District visits keep me grounded

Previous Blogs
Howard Broad, Commissioner

One of my jobs as Commissioner is to visit the twelve police districts and find out what's going on at ground level.

I visit stations and district headquarters, walk the floors, meet a vast range of people and take a look at new projects or work connected with the strategic direction of Police.

It gives me a hands-on feel for what the troops are thinking and where the pressure points are - a useful counterbalance to the pressures that come to me via my office at Police National Headquarters.

This week, I spent two busy days in Wellington District.

One of my priorities was to meet staff of the Child Protection Unit, which came into being in March. They are dedicated to investigating all reports of serious child abuse in Wellington, Kapiti-Mana, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa.

I heard about how they are managing workloads and improving the quality of service throughout the district, and was pleased to hear they have produced some pretty good results. Team members are mutually supportive, they are working well with other agencies and progressing recommendations from the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) report into child abuse.

I then went to Lower Hutt, Wairarapa, Porirua and Kapiti-Mana, and was briefed on several developments:

  • Alternative resolutions - an approach to dealing with minor offences which has been successfully trialed in the Auckland region and is due to be introduced.
  • A new rostering system which will help to make sure police are available when demand for their service is at its highest.
  • Relationships between local police and gangs in Wairarapa.
  • The CACTUS programme, which takes young people through a short course of leadership and life skills, but also challenges them with physical effort.

I also went aboard the new Wellington patrol vessel, Lady Elizabeth IV, which has yet to be formally commissioned. Soon after, reports came in of a boat on fire in the harbour and I saw her predecessor, 21 year-old Lady Elizabeth III head off to help.

District visits will continue to be a focus of mine for the rest of the year. They are action-packed times away from the office but are important to keeping my feet on the ground.