Source: New Zealand Police (National News)
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has welcomed feedback on the new Police Tactical Response Model and announced the trial locations where it will be tested.
The Tactical Response Model is an important part of improving the safety and capability of frontline staff and our communities.
“I want to thank everyone from Police and the public who took time to share their feedback on the Tactical Response Model proposal. Nothing is more important than the safety of our people and the communities they serve, so it is heartening that people have taken time to tell us what they think about our approach,” Commissioner Coster says.
Our community engagement both before and during the four-week consultation period saw us hold more than 570 engagement sessions with representatives from a diverse range of community groups around the country including proactive engagement with Māori, Pacific and Ethnic communities.
We received an additional 214 direct responses from others to the consultation.
Earlier this year we held around 85 workshops with more than 1250 Police staff about their experiences and ideas to improve staff safety. These sessions and responses have been positive.
Given our proactive and wide-reaching engagement approach in the development of the Tactical Response Model before we put it out for consultation, this has meant the level of further feedback on it has been lower, and also largely positive.
“Having considered the latest feedback on the Tactical Response Model proposal, I am pleased to announce that from late November we will start trials in the community.
“Northland and Central Police Districts will be testing a full version of the Model. This means they will trial all components including training, access to specialist capability for dog handlers and Tactical Prevention Teams, and risk-based deployment and technology.
“Counties Manukau and Waikato will test training, Tactical Prevention Teams, and risk-based deployment and technology.
“Again I’d like to reiterate that Police will remain a generally unarmed Service in New Zealand.
“This model is based on what our people and our communities have asked for. We will be monitoring the progress of the trials and there will be an evaluation at the end of the trial period to enable us to make any further adjustments needed before expanding to all districts. We will continue to engage with our local communities throughout.
“I am excited see how we can work together to make this a success,” Commissioner Coster said.
Note to editors:
• Further information is available at www.police.govt.nz/trm.
Issued by Police Media Centre.
