STEEL on the streets
Armed police using special vehicles will make regular patrols in a trial in three regions
Special police vehicles carrying trained armed officers will routinely patrol three regions in a move police hope will reduce response times to incidents involving firearms.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush is expected to announce the trial in Counties Manukau this morning.
Police have had growing concerns about the increasing number of callouts that involve firearms, and that is understood to have contributed to the decision to trial armed response vehicles.
A source confirmed to the Herald that the trials will be in Counties Manukau, Waikato and Canterbury.
The vehicles will be staffed by armed offenders squad (AOS) members who would be ready to attend major incidents at any time. It is understood to be similar to what has been rolled out in the UK, where armed response vehicles have been adapted to carry equipment.
New Zealand’s 17 armed offenders squads, made up of nearly 300 parttime members, are specially trained to respond to incidents involving firearms.
But they are police officers with general duties who operate on a callout basis, meaning they have to return to the station, suit up, and then head out.
Police also have the full-time Special Tactics Group, who respond to “high-end tactical incidents” beyond the capabilities of the AOS.
The trial hopes to reduce response times to firearm-related callouts, as armed response teams will be on patrol and ready to go.
They will also be able to more quickly help with higher-risk situations, such as search warrants for dangerous suspects or drug raids.
But the trial is also likely to spark debate about whether the special vehicles might lead to an increased
presence of armed police, and how that could affect community safety.
Police have for some time voiced concerns about increasing incidents involving firearms, although have so far declined to generally arm officers.
The Police Association is likely to support the trial as an improvement on the status quo, although it has been calling for the general arming of police since 2009.
Police Minister Stuart Nash, who declined to be interviewed for this article, has previously said that police turn up to 200 incidents every month where a firearm is involved, and between 800 and 1000 firearms are reported stolen each year.
He told media at the Police Association annual conference this week that police in general had access to firearms when needed.
“Nearly every single car has a lock box with a Glock, you’ve got a Bushmaster in the boot, and we’ve obviously got our Armed Offenders Squad. So police have access to weapons as and when required.”
He did not support the general arming of police, but that was a call for the Police Commissioner.
“My personal view is I’d be uncomfortable with general arming, but it’s actually a call that the Commissioner has to make.”
Bush said the New Zealand Police have no plans to become routinely armed.