Police mull beefing up armed squads

Police top brass are considering bolstering squads of specially trained armed officers as they look for alternatives to having all police officers carry guns.

The murder of Constable Matthew Hunt in June last year, and a spate of gun violence since then, has fuelled concerns for those working on the frontline.

The findings of a Police Association survey of 6000 members, released this week, showed 70 per cent were in favour of all officers carrying guns.

But Police Commissioner Andrew Coster remains steadfast in his resolve not to arm all frontline staff.

Instead, The Press understands, he and other top brass are considering significant changes that would increase the capability of black-clad armed offenders squads (AOS) across the country. Changes include increasing the number of AOS staff, embedding them among the frontline, and having them rostered to work around the clock rather than being on-call 24/7.

It’s understood the changes would require taking staff out of existing frontline roles, which would require backfilling and additional funding from the Government.

Coster declined to comment on any changes being considered to armed offenders squads. In response to the association’s survey, Coster said the safety of his staff and the public remained his priority.

‘‘For every situation we could point to where being armed may have helped, we can point to others where it would likely make things worse. General arming would fundamentally change the way we police in New Zealand.’’

Police could improve safety while remaining ‘‘generally unarmed’’.

‘‘We started this work when Constable Matthew Hunt was killed [in Auckland], and we have made a number of important changes, with more to come.’’

One new initiative was a weeklong skills enhancement course at the Royal New Zealand Police College, which was designed for frontline constables with at least two years’ experience. ‘‘It covers operational decision-making and communications under pressure and involves advanced tactical scenarios – all with a view to enhancing staff safety in high-risk situations,’’ a police spokeswoman said. About 1200 frontline staff would complete the course this year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden told media on Thursday it was important that police had ‘‘good, quick access’’ to firearms when they needed them.

‘‘At the same time, general arming would . . . [be] a significant step change in the way that we have seen our police operate in our communities and personally not one that I would want to see occur. I share that view as the daughter of a policeman, and so for me the safety of our police is top of mind . . . But it’s a very big difference to say having them [firearms] available quickly in their vehicles to then carrying them with them 24/7.’’

Police Minister Poto Williams said she wanted every police officer to get home safely at the end of the day.

‘‘I’ve been in active discussions with the commissioner for a long time in this area, and have met many staff alongside him to hear directly what is needed going forward.’’

It comes after calls by the National Party to bring back armed response teams. The teams were introduced by police soon after the March 15 terror attack and were supposed to complement the police response to critical or high-risk incidents.

The Police Association’s latest member survey, released on Thursday, revealed 70 per cent of respondents believed they should be generally armed. The results were the highest recorded since 2010.

‘‘General arming would fundamentally change the way we police in New Zealand.’’

Andrew Coster

Police commissioner