Ten new community beat officers walk city’s streets

Monday, 8 July 2024

Newly graduated police constables are starting in the Wellington Police District as part of community beat teams.

Ten new community beat officers have been welcomed to the capital, with the constables set to start walking the streets of Central Wellington from Tuesday.

The Wellington Police District held a mihi whakatau for the newly graduated constables on Monday, to celebrate them being deployed into the capital’s community beat team.

The teams are part of an initiative for Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster saying 90 constables will be added to the teams.

Sergeant Sarah Wing, who is leading Wellington’s team, said a day on the beat saw the constables “out and about” and speaking to retailers.

They had received positive feedback from retailers she said.

“Initially, they were a bit surprised to see us popping into their shops, but I said that we were there to be reassuring.”

Retail crime was “pretty high” at the moment, but having a strong presence on on the ground appeared to be making a difference.

Beat team Constables William Hill and Lauren Mahoney walk down Victoria St.

During the mihi whakatau, Coster told the constables that the purpose of the police was to make people “be safe and feel safe”.

That “safe” element had suffered during the changes the country had experienced over the past few years, he said. But having officers being visible and engaging with the community was part of making people feel secure.

“I don't know whether walking the beat was what you first envisaged when you signed up to join New Zealand police, but it is truly the foundation of policing skills.”

Sergeant Sarah Wing says reassuring retailers has been part of the community beat team’s day-to-day.

He said during the pandemic the normal users of the cities were away, and the amount of social housing increased in central cities.

“Through that time, the character of our cities changed, and feelings of safety declined,” he said. “As a result, we are gradually moving back from that, and normal use of our cities has largely returned, but those feelings of safety are still not there.”

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and Minister of Police Mark Mitchell say the community beat officers should help people feel safe in their city centres.

Coster said the Police college was cranking out new recruits in order to fill the new positions.

He said it was great to fill the first 10 of the 17-strong community beat team from Wing 275. Wellington was allotted 17 officers to Christchurch’s 10 and Auckland’s 21. When asked why the capital had been allotted more officers than Christchurch, Coster said, at the moment, the beat allocations between the two cities were the same.

Christchurch was going to be establishing a greater police presence through reallocating existing positions, he said.

“We've looked at the demand in different districts and their overall staffing levels, and made decisions based on that.”

The beat police would be on the ground seven days a week. and Coster said Wellingtonians could expect to see officers right across the central business district, with the first priority being the central city.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the public wanted to see a greater police presence, and the community beat team was a big positive step in the right direction.

“Whether it be Auckland Wellington or Christchurch, or any of our regional cities or provincial towns, police have got a really important role to play. But actually, there's a whole lot of other stakeholders and groups that need to work together and be aligned in terms of a strategy to make our CBD safer, whether it's dealing with emergencies or social housing rough sleepers.”