Source: New Zealand Police (District News)
An additional 145 Police staff are on the ground in Eastern District to assist with the cyclone response and provide reassurance to local communities.
Further staff are due to be deployed into the district this week, including iwi and community liaison officers to support reassurance and prevention work.
Police are aware of concerns in Eastern District communities around burglaries and other theft.
It’s only natural that offending happening after the cyclone gets extra attention during a state of emergency. However reports of offending are not significantly up on pre-cyclone levels.
In the 24 hours to 8.30am Monday 20 February, there were 11 reports of burglaries across the Eastern District, which is within the normal range.
No offending is acceptable. However there has not been a significant increase in offending in the District following Cyclone Gabrielle.
Commissioner of Police Andrew Coster says “There are no words to describe the behaviour of people who are using this devastating event as an opportunity to offend against and take advantage of others in their community.
“Police will continue to respond to reports of offending and work hard to hold offenders to account.
“I’m confident we have enough staff in the right places, for both the cyclone response and routine policing, but we continue to monitor what is required.
“People can be reassured that we have officers out on the streets, across the district, working to keep people and property safe.
“We continue to encourage anyone who has concerns about the safety of themselves or others, or who sees criminal activity occurring, to call 111 immediately so we can respond.”
Police have started to see increased reports of family harm throughout areas affected by Cyclone Gabrielle, particularly in Eastern District.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for instances of family harm to increase when the community is under significant stress.
We want anyone experiencing this type of harm to know Police are here to help. Anyone who feels scared, threatened, or unsafe, is encouraged to call us on 111.
If you are unable to do so, ask a neighbour or passer-by to call for you.
As of 2pm today, there have been 6517 reports of uncontactable people and 4260 reports of people being safe. 11 people have been confirmed as deceased, nine of whom are from Eastern District, two from Muriwai in Auckland West. There are 2246 reports still under investigation
Police continue to investigate and reconcile these reports as a matter of urgency and can now confirm that all those reported uncontactable in Northland have now been accounted for.
Elsewhere, anyone who has been in touch with someone previously reported uncontactable is urged to update their status through 105 online.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre
