flippant, disrespectful comments. Following a series of news stories on the case, an in-depth feature on the ensuing investigations by police and the Privacy Commissioner was published just before Christmas.

Billy Macfarlane, a former convict who earned millions dealing methamphetamine, runs the Pūwhakamua course for prisoners. Its current rate of reoffending is 17% - well below the 70% recidivism rate for the wider prison population. RNZ took a close look at the scheme.

Environment

In 'The Dirty Truth about the Waikato River', Farah Hancock examined the mess of contaminants polluting Aotearoa's longest river. All along the river are towns, farms, dams, and outflows from sewage plants, dairy factories, meatworks and a pulp and paper mill that degrade the water quality as it flows.

A two-part investigation examined the threats - and our response - to the bio-diversity crisis that threatens our most endangered species.

Health

Following Proof, a documentary on alcohol by Guyon Espiner and Cole Eastham-Farrelly in 2021, the pair combined again for Wasted, another feature-length video, this time investigating the cost of the decades-long war on drugs. View the documentary, and a range of related stories on the project's homepage.

In 2022, reforms to the health system took effect and a new Māori Health Authority started operating. A four-part series examined the scale of its challenge, looking in particular at the life expectancy gap between Māori and non-Māori, the scourge of diabetes, workforce inequities and cancer.

New Zealand's Covid-19 story took a decisive turn in 2022, shifting to a reliance on vaccination as main measure addressing the impact of the pandemic. As case numbers surged, fell, then surged again, data journalist Farah Hancock has kept track of a range of metrics throughout. The page continues to evolve as the shape of the pandemic changes.

Hancock has also reported in-depth on air quality and ventilation, finding alarmingly high CO2 levels in public transport. The crowded spaces and poor ventilation that lead to such high levels of CO2 are indicative of a high risk for spreading Covid-19.

Investigative journalist Anusha Bradley, meanwhile, revealed the full story of a $1.59m vaccination campaign that did most of its work after almost everyone was vaccinated.

Society and politics

We're within a year of the election now and the man who would be Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, is the subject plenty of BBQ banter. Our detailed look at Luxon's background, including an in-depth video interview, will help you get clued up on the National Party leader.

Papakāinga - intergenerational communal housing on Māori ancestral land - are in demand. They're popular because they support whānau to achieve their housing aspirations. Why then are they so hard to create? Ella Stewart explained in this in-depth feature.

Stewart joined the In Depth team early in 2022 as a specialist Te Ao Māori reporter. She wrote about her personal story, as a fair-skinned wahine dancing between a Māori and Pākehā world.

Most of the stories you'll read about Lotto have an "imagine if...?" kind of vibe. RNZ decided to take a harder look at it. The series included stories on disproportionally high Lotto store sales in the poorest half of New Zealand and an in-depth examination of the marketing and sales techniques it uses to boost sales.

Most of us would be unaware of the sheer number of cameras filming us as we go about our daily lives, mistakenly believing ourselves unobserved. But there are more than 10,000 CCTV cameras surveilling public outdoor spaces in New Zealand. Learn more about them in this interactive feature by data journalist Farah Hancock.

When very young children say they are coerced into sexualised encounters at school, parents expect a response from the school's leaders. For two families who shared their stories with RNZ's Anusha Bradley, it was a years-long struggle to protect their children from ongoing harm.