Appeal for information following possible sightings of missing man Travis Langford

Serious assault, Palmerston North

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March 2, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Please attribute to Detective Sergeant Shelley Ross:

Police are making enquiries after a man was found with critical injuries at a Cloverlea address yesterday.

He was transported to hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.

A scene guard is in place at the address, and a scene examination will be carried out over the coming days.

We would like to reassure the public that preliminary enquiries have established this is an isolated incident.

Residents will notice an additional Police presence in the area while our enquiries are carried out.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

New Auckland facility to support Police training

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March 2, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

A new training base to open in Auckland is another example of what can be achieved with a Government that is backing Police, Associate Police Minister Casey Costello says.

“Opening up training in our largest city provides Police with the opportunity to attract, train and get quality new officers from our largest market and will supplement the training that occurs at the Police College in Porirua.

“The coalition Government has a commitment to increase frontline Police numbers by 500 and provided $191 million in last year’s Budget to fund recruitment and training, and $34.6 million in capital to ensure that they are properly equipped to do their jobs.

“That investment has enabled Police to focus on doing what they need to to improve the recruitment pipeline and attract quality new recruits and get them out on to the streets faster.

“We want Police to do all that they can to drive recruitment, increase the number of Police and to make our communities safer and that’s exactly what they’re doing,” Ms Costello says.

“The announcement of the new training base is a concrete example of that. As well as training recruits, the Auckland facility will be used for senior training courses, and I am confident that it will also be a useful resource for other agencies.

“This Government will continue to back Police and make changes to improve law and order in New Zealand.”

Coming soon to Auckland

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March 2, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

New Zealand Police will open training for new recruits in Auckland this year as growing numbers of people pursue careers on the frontline.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers is making the announcement ahead of running in the Auckland Round the Bays event this morning.

Commissioner Chambers says making training available in Auckland, in addition to the Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC), is another positive step toward delivering our target of 500 additional officers.

“Having a training wing open in Auckland is an important part of our plan. It will increase our training capacity and open the doors for even more quality applicants.

“We know that being away from home for 20 weeks has been a deterrent for many people wanting to join Police. This will open the door to their dream job that might not otherwise have been possible.

“The new training based in Auckland will provide an opportunity for recruits to train closer to home and from the outset be immersed in the communities they’ll be serving once they graduate.

“This extra training location will support us to get applicants through the pipeline and into training faster. The median time between application and starting at RNZPC has already reduced by more than 90 days over the last year and we’re looking to cut that down even further.

“The Auckland base will also be used for senior courses as the RNZPC prioritises recruit training.”

Those in the Auckland wing will be able to stay at their own home during training. From tomorrow, there will be an option when applying on Newcops.govt.nz that allows recruits to indicate they are open to being trained in Auckland. The location for the new training base is still in the final stages of being confirmed and will be announced soon.

“Extensive planning and organisation is essential to delivering this new training base. It was important that we share this news as early as possible so we can prepare and promote this option to people considering joining,” Commissioner Chambers says.

“We’re doing a huge amount of work to deliver on the 500. Although the number of graduates from RNZPC has been impacted by an increase in the length of training early in 2024, the number of constables has continued to trend upwards since we resumed our regular graduation cadence.

“Last year we saw record numbers of applications to join Police. In the period July to December 2024, Police received 5277 applications, which is more than double the same period for 2023.

“We expanded our talent pool through updates to the application criteria and our recruitment marketing. Last month, we launched the remake of our 90s classic advertisement, which has seen huge support among staff and the public. Another exciting recruitment campaign is due to launch later this month.

“We’re making our recruitment process more agile and fit-for-purpose. Our recruitment booth at the Round the Bays event today will enable qualified and ready candidates to meet the first six steps of the recruitment pathway in a single day.

“Having more officers on the beat is important for deterring crime, enforcing the law and increasing feelings of public safety. We’re committed to delivering on the 500 target.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Advocacy – Skating the length of New Zealand to support youth mental health

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March 1, 2025

Source: Authority PR

Best friends and skaters, Ben Lewis and Jed Scott-Stafford, are embarking on an extraordinary challenge—skateboarding from Bluff to Cape Reinga to raise awareness and funds for youth mental health.

