District Commander Andy McGregor has welcomed the 125 additional officers allocated to the Bay of Plenty district today by Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
The new staff were allocated as part of the 1800 additional Police funded through a $298.8 million increase in Budget 2018 that built on an increase from the previous year.
“This allocation will make a big impact on resourcing the front line and investigations, and targeting organised crime and drugs,” says Superintendent McGregor.
“Further staff will be allocated to prevention roles in Youth, Family Harm, Community, and Crime and Drug Prevention. This boost in staffing levels will enable us to be more responsive to our communities, be a lot more visible and really start to target those drivers of demand, thereby preventing more crime and keeping our communities safe.”
The district is also establishing a Precision Targeting Team that will focus on priority and prolific offenders to reduce crime such as burglary, car crime and robberies. This team will complement the extra staff targeting organised crime.
“Organised crime and drugs are a major issue for Bay of Plenty District, driving a lot of violent and dishonesty offending in our communities. We are pleased to have received an extra 29 staff to combat the harm they inflict on our communities from methamphetamine supply and addiction, violence, intimidation and other serious offending,” says Superintendent McGregor.
All 12 District Commanders are now working with their leadership teams to determine deployment decisions at an area and station level. These decisions will be communicated to their communities once confirmed.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre