Rainbow police car launched for Pride festival
Thursday, 8 February 2018
The thin blue line will turn all the colours of the rainbow at this year's Pride festival.
The police have launched a one-of-a-kind rainbow police car for the festival and the Pride parades in Wellington and Auckland.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said the vehicle was a visible representation of the force's commitment to diversity.
'As an organisation we look to encourage staff to 'use who they are' not 'lose who they are' when becoming a police officer,' he said.
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'Therefore it's important to encourage staff to show pride in the communities they represent.'
Bush said he was proud of the work the police had done in recent years to build relationships with the LGBT community.
He, along with uniformed staff, would accompany the rainbow car at the Auckland parade on February 17 and the Wellington parade on on March 10.
In 2017, the police unveiled a te reo Pirihimana car, which was designed to support Māori Language Week.
Bush said the rainbow car was not a permanent addition to the police fleet, as the decorations were removable.
The car would be returned to circulation with standard police livery after the festival.