Having faced their own battles and lost loved ones to mental health struggles, Ben and Jed know first-hand the silent suffering many young Kiwis endure. Through their journey, they hope to break the stigma around vulnerability, encourage open conversations, and provide real support for those in need.

Starting on March 1st, Ben and Jed will hitchhike to Bluff before skating the entire length of the country. At each stop, they’ll visit skateparks, host free BBQs, and connect with local communities, creating spaces where young people feel safe to open up about their struggles.

“So many young people suffer in silence because they feel like they have to be strong, like their pain isn’t valid, like no one will understand. We’ve been there, and we know what it’s like to think you have to face it alone,” says Lewis. “But vulnerability isn’t weakness. It’s the first step to healing. We want to show young Kiwis that they are not alone—that their struggles are real, their pain matters, and that there is help available.”

Mental health advocate and I Am Hope founder Mike King has praised the duo for their courage in taking on this journey to help others.

“Ben and Jed are showing young people that struggling doesn’t make you weak—it makes you human. The biggest killer of our kids isn’t mental illness; it’s the belief that they’re a burden, that their problems aren’t worth talking about,” says King. “What these two are doing is not just inspiring—it’s lifesaving. They’re meeting young Kiwis where they are, in skateparks, in their communities, and letting them know they’re not alone. We’re proud to support them on this journey.”

The Tour

North Island Route:

The journey will continue from Wellington, heading up the Kāpiti Coast before crossing to the East Coast, stopping in Tauranga and other major skate communities.

South Island Route:

Bluff
Invercargill
Winton
Gore
Dunedin
Queenstown
Wānaka
Fairlie
Ashburton
Christchurch
Rangiora
Kaikōura
Blenheim
Nelson

All funds raised go directly to I Am Hope to provide mental health support for young Kiwis who are stuck on long waiting lists, unable to access the help they desperately need.

Donate here: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/skateboarding-up-nz-bottom-to-top-grilling-up-at Instagram page: @tgcunz

“Together, we can turn suffering into strength and loneliness into hope—one skatepark at a time.”

