Tomorrow will be a solemn day as we remember the catastrophe which struck our second largest city a year ago. I'll be in Christchurch with the Police Executive to show solidarity with our colleagues and members of the public who suffered and lost so much.

 

At 8am I and Deputy Commissioners Viv Rickard and Mike Bush, Assistant Commissioner South Dave Cliff and Canterbury District Commander Superintendent Gary Knowles will attend the Latimer Square memorial service. After this the Police Executive will meet in Christchurch, then attend the civic ceremony in Hagley Park, and later a social event for Police staff.

 

New Zealanders will remember the events of 22 February 2011 in their own ways. In Police our thoughts are particularly with the family of Pam Brien, a victim of the CTV building collapse.

 

Pam was a valued colleague who for 17 years did a great job in what my predecessor Howard Broad described as the "hard areas" of policing - from New Plymouth CIB to the Christchurch child protection unit. I've visited her colleagues at their office and had the honour of meeting her husband and daughter at our Remembrance Day service in September. Her loss is still deeply felt. For Pam's friends and loved ones, as for many others, Prince William's words in the sunshine at Hagley Park last March will still ring true: "Grief is the price we pay for love." The nature of police work is that we must now put aside grief for a colleague and consider the CTV building dispassionately in the context of the report on it sent to us by the Department of Building and Housing.

 

For some months we've been considering how best to recognise the selfless contributions of individuals in response to the earthquake. The form of recognition is also being considered outside Police. It's important to get it right, not just for those who risked their lives but for the many hundreds of Police people who performed so magnificently.

 

There will be applications to recognise individuals through the Royal Honours system. Certificates recognising those in Police who worked directly or indirectly on the emergency are being organised by the Commissioner's office, and will be presented in the coming months. There will be a considerable number, whether the individual worked on the streets or in support: in DVI, communications or in a logistical role, for instance. Certain individuals will also receive other forms of internal recognition. To mark the collective national contribution we've commissioned plaques to be placed in all Police districts, communications centres and other emergency service and Defence centres. To recognise the work of our Australian friends I'm presenting plaques to Police Commissioners when I meet them in Perth next month.

 

Appreciation for Police efforts around 22 February has been expressed in many quarters - a tribute not just to the reaction of our staff, but also to the planning and preparation which go into ensuring we can react effectively when needed. A recent report from Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres praised our effectiveness in supporting families of victims from varying ethnic backgrounds, thanks to the depth of our recruiting among minorities. This is the fruit of years of work with these communities, underlining our forward thinking and desire to serve the needs of our communities. Similarly, in many areas of policing we're reaping the rewards of years of planning and preparation which would have been invisible to the vast majority of New Zealanders.

 

The international media focus switched from Christchurch soon after the 22 February earthquake but in Police we have remained under intense scrutiny, with news reports constantly dominated by Police-related matters and a raft of official audits and reviews under way. Operationally we are busier than ever. Our response is to say: "Bring it on." New Zealand Police is up to the everyday challenges, as we were up to the extraordinary challenges in Canterbury.

 

It's an honour to lead such a visionary organisation, whose members acted with bravery and commitment last February and have done so ever since, wherever they are deployed. I think of the Nelson officer who risked his life last week to pull a man from a running car in a locked garage filled with carbon monoxide fumes. It will also be an honour to share tomorrow with the people of Canterbury as they reflect on the past but look forward with hope to the lives they are striving to build.

 

Thank you and best wishes to you all.