New armed response team in action

Canterbury police’s new rapid reaction armed police team has been called in to help find a ‘‘person of interest’’ in Christchurch.

The six-month pilot of the armed response teams (ARTs) began yesterday, with the team seen at a property on Memorial Ave.

Neighbours reported seeing the team, with their new Holden Acadia SUV, arrive yesterday afternoon searching for someone at the property.

A police spokeswoman confirmed officers were looking for a ‘‘person of interest’’, who was not found at the property.

The spokeswoman declined to say whether they were looking for alleged rapist James Arthur Brown.

Brown, 53, is understood to have absconded late last month from the Salisbury Street Foundation, a rehabilitation centre for ex-prisoners in Merivale.

He is expected to face trial in less than two months on charges of rape, assault with intent to injure, threatening to kill and two sexual violations for alleged events that took place last year.

It is also understood he faces a separate charge of demanding a motor vehicle with intent to steal it.

A Corrections Department spokesman confirmed Brown had breached his electronically monitored (EM) bail conditions and absconded from his address but would not confirm whether he cut off his EM bracelet.

Corrections was working alongside the police to help locate Brown, he said.

‘‘Public safety is our priority and we take non-compliance very seriously. Offenders are held to account for breaching the conditions of their sentences and can be formally prosecuted which can result in imprisonment.

‘‘We encourage anyone with information on this offender’s whereabouts to contact police on 111 or anonymously via CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.’’

Police Commissioner Mike Bush recently cited ‘‘growth in organised crime’’ and the impact of methamphetamine-fuelled offending as factors justifying the new teams.