Mid North police operation now 24/7

Police went on duty 24 hours a day in the Mid North yesterday, but Kaitaia, which was to have been the first cab off the rank, will likely have to wait until October to go 24/7.

Sergeant Haydn Korach said under the new roster starting yesterday the Mid North would have 24-hour police cover with officers based in Kerikeri, Kaikohe or Kawakawa. That did not mean the stations would be open to the public at all hours, but staff would be “on the beat, in the district somewhere and ready to respond”.

The new roster would allow police to respond more quickly to incidents and calls for service throughout the night, he said.

Under the plan announced last year Kaitaia was to have gone 24/7 in the 2017-18 financial year, with Kerikeri/Kaikohe in 2018-19 and Dargaville in 2018-19, but officer in charge, Senior Sergeant Russell Richards, said last week that Kaitaia would have to wait for the required staff.

“We’ve got some really good recruits in the pipeline, but the message is we still need more locals from places like Kaitaia and Kohukohu, people with local knowledge who know their communities,” he said.

Mid and Far North Area Commander Inspector Riki Whiu said Northland received its biggest staff increase for many years — 66 more officers over four years — in 2017, five of them being allocated to Kaitaia, but training them wasn’t going to happen “all at once”.

He expected Kaitaia to have the requisite numbers in October.

The change was a result of police listening to the community and responding to those who continued to cause harm when there were few or no police around, but the whole plan rested on the ability to attract and recruit staff.

“Northland has done reasonably well, but we’d still like more people from rural communities who have a passion for people.”