Congratulations to Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue

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March 1, 2025

Source: New Zealand Government

Kua tū te haka a Tāne Rore me ngā mahi a Hine Rēhia!
The pinnacle of Māori performing arts was on full display at Te Matatini today – big congratulations to Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue for earning the top honour, Māori Development Tama Potaka says.
“They were one of those groups who just took to the stage and made it their own. Their uniqueness, their wairua Māori, shone throughout their performance and that was a poignant point of difference. I heard a beautiful expression that stuck with me earlier this week: ‘The waiata goes into my ears and out my eyes’. Seeing the passion in their performance and being part of that sold-out crowd was an awesome feeling.
“This was the culmination of the biggest Te Matatini we’ve seen: Fifty-five kapa haka performing with Te Mahau under the watch of Te Kāhui Maunga.
“We’ve seen whānau lining up for hours in the mornings to get the best spots. We’ve seen Ōpotiki Mai Tawhiti give an emotional tribute to their lost loved ones including former leader Ricky Mitai. And we’ve seen those just at the start of their reo journey; they might not understand all the kupu yet but they can feel it and know they’re resonating with something magic.
“That’s why the Government made the largest ever investment in Te Matatini at the last Budget: $48.7 million over three years. We want to make sure that this event can continue to grow and thrive.
“I hope that the region enjoys the economic boost this event is expected to bring – about $26 million – and I hope that you all got the chance to enjoy this event as much as the visitors.
“Big thanks to our Te Kāhui Maunga whānau for hosting us all, Carl Ross and his team’s hard mahi, and to all the performers and supporters. Ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.”
Me mihi ka tika a Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue
Kua tū te haka a Tāne Rore me ngā mahi a Hine Rēhia!
I eke ai te mana, te ihi, te wehi, te tapu i ngā mahi a Rēhia, a Tānerore ki tōna keokeotanga ki te papa tūwaewae o Te Matatini i te rangi nei – me mihi te toa whakaihuwaka a Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue ka tika i eke panuku, i eke tangaroa ki te tihi o Taranaki te mihi a te Minita Whanaketanga Māori Tama Potaka.
“Ko rātou tētahi o aua momo rōpū, ka tū ana ki te papa tūwaewae nō rātou te atamira. Mārama te kitea ko te ahurei, ko te wairua Māori e hikohiko mai ana mō te roanga o tā rātou tū koia pū te whakarerekētanga. I rongo au i tētahi kīanga rerehua i tēnei wiki i tāia ki te rae: ‘Ka uru mai te waiata i ōku taringa puta atu ana i ōku karu’. Ko te kitenga o te ihi me te wehi i tā rātou tū ki te atamira, me taku noho ki te tini o te marea (i pau katoa ai ngā tīkiti) ka tū te wanawana!
“Ko te whakatutukinga tēnei o Te Matatini pēnei rawa te nui kua kitea ake nei e tātou: E rima tekau mā rima ngā rōpū kapa haka e tutū ana i te puehu ki Te Mahau i raro i te maru o Te Kāhui Maunga.
“Kua kitea ngā whānau e whakarārangi ana mō te hia haora i ngā atatū ko ngā tino wāhi noho pai mutunga te take. Kua kitea a Ōpōtiki Mai Tawhiti e poroporoaki ā-ngākau ana i ō rātou mate tae atu ki tō rātou kaitātaki tāne o mua a Ricky Mitai. Kua kitea hoki te hunga kei te tīmatanga noa o tō rātou hīkoitanga reo Māori, kāore anō pea kia mārama i a rātou ngā kupu katoa, heoi anō, kei te rongo rātou i te wairua, me te mōhio ko te kōwarotanga tēnei o tētahi tūāhuatanga mīharo.“Koia te take i tukuna ai e te Kāwanatanga te tahua nui rawa o ngā tahua ki Te Matatini i Te Tahua ā-Motu: $48.7 miriona i roto i te toru tau. Kei te hiahia mātua whakarite mātou e tipu e rea tonu tēnei taumāhekeheke, haere ake nei, haere ake nei.
“Ko te tūmanako ka pārekareka te rohe i te horanga o te whiwhinga ōhanga e whakapaetia ana – ko tōna $26 miriona – ka mutu, i whai wā hoki koutou kia haere kia rongo i te wairua whakangahau i rongohia ai e ō tātou nei manuhiri.
“Nei hoki te mihi maioha nui atu ki te whānau o Te Kāhui Maunga, ki a Carl Ross me tōna tira me tā rātou whakapau werawera ki te manaaki i a mātou katoa, tae atu rā hoki ki te katoa o ngā kaihaka me ngā kaitautoko, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou. Ngā mihi aroha ki a koutou katoa.”

Fatal Crash, Birch Hill Road, Loburn

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March 1, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

One person has died following a two-vehicle crash involving a motorbike at the intersection of Birch Hill Road and Yaxley’s Road, Loburn, Waimakariri District.

Emergency services responded around 1pm.

One person was located in a critical condition but was unable to be resuscitated, and sadly died at the scene.

The Serious Crash Unit has conducted a scene examination and enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing.

The road remains closed, but should reopen shortly.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Serious crash near Pōkeno after driver flees police

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March 1, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

A member of the public has been critically injured after a driver fleeing police crashed head-on into their car near Pōkeno this afternoon.

The crash occurred on State Highway 2 at 3pm, when the fleeing driver attempted to avoid road spikes that had been laid across the road and swerved directly into the path of the oncoming car.

At around 1.20pm today, the stolen car had been observed on traffic cameras on Dominion Road. As a police car approached the stolen car, the driver began driving at high speed and on the wrong side of the road.

Due to the manner of driving, Police did not pursue the car, but monitored it via Eagle helicopter as it travelled through surrounding suburbs, before heading south on the Southern Motorway, then on to State Highway 2.

Officers deployed road spikes at two locations on State Highway 2 in an attempt to stop the fleeing driver.

The driver successfully avoided the first set of road spikes. He also attempted to avoid the second set of road spikes, swerving into the opposite lane and directly into the path of the oncoming car driven by an innocent member of the public.

The driver of that car suffered critical injuries and has been transported to hospital. The fleeing driver also suffered critical injuries and has been transported to hospital.

State Highway 2 is closed in both directions between Avon Road and Koheroa Road and diversions are in place.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre.

Pacific – On Marshall Islands Remembrance Day, Greenpeace calls for nuclear justice and reparations from the United States

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March 1, 2025

Source: Greenpeace

Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1 March 2025 – Seventy-one years since the most powerful nuclear weapons tests ever conducted were unleashed across the Marshall Islands by the United States, Greenpeace is calling for the US government to comply with Marshallese demands for recognition and nuclear justice.

On 1 March 1954, the Castle Bravo nuclear bomb was detonated on Bikini Atoll – the explosion 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. On Rongelap Atoll, 150 kilometers away, radioactive fallout rained onto the inhabited island, with children mistaking it as snow.

Today, communities continue to endure the physical, economic, and cultural fallout of the nuclear tests; compensation from the US has fallen far short of expectations for the Marshallese people who are yet to receive an apology; and the accelerating impacts of the climate crisis threaten further displacement of communities.[1]

“The Marshall Islands bears the deepest scars of a dark legacy – nuclear contamination, forced displacement, and premeditated human experimentation at the hands of the U.S. government.

To this day, its people continue to grapple with this injustice, all while standing on the frontlines of the climate crisis – facing yet another wave of displacement and devastation for a catastrophe they did not create,” says Greenpeace spokesperson Shiva Gounden.

“But the Marshallese people and their government are not just survivors-they are warriors for justice, among the most powerful voices demanding bold action, accountability, and reparations on the global stage. Those who have inflicted unimaginable harm on the Marshallese must be held to account and made to pay for the devastation they caused. Greenpeace stands unwaveringly beside Marshallese communities in their fight for justice. Jimwe im Maron”

To mark the Marshall Islands’ Remembrance Day, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior is flying the Marshall Islands flag at half-mast, in solidarity with those who lost their lives and are suffering ongoing trauma as a result of the US government’s nuclear weapons testing.

The Rainbow Warrior is currently in transit to the Marshall Islands where a mission led by Greenpeace will conduct independent scientific research across the country, the results of which will eventually be given to the National Nuclear Commission to support the Marshallese government’s ongoing legal proceedings with the US and at the UN.[2] The trip also marks 40 years since Greenpeace’s original Rainbow Warrior evacuated the people of Rongelap after toxic nuclear fallout rendered their ancestral lands uninhabitable.

“The immediate effects of the Bravo bomb on 1 March were harrowing. Hours after exposure, many people fell ill – skin peeling off, burning sensation in their eyes, their stomachs were churning in pain. Mothers watched as their children’s hair fell to the ground and blisters devoured their bodies overnight,” says Ariana Tibon Kilma, Chairperson at Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission.

“Without their consent, the United States government enrolled them as ‘test subjects’ in a top secret medical study on the effects of radiation on human beings – a study that continued for 40 years. Today on Remembrance Day the trauma of Bravo continues for the remaining survivors and their descendents – this is a legacy not only of suffering, loss, and frustration, but also of strength, unity, and unwavering commitment to justice, truth and accountability.”

The new Rainbow Warrior will arrive in the Marshall Islands in early March. Alongside the government of the Marshall Islands, Greenpeace will lead an independent scientific mission into the ongoing impacts of the US weapons testing program. Travelling across the country, Greenpeace will reaffirm its solidarity with the Marshallese people – now facing further harm and displacement from the climate crisis, and the emerging threat of deep sea mining in the Pacific.

Further appeal for missing man Geoffrey Kelly

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March 1, 2025

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police searching for missing man Geoffrey Kelly in Hikumutu are appealing for CCTV from the area.

Geoffrey’s car was found empty on Friday 21 February on the side of Makomiko Road, and he has not been seen since.

Investigators would like to hear from anyone on Makomiko Road or Hikumutu Road who has CCTV at their property.

We are still also appealing for any sightings of Geoffrey between 21 February and now.

If you can help, please call 105 and quote reference number 250222/1771.